But are libraries really any different? Can patrons detect a difference? I think that those of us working in libraries have seen a change, but what about our users? Has any of our rhetoric translated into a noticeable change? Do they<\/em> perceive us<\/em> as being user-centered, or is it just us<\/em> who perceive ourselves<\/em> as being more user-centric?<\/p>\n Taking it a step further, can we ever break the boundaries of departmental self-interest? The Reference department has one perspective, while Circulation has another; Systems\/IT has their agenda, while Cataloging has another\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand so on. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked in several large academic libraries and this territorial thinking seems to be universal. If each department perceives the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153user experience\u00e2\u20ac\u009d differently than how can we ever truly be user-centered? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the challenges I face now since I am essentially floating without a department… but perhaps that is a good thing? I’m trying to take a more holistic approach.<\/p>\n The book Understanding Your Users<\/a> provides a good illustration of this problem. When it comes to designing services, we each hear different things. So where do we go from here? Sure there are strategic plans, vision and mission statements, and maybe a library brand, but do these unify staff? Do we really hear what patrons are saying or are we only listening to ourselves?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a while since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve posted, but I have a good reason\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve started a new job. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still at Georgia Tech, but now I am the User Experience Librarian. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get into what exactly that entails in a future post, but for now I wanted to share some thoughts on being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153user\u00e2\u20ac\u009d centered. There … Continue reading Can we ever really move beyond the self-centered library?<\/span>
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