Student Led Tours UX Study

In the winter of 2016, the library's UX Team asked students to lead them on tours of the library to better understand the student experience.

Research Questions

• What do students find frustrating or confusing about the library?
• What is important to students in the library, and what isn’t?
• How the library can improve?

Methods

• 7 participants led researchers on tours of the library. The participants were undergraduate students from various colleges at the University of Guelph
• Participants approached the study without prior knowledge of the study, to ensure that library knowledge was reflective of actual experience, not research
• Students talked aloud as they walked through the space and answered our questions

What did we Learn?

• Students carefully selected study spaces and had preferred study areas
• Students were familiar with the Ask Us Desk, IT Help Desk and Writing Services but reported some challenges making Writing Help appointments due to limited availability
• Participants learned about our services primarily from in-class marketing and word-of-mouth
• Students wanted more study space within the library
• Students were not familiar with other library services such as Research Help Desk and Data Resource Centre. Most students walked past these service points without acknowledging them .

Recommendations

Student participants recommended that the library:

• Provide more information and support for finding subject-specific databases
• Extend building hours
• Create a dedicated space for graduate students
• Showcase the human side of the library by highlighting presentations, library news and ongoing research occurring in the library