6.1 From Industry to Academia – User-Centred Design Driving Library Service Innovation

In today’s consumer led market, for profit companies stay ahead of the curve by designing products and services which give them the competitive edge. Research libraries are not exempt from the race to prove their value and re-position their services in light of their users’ changing needs and expectations. At Cambridge University Library (CUL), we are applying user-centred design methodologies – widely used in the commercial sector – to discover opportunities for innovative library services.

Our FutureLib Innovation Programme (https://futurelib.wordpress.com/) seeks to drive forward innovation, emphasising the necessity of an ecosystem which better integrates digital and physical resources, services and spaces, in order to create a more streamlined user experience. The programme sees staff from across the University’s library community come together with a team of designers and developers to test ideas and concepts with library users through periods of rapid prototyping. The user-centred design methodologies employed include: ethnographic research techniques, such as participant observation, contextual interviews and diary studies; and participatory design workshops which involve ideation, card sorting and LEGO Serious Play. All of these methods help us to build a rich and highly detailed picture of user needs and behaviours.

An initial research phase presented a range of concepts and ideas which could be tested as potential service developments. A number of ideas are being taken forward as pilot projects. Current FutureLib projects include:

1. Spacefinder. A web-based service which uses GPS technology and a range of search filters to enable users to find study spaces which match their individual needs and preferences. (https://spacefinder.lib.cam.ac.uk/)
2. ProtoLib. A series of protoype library spaces at various University locations to help us understand and build environments that will better fulfil the needs of 21st century researchers and students.
3. North Star. Scoping the value of a new research platform for the University’s academics and researchers which could promote their research output via a single profile, simplify the bewildering array of platforms and processes with which they currently have to engage, and serve as a shop window for Cambridge’s world-leading research.

This approach to service development poses some challenges: an agile approach in a traditional organisational culture; sustained commitment from staff to contribute through project teams; a sustainable programme of projects; and capacity to translate these pilot projects into robust services where appropriate. However, the opportunities far outweigh the challenges: uncovering unexpected behaviours that challenge our perceptions; a deeper understanding of learning and research processes which can help us improve service touchpoints and add value to the user experience; and a detailed evidence base which informs the deployment of resources and strategic service planning.

Sue Mehrer has been Deputy University Librarian in the University of Cambridge since 2009. As part of Cambridge University Library’s leadership team, she is responsible for strategic planning and translating strategic priorities into operational objectives. For the past eighteen months, she has been leading on the Library’s innovation programme ‘FutureLib’, which seeks to introduce new approaches to service design in the digital age. She has previously worked at the Queen’s University of Belfast and the London School of Economics. She holds an MA and MBA from the Queen’s University of Belfast, and is a founder member of the RLUK (Research Libraries UK) Associate Directors Network, as well as a Fellow of the Leading Change Institute.

Andy Priestner currently divides his time between managing the Cambridge University Library ‘FutureLib’ innovation programme, which employs UX research methods and tests design concepts across the University’s libraries, and delivering training and consulting to the higher education sector and beyond. He originated the UX in Libraries Conference and his book of the same name will be published in May 2016.