oh users, where art thou? dan newton & keith compeau, suny potsdam
TRANSCRIPT
Oh Users, Where Art Thou?Dan Newton & Keith Compeau, SUNY Potsdam
Techniques• Building Relationships• Employing Radical Trust• Enhancing User Experience based on
Feedback
Building Relationships
A Corporate Mindset of Feedback
• Traditional suggestion/comments box (less than 20 per year)
• Getting student input for decision on purchasing furniture 2007
• Honors students as focus group
Stressbusters• Started December 2006 by Jenica Rogers and
Keith Compeau• Games, toys, decorations, candy in our lobby
to give students a way to blow off steam during the cram of finals week
Inklings of Web 2.0Prior to the Fall 2009 semester the library’s application of web 2.0 technologies was limited to:
• Flickr • Wordpress blog
The idea to expand their use had surfaced, but it had not moved forward.
Web 2.0 Makeover• Creation of Facebook and Twitter
accounts• Centralized staff participation by
using RSS feeds to populate Facebook and Twitter automatically
• Benefits: Less for Library staff to learn, less maintenance for accounts, promotes interaction
Radical Trust
What is Radical Trust?• “…a term used to describe the confidence that
any structured organization…has in collaboration and empowerment within online communities.”*
• We took this definition a step further by applying it not only online but in person as well
*Wikipedia contributors, "Radical trust," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radical_trust&oldid=307959797 (accessed June 8, 2010).
Radical Trust & Your Environment• The workplace environment is the key to
making Radical Trust possible• Our director has created an environment that
allows us to think creatively, take measured risks, and not be afraid of failure
Mini Golf
• We are using a real putter and real golf balls despite the potential for golf related carnage
• After 4 years no problems have been reported, and nothing has been broken
Silent Study Room (fail)• The goal was to provide a space for students
who need an absolute minimal amount of distractions to focus on their studies
• This room has been a constant source of frustration for students and staff
Look for Inspiration Everywhere
Graffiti the Library Safety• Externally: Low VOC Paint (Campus Health and
Safety officer), Flame spread rating (Director of Facilities Planning)
• Internally: No ladders, limited number of participants at one time, ventilation, and optional gloves and facemasks
Graffiti the Library
Enhancing User ExperienceBased on Feedback
Gathering Feedback• Communicating outside the (suggestion) box• Student initiated• Library initiated
If students communicate creatively, why shouldn’t we?
I will make a suggestion…
Addressing User Complaints• Rearranged collections and study spaces for
better sound management• Increased seating space in both group and
individual study areas • Added group work computers and a quick
print station
College Library User Survey• Several years ago a LibQual survey
was conducted but they are too expensive to conduct annually
• At best we have relied on gross statistics and casual observations
• At worst we’ve adopted a “Father Knows Best” attitude
Creating the Survey• Set out to create one conceptually based on the
NACUFS Customer Satisfaction Benchmarking Survey
• Our students already familiar with the format• Ask for both satisfaction and importance• Assisted by our campus Office of Institutional
Effectiveness• IRB approval process• Achieved +95% confidence interval (n=406)
Link to survey
Satisfaction & Use
Study Spaces
Common Complaints
“Don’t ask a question you don’t want the answer to”
• We received 339 specific suggestions (or thoughts)• 17% (59) were requests for longer hours• The need for more computers made up the second
largest group of suggestions at 13% (45)• 7.5% complained about noise levels and 6.8% about
library temperature• Approximately 5% of comments were positive or
suggesting no changes
Conclusions
Conclusion• From 2008-2009 to 2009-2010 Library use was up by
17.5%• Yet some suggestions are still out of our reach…
Where are our users?
They’re Here…
Here…
…And Here!
Questions?
