How to Talk About Library UX - Redux

Wednesday, 3/11/2020
  • 1:00 PM (Eastern)
  • 12:00 PM (Central)
  • 11:00 AM (Mountain)
  • 10:00 AM (Pacific)

image of a man standing in library reading a bookThe last time we did this webinar was in 2016 - and a lot's changed. The goal then was to help establish some practical benchmarks for how to think about the user experience and UX design in libraries, which suffered from a lack of useful vocabulary and concepts: while we might be able to evangelize the importance of UX, LibUXers struggled with translating their championship into the kinds of bureaucratic goals that unlocked real budget for our initiatives.

It's one thing to say, "the patron experience is critical!" It's another thing to say, "the experience is critical - so pay for OptimalWorkshop, or hire a UX Librarian, or give me a department."

And let's be real, this
 is still a real obstacle. But now, there are more examples than ever about successful UX programs in libraries, models for how even whole UX departments might be structured. The hill you have to climb to pitch UX is a little less steep.

What's changed is twofold: the collective level of UX maturity in librarianship (it's gone up!), and the increasing pace of practical thinking in the "fields" of service design and researchOps.

This 60-minute webinar - "How to talk about UX Redux" - is benchmark 2.0.

Learning Outcomes

Learning objectives for this program include:
  • Understand a higher baseline of UX, its role in the organizational mission, and its part in a larger ecosystem of "products," services, and policies.
  • Define a high-level working vocabulary for UX and service design.
  • Gain new insights into the practice of "researchOps," and sound arguments for allocating more of the library budget into this kind of thinking.

Who Should Attend

This course is geared toward librarians and librarifriends who are invested -- at least in spirit! -- in improving the library UX. This webinar might be especially good for LibUXers who have already seen the concepts and practice of UX change weirdly and are looking for a hard reset.

Presenter

Michael Schofield

Picture of Michael Schofield

Michael Schofield is a librarian and the director of engineering at WhereBy.Us, a startup in part trying to solve the business model problem in local journalism through user experience research. 

Registration

Cost

  • LITA Member: $45
  • Non-Member: $105
  • Group: $196

Zoom login information will be sent to registrants  just prior to the start date.

How to Register

Register Online  page arranged by session date (login required)

OR

Mail or fax form to ALA Registration

OR call 1-800-545-2433 and press 5

OR email registration@ala.org

Can't attend the live event? No problem! Register and you'll receive a link to the recording.

Tech Requirements

Live, synchronous lectures require attendee participation via internet audio. Attendees will need a high-speed internet connection (preferably wired) and a headset or speakers. We recommend attendees use headsets connected to their computers during webinars.All attendees are muted but can use the built-in chat function to communicate with presenters. The use of computer speakers with a microphone is not recommended, as this can cause echoes.The recommended browser is Mozilla Firefox, although other current browsers should also work.

Please contact us at lita@ala.org at least 10 days in advance if you require an accommodation.

Contact

For questions about registration, contact ALA Registration:  call 1-800-545-2433 and press 5, or email registration@ala.org.

For all other questions or comments related to the course, contact LITA.