Background
According to Norman and Nielson, “user experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company [the library], its services, and its products.” The User Experience Standing Group (UXSG) was established to provide resources and training focused on supporting users and their interactions with libraries. The UXSG is composed of staff from Alliance member libraries with interest and varying levels of experience with user experience.
The UXSG advocates for digital and physical user experience of libraries by incorporating user research, service design, and assessment. Areas of focus include development and application of platforms, tools, and other resources, along with services and spaces.
Charge
Proceeding from the statements above, the UXSG:
- Develops and recommends best practices for user experience research, including usability and user testing.
- Collaborates and coordinates with individuals and groups engaged in supporting user experience.
- Coordinates with Alliance groups and staff, along with vendors, regarding development of discovery platforms and related tools, as well as other resources and services.
- Provides training and documentation for Alliance member staff focused on user experience and related topics.
Goals & Deliverables (Draft)
The UXSG will work toward the following goals and deliverables in FY26 (October 2025 – June 2026):
- Identify and organize opportunities for user experience training and community engagement, with a focus on research methods and techniques.
- Perform ongoing maintenance and improvement of the User Testing Toolkit and User Experience in Physical Spaces project.
Projects & Activities
- User Experience in Physical Spaces: This project focuses on ways to support library workers in our efforts to improve the user experience of our physical spaces.
- User Experience Research Methods: Resources to support library workers with user experience research methods, starting with UX Sampler Sessions.
- User Testing Toolkit: Initially created by the User Testing Toolkit Project Group in April 2018 to provide Alliance libraries with resources to perform user testing at their institution.
