Building user-centered discovery-and-access services to help users find their way through the information landscape is primarily a question of design. In 2010 the Technical Services at the University of Nevada Reno Libraries established its top strategic direction to understand users’ workflow and strive to build seamless information access services around their workflow. To advance this strategic direction, we implemented an innovative reorganization within Technical Services through creating a Knowledge Access and Discovery (KAD) Librarian from a vacant position and forming a new Design and Discovery (DD) department from existing staff. The KAD Librarian is responsible for leading library-wide efforts to optimize the power of the library’s suite of discovery and retrieval systems, and for leveraging relevant technologies to provide user-centric services for information access and discovery, with assistance from the staff in the DD department. This session will discuss the roles of the KAD Librarian and the new DD department, their projects and initiatives, and how they work with the library-wide cross-departmental Virtual User Experience Committee to advance Technical Services’ top strategic direction to meet the Internet-fueled do-it-yourself (DIY) mindset of today’s library users. Presenters: Molly Beisler Knowledge Access and Discovery Librarian, University of Nevada, Reno Libraries, and Paoshan Yue Director of Technical Services, University of Nevada, Reno

1. DESIGNING USER-CENTERED
DISCOVERY-AND-ACCESS
SERVICES
FOR ENHANCED VIRTUAL USER
EXPERIENCE
Paoshan Yue & Molly Beisler
University of Nevada, Reno
NASIG 2013, Buffalo, NY
June 8, 2013

2. University of Nevada, Reno
• Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center
• $75 million facility, opened in 2008
• Land-grant institution, established 1874
• 14,400 undergraduates & 3,200 graduate students
• Two more libraries on campus:
• Savitt Medical Library
• DeLaMare Mining/Engineering Library
• Library materials budget: $4 million
• 90% is spent on electronic resources

3. Keywords in the Presentation Title
Design
Discovery-and-Access Services
User-Centered
Virtual User Experience
GLOBAL

4. Why User-Centered Design?
• To survive
• To be useful
• To help more

5. What Is User-Centered Design? – A Quiz
A. The design is based on an explicit understanding of
users, tasks, and environments.
B. Users are involved throughout design and development.
C. The design is driven and refined by user-centered
evaluation.
D. The process is iterative.
E. The design addresses the whole user experience.
F. The design team includes multidisciplinary skills &
perspectives.
G. The design forces users to change their behavior to
accommodate the product or service.
Reference: http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/iso-13407-is-dead.html Source: ISO 9241-210:2010

6. There Is an ISO Standard for It!
• ISO 9241-210:2010
• Ergonomics of human-system interaction -- Part 210:
Human-centred design for interactive systems
• The standard describes 6 key principles that will ensure
your design is user centered. (Listed on the previous slide A-F)

7. Would You Know It When You See It?
Image: http://bestcadtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/user-unfriendly-2.jpg

8. In a Broader Context:
Would You Know It When You See It?

9. Would You Know It When You See It?

10. UNR Libraries:
Shift to User-Centered Services
Image: http://behavioraltargeting.biz/behavioral-marketing-based-on-user-centered-design-principles/

11. Technical Services
Top Strategic Direction (2010)
• Work to understand users’ workflow,
AND
• Strive to build seamless information
access services around their workflow
Image: http://www.purestorage.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/holy_grail_by_erdmute2.png

12. Top Strategic Direction: Strive to Build
Seamless Information Access Services around User Workflow
?Library
Website
E-resource
Portals
Discovery
Platform
Digital
Collections
Online
Catalog
Google
Wikipedia
Course
Readings
Research
Databases
Google
Scholar
Social
Networks
Mobile
Devices
Google
Books
?
Created 10/2012 by Paoshan Yue

13. Bento Box Display

14. Technical Services
Strategic Reorganization (July 2011)
• Leading Librarian -- Creating a Knowledge Access &
Discovery (KAD) Librarian from a vacant position
• Support -- Forming a new Design & Discovery (DD)
department from existing staff who has appropriate
aptitude
• Administrative -- Joining Technical Services and
Collection Development to form Knowledge Access
Management Services (KAMS)
• KAMS/DD’s mission -- To advance the top strategic
direction of building seamless information access services
around user workflow

16. KAMS: Design & Discovery
Staff:
Head of Technical
Services
Library Technician Library Technician
Knowledge Access
& Discovery
Librarian
IT Professional II

17. Library-wide User Experience Committees
(August 2011)
• Virtual User Experience (VUE) Committee
• Charge: To ensure responsive and intuitive online/web
library services for virtual or off site users through problem
identification, troubleshooting and problem resolution
• Onsite User Experience (OUE) Committee
• Charge: A problem solving group responsible for ensuring
that we provide truly excellent customer services for the
onsite visitor from the user’s point of view.

