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MLibrary – by the numbers

Suzanne — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:31:00 +0000

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/

UX photo booth 2011 (My ideal library…)

Suzanne — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:46:59 +0000

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.

MLibrary UX Developer opening

Suzanne — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:30:43 +0000

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

MLibrary Mobile: Is that the library in your pocket?

Suzanne — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:22:07 +0000

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+

The Value of Good Design

Suzanne — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:55:06 +0000

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”.

MLibrary User Experience Department

Suzanne — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:54:33 +0000

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.

Nielsen’s Mobile Usability Study

Suzanne — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:46:06 +0000

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.

Bad Usability Calendar 2009

Suzanne — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:00:49 +0000

The new bad usability calendar is out for 2009.

http://www.badusability.com/

del.icio.us noticed that librarians like del.icio.us

Suzanne — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:31:23 +0000

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!