Friday, May 7, 2010

The User Experience

The second article by Aaron Schmidt on the User Experience appeared in the March 1, 2010 Library Journal. The title was “Learn by Asking.”

The concept here is that user interviews can help librarians to see their patrons as people and to learn what motivates them to come or not come to the library. A simple survey will give you information but only from those who use the library or choose the complete the survey. Non-users or those that do not respond are never heard from when the library is seeking to change or add services.

Mr. Schmidt provided simple steps in conducting user interviews. They are:
1. Identify a problem
2. Recruit Interviewees
3. Conduct the interview
4. Transcribe the interviews.

Approaching data gathering through interviews takes time and some skill but the information gathered is worth the effort. Try it!

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