userslib.com

The following 3 positions are now available in the User Experience (UX) and Library Web Systems Departments. We’re looking for candidates who take a user-centered approach, have a passion for solving complex problems, and are invested in improving the library website user experience.

The U-M Library’s technology unit designs, develops, and supports the library’s primary web interfaces – including multiple websites, access systems, search apps, and mobile interfaces. These interfaces provide access to over 10 million physical and digital resources to more than 2 million users a month.

Interface Designer (UX Department)
Design beautiful, user-friendly, and accessible interfaces. Primary responsibilities include: creating wireframes, mockups, html prototypes, and complete visual designs and web-ready graphics.
View full job posting: http://umjobs.org/job_detail/80525/interface_designer

Interface Developer (Library Web Systems Department)
Design and implement accessible interfaces for one of the largest research libraries in the world. Primary responsibilities include ensuring the library’s web sites are accessible, implementing and refining interface designs, and developing responsive mobile-friendly interfaces to library resources.
View full job posting: http://umjobs.org/job_detail/81080/interface_developer

Web Content Strategist (UX Department)
Develop and oversee an overall content strategy for a large organization with 100+ content creators. Primary responsibilities include: assessing and improving current content and content workflows, curating and creating new web content, creating best practice and style guides, and informing design solutions and information architecture.
View full job posting: http://umjobs.org/job_detail/81076/web_content_strategist

Last fall I created some graphics for a slide show for our annual library reception event to demonstrate some of what we do via stats and graphics. This was such a fun side project and I couldn’t have done it without the data gathering help of Helen Look and others.

Full set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlibrary/sets/72157629666943727/

A few weeks ago I helped out again with the MLibrary Undergraduate library’s annual “Party for Your Mind” event to welcome the students back and introduce new students to the library.

Like last year, I did a photo booth where I asked the students to complete the sentence “My ideal library ______” and like last year, I got a lovely combination of silly and serious responses. Quiet/Loud and food/sleeping were again popular themes!

My ideal library... loud & fun!

See the full set here.

Wanna work on UX and mobile development for MLibrary and HathiTrust?

The University of Michigan Library is seeking a talented front-end developer to join our User Experience (UX) Department. The UX Department focuses on interface design, mobile design and development, usability testing, user research, web use statistics, and accessibility. We are looking for someone with an investment in improving library users’ web experience. The primary focus of this position will be development of a variety of mobile websites.

http://umjobs.org/job_detail/59834/user_experience_web_developer

We’ve been very hard at work over in the User Experience Department!

We started working on a year long mobile initiative in September and have officially wrapped our first phase of work. The result is a site that provides access to key library content and services in a mobile-friendly format. The site currently provides access to Mirlyn Mobile, a list of mobile friendly databases, library hours & locations, ask a librarian services, research guides, and news & events.

The above image is the basis of our promotional campaign. We’ll soon be distributing signs, bookmarks, and digital sign graphics all around campus. The idea for it came from the amazing Liene and then once I found a willing butt, I was able to turn the idea into the design above.

MLibrary Mobile

MLibrary Mobile Initiative Project page

UPDATE: I also wanted to mention that I’ve distributed print & screen promotions around to our various libraries and a few classroom buildings. These materials include a QR code to the mobile site. If you’re interested in seeing stats for scans of the QR code, here’s the bit.ly stats page: http://bit.ly/gLu272+

From http://www.usabilitypost.com/2010/03/24/value-of-good-design/

Good design speaks. Good design tells your visitors that you care about your product. Good design at the front-end suggests that everything is in order at the back-end, whether or not that is the case. Good design is what separates the best from the “good-enough”.

I’m happy to announce that the University of Michigan Library is in the process of creating a new User Experience (UX) Department. I will be transitioning from my current position as Interface & User Testing Specialist for the Digital Library Department to the head of this new department. This new department will focus on interface design, mobile design and development, usability testing, user research, web use statistics, and accessibility. I have a million ideas for projects for this new department but right now I’m focused on hiring 2 really awesome people to join our team.

User Experience Specialist
We are looking for someone with a passion for user research, the ability to create engaging designs, and an investment in improving the library users’ web experience. The UX Specialist will help drive interface development through an iterative usability and design process.

User Experience Mobile Developer
(job id= 38884)
We are looking for someone with experience developing mobile interfaces, knowledge of related mobile design principles, techniques, and platforms.

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen released a study this week about mobile usability: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html.

The result? “The mobile user experience is miserable.”

Here are some highlights:

• The average success rate for mobile websites was 59% compared to 80% for regular sites.
• Small screens are limiting since they have to show less at a time which results in more clicks and a heavier reliance on short term memory.
• Input is awkward and more error prone due to more scrolling, tiny buttons and links, tiny keyboards, etc.
• Connections are still slow.
• Sites that have a mobile specific interface have a higher success rate (64%) compared to regular sites (53%).
• If a site has a mobile version, make it easy to find. Best technique is to auto-sense users’ devices and auto-forward mobile users to the mobile site. Additionally, make sure to include links to “mobile site” and “full site” to allow users to switch.
• Touch-screen phones perform better.

The new bad usability calendar is out for 2009.

http://www.badusability.com/

Over at the del.icio.us blog, there’s a post about how they’ve noticed that librarians & educators are using delicious in interesting ways.

Over the past year or two, I’ve been delighted to notice educators and librarians embracing Delicious both as a way to share bookmarks with each other and a way to help their students and patrons learn. This makes perfect sense to me as a college student because I bookmark and tag references for all my projects and I’d love to see similar collections from my professors and classmates.

I don’t know who first realized the potential of Delicious for education, but I’ve seen a huge amount of community documentation created by teachers and librarians to help each other understand what this place is, why it’s valuable, and how to use it.

See full post for list of resources about librarians and delicious!