18. + >

19. Evolution & Focus of New Department
• Began with definition of new Knowledge Access &
Discovery (KAD) Librarian Position
• Position went through several iterations: Metadata &
Catalog Librarian, Metadata Management
Librarian, then KAD Librarian
• Reflected increasing focus on the user experience and
the need to tie Technical Services efforts to what users
want and need

20. KAD Librarian Position
Provide cohesive vision in designing, implementing, and
assessing metadata-reliant processes and other knowledge
discovery strategies for enabling intellectual access to
research resources in all formats. Working in collaboration
with KAMS faculty and staff:
• Lead library-wide efforts to optimize the power of a suite
of discovery and retrieval systems designed to help
expose the Libraries’ rich collections, and
• Leverage relevant technologies to provide user-centric
services for information access and discovery

21. How to make a Technical Services
position user-centered?
• Work regular hours on public desks
• Chat service
• Serve as liaison to two academic departments, creating
Library Guides and teaching instruction sessions
• Co-coordinator of Assessment Task Force
• Involved in usability and ethnographic studies
• Part of Teaching and Learning Group
• Part of Virtual User Experience Committee

22. Discovery
Discovery Services
Image: http://www.jonrognerud.com/an-uncomplicated-way-to-look-at-the-buying-cycle-funnel/

23. KAD Librarian Position: Responsibilities
Implementing and managing discovery service
• Mapping metadata from catalog & CONTENTdm
• Testing & troubleshooting mapping
• Working with web librarian and VUE to determine how to
present discovery
• Usability testing
• Exploring possible additions/deletions from Summon
• Documentation and guides on using available tools

24. KAD Librarian Position
• Contact with users informs back-of-house decisions
Examples:
• Revision of “helper” window for link resolver
• Findings from usability studies have altered tabbed
search functionality on home page

25. KAMS/DD:
Designing the User Experience
Troubleshoot access issues
Direct contact with users: Online problem report form
Ongoing assessment: If users routinely hit similar
problems, what can we do to fix them?
Examples:
• Authentication methods
• Demoting/promoting database providers in link resolver
• Assessing content inclusion in Summon
Maintain access
Collaborate with acquisitions and cataloging staff
Communicate with local stakeholders and vendors/content
providers

26. KAMS/DD:
Designing the User Experience
Strive to:
• Fix what we can
• Make users aware of what we cannot fix, and any
workarounds that exist
• Understand the user experience
• Sit in on library instruction sessions
• Use new technologies

27. Top Strategic Direction: Strive to Build
Seamless Information Access Services around User Workflow
?
Library
Website
E-resource
Portals
Discovery
Platform
Digital
Collections
Online
Catalog
Google
Wikipedia
Course
Readings
Research
Databases
Google
Scholar
Social
Networks
Mobile
Devices
Google
Books
?
Created 10/2012 by Paoshan Yue

28. Virtual User Experience (VUE) Committee
• 13 Members are from various library departments
• KAD Librarian, E-resources, Metadata, Web
• Reference/research, Document Delivery
• Branch libraries, Special Collections
• @One student labs, Teaching/Learning Technologies
• Assessment, Marketing
• A good venue for “the back of the house” (technical
services, web, etc.) and “the front of the house” (public
services, etc.) to meet, inform, and exchange ideas.

29. KAMS/DD & VUE: Shared Goals
Intuitive “library
information
resources” access &
discovery experience
for virtual users
KAMS/DD
ERM +
Authentication +
+ more
Anything users do on
the library website
E-Reference, Social
media, Libguides, libr
ary information,
e-
reserves, navigation,
etc.
VUE

30. KAMS/DD Working with VUE
• Upcoming changes in the display of e-journal
links in the catalog
• New online resource problems report form
• Implementing Shibboleth authentication for
Web of Science
1. Inform & Seek Feedback
Image:http://www.blasermills.co.uk/about-us/feedback-form/

31. • EBSCOhost database search result
display customization
• Promoting research databases on the
library home page
• Improving discovery of print journals by
adding print holdings in e-journal portal
KAMS/DD Working with VUE
2. Propose & Seek Endorsement
Image: http://www.carolsanford.com/blog/?p=1119#more-1119

32. Looking Forward: 6 Principles to
Ensure User-Centered Design
1. Obtain an explicit understanding of users, tasks and
environments
2. Involve users throughout design and development
3. Implement findings from user-centered evaluation
4. Ensure iterative process
5. Address the whole user experience
6. Include multidisciplinary skills and perspectives in the
design team
Reference: http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/iso-13407-is-dead.html Source: ISO 9241-210:2010

33. KMAS/DD Moving Forward
• Partnership: Users, library colleagues, Web specialist, VUE…
• Understanding users, tasks, & environments
• Crazy Egg – tracking webpage traffic, heat map
• Morae usability testing software
• Student Advisory Council
• Current projects
• Journal web portal redesign
• Database web portal redesign
• Customize research database interfaces (eg. Ebscohost databases)
• Learning
• KAD Librarian working with scripting & OPAC customization
• KAMS/DD staff learning advanced features of Excel, MS SharePoint
• Ideas for the future
• Bento box display of search results and related library help
• “14 Days to Have Your Say” blog
• Research journals/diaries

34. Questions?
Paoshan Yue
Director of Technical Services
yue@unr.edu
Molly Beisler
Knowledge Access & Discovery Librarian
abeisler@unr.edu