Library Print Collections UX Study

In April 2017, the UX Team explored how library users engage with our print collection to help  the Collections & Content Team make decisions about the re-location of the collection after renovations.

Research Questions

• How do users engage with the library’s print collection?

Methods

• We conducted interviews and customer journey mapping with 15 undergraduate participants
• We completed a document analysis of interviews conducted with 11​ ​faculty​ ​members​ in early 2016 for a previous UX study which explored their use of the library

What did we Learn?

• Students find navigating and accessing the print collection to be time-consuming and frustrating
• Students consider online resources to be more convenient than print material, and prefer an online option
• There is a general sense that the print collection is “old” and irrelevant, especially for subjects where new information is critical to their work
• Even if students prefer online resources, or more study space, they considered books a defining feature of the library and wouldn’t want to see them eliminated

Our Recommendations

• Add subject specific language to the call number signs both in the stacks and in the stairwells
• Make the ‘‘Where is it?’ function more specific; down to the individual shelving unit
• Weed older and rarely used books to both change this perception and promote easier navigation of the collection
• Improve visibility and clarity on the website about how borrowing from TUG and interlibrary loan work
• Implement an online browsing feature