draw your own library: cognitive mapping of physical and online libraries
TRANSCRIPT
Rod Aiken & Tom Kistell
Sheffield Hallam University
Draw your own library: cognitive mapping of physical
and online libraries
Cognitive mapping
• Basis in ethnography
• Used in ERIAL project Illinois
• Demonstrated and applied at UX Lib
Mapping the physical library -6 minute activity
• Work individually
• 0-2 minutes start drawing your library in red pen
• 2-4 minutes continue drawing in blue pen
• 4-6 minutes switch to drawing in black pen
We don't expect you to finish drawing the whole thing and we won't ask you to show your picture to the whole group - unless you really want to!
• Both students drew in the helpdesk but
mentioned they didn't use it much
• Were very aware of the bookshelves
containing the books they used
• Had favourite workspaces & knew the
library based on the view from there
• Knew library PCs were there but preferred
to work on paper or own laptop
Common themes
• Students had a good relationship with staff but didn't ask them for help much
• They didn't have a very complete view of the library
• Seemed to feel no need to explore
Learning points
User Experience (UX) at SHU
• Library Gateway usability testing
• Working face to face
• Showcases with staff
• Benefits and limitations
• Work individually
• 0-2 minutes start drawing your library website red pen
• 2-4 minutes continue drawing in blue pen
• 4-6 minutes switch to drawing in black pen
We don't expect you to finish drawing the whole thing and we won't ask you to show your picture to the whole group - unless you really want to!
Mapping the online library(6 minute activity)
Common themes
• Most students drew the search box first
• None of them drew anything from the bottom half of the page
• A couple noticed Google Scholar, the image carousel, subject guides
• Search box at the top of the results page
• Filters, especially content type (so books, journal articles)
• List of results
• Didn't draw links at the top of the page
• Mixed up/conflated pages
Common themes
• People don't spend long on the Library Gateway front page
• All students saw the Gateway as a place to search
• Lack of exploration
• They didn't know what 'the Library Gateway' encompassed
Learning points
• Look for patterns across the different maps –what is always drawn, what is missing (often the blank spaces can be more informative)
• When were things drawn? This suggests what the student considers important
• Gather extra information from what the students say
• How can we use what we've learned?
Analysis
Thoughts about the process
• Choose a time of year when the University is busy
• Beware of leading questions/wording
• Do go outside the library to find student volunteers, e.g. cafes and social spaces
• Carry staff ID - you may well be challenged!
• Doesn't have to be a silent exercise
• Can tell students what you're doing and why
• UX Lib conference website - uxlib.org
• The ERIAL Project (Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries) -www.erialproject.org
• Article summarising the ERIAL Project methodology and findings -http://goo.gl/LTh2Z6
Links
Stay in touch
Email us at [email protected] if you'd like to join our cognitive mapping network to share methods and findings