User Experience in Libraries

Libraries are familiar and comfortable places for those who choose to go into this profession,
reads the opening sentence to this User Experiences assignment. Upon embarking on the physical
visit to the public library’s main branch for the county in which I live, these were my sentiments,
exactly. A library frequenter as a child,
and now a middle-school teacher and
aspiring school librarian, I believed my
comfort level with and passion for “all
things library” to be exceptional. The
experience with the Onslow County Public
Library (OCPL) opened my eyes and
provided some added clarification that I
was seeking in regard to my future career
path.
I first visited the website of the
OCPL to obtain the hours of operation.
Initially, the website threw me off; a feature that quickly led me away from the library’s site was the
government sidebar on the left side of the screen; as a curious, future librarian, I clicked on the
“jobs” link, and was brought to a list of county-wide government job postings. In hindsight, I
remembered a similar situation when I realized that the county’s website is “home” for any county-
operated facilities’ websites, such as the library. There are, in great proportion, essentially five
library navigation buttons centered toward the bottom of the page to select from: My Account,
Search the Catalog, eBooks & More, What’s Happening, and FAQs. Once opening up these links, I was
quick to see that the website is extremely user-friendly. I believe I was first drawn to the county
sidebar because I am very much a left-to-right reader, or perhaps the word “jobs” got my attention.
Searching the OCPL catalog seemed an easy task for the patron with basic computer and
internet searching skills; I believe that the semi-retired primary care physician in rural private
practice, referred by his or her younger partner, in need of current information on the treatment of
opioid addiction in pregnant females and infants—the persona of which I assumed for this
assignment—would be able to freely and easily navigate the site. Quickly into the search, I realized
that I could see all of the resources available; however, I could not access any of them without a
library member number. The “eBooks & More” tab also opened up a plethora of resources—NC
Live, North Carolina Digital Library, Tumble Book Library, to name a few—but again, without full
access as a non-member patron. The most helpful and insightful information was found under the
“What’s Happening” tab, where a jam-packed calendar gave the times of, detailed descriptions of,
and targeted ages of various activities occurring throughout the month of March. I opened up the
My Account tab and applied for a membership before physically visiting the facility a few days later.

When visiting the physical property of OCPL, I noticed, as I have several times when driving
past it, that there always seems to be a full parking lot. Upon entering, there is a large children’s
 section to left, semi-separated by some glass with a
large doorway. Immediately to the right, is a section
with little café tables and some nearby kiosks for
paying overdue fees and such. Straight ahead to the
right—before the entrance/exit to the other side of
the building—is the circulation desk and offices,
where two women—an upper-middle aged, African
American lady, who was dressed very
professionally (what is “professionally” in today’s
day and age, anyway?); and a woman who appeared
to be in her mid-twenties, more casually dressed,
with some visible tattoos from my distance. They
both were busy serving patrons when I entered,
which worked out well, as I wanted to do a little
exploration before approaching anybody or being
approached. As Carla, I used a computer station to
look up some titles for a YA author study I was
assigned in another class; as the semi-retired
physician, I began to plug in various searches for the
treatment of opioid addiction in pregnant women and
babies. In terms of physical books, I had much more
luck as Carla; as the physician, that for some reason I
have consistently pictured as a white-haired
gentleman, I suspected that I would find the majority
of my resources in digital format. “Mobile device use
has become almost ubiquitous in daily life and therefore includes use by doctors in clinical settings”
(Alexander, S. & Harrison, A. & Nerminathan, A. & Phelps, M. & Scott, K., 2017). For this reason, and
the fact that the physician’s partner is younger, I had assumed that at the very least, (he) would
have basic computer and internet navigation skills.

After just seconds of roaming the YA section to locate the titles I’ll use for my other class, I
was approached by an upper-middle-aged white
lady, who asked if there was anything she could do
to assist me. I explained that I was a teacher and
MLIS student, and gave her some details about the
assignment and my persona. At first, she seemed as
if she was sorry that she had asked; but I confess
that in my own social awkwardness, I may have
seemed somewhat uncomfortable with what I was
asking her to assist me with. One of the very first
things she said was that physically speaking, I
probably would not have much, if any, luck in finding
much material on such a specific subject, which was
no surprise to me. She then referred me to NC Live,
which I had already rifled through in the short time
it took for her to approach me, as well as during my
earlier virtual visit. She seemed somewhat perplexed that not only was my persona incredibly
specific, but so was that of my research. Beyond the recommendation of NC Live, she was not able
to give me any in-house library referrals, such as workshops, classes, information sessions, and so
forth. She did however, note that our local community college—Coastal Carolina Community
College—has an extensive medical program, and although she wasn’t sure, perhaps even their own
medical library collection; and she informed me that any materials and resources there were free to
all OCPL cardholders.

I stayed in the library for some time after the help I received from the librarian who first
approached me; although I felt as though I had exhausted the direction for in-house resources, I
wandered the remainder of the premises as the physician, and thought about all of the possible
ways the organization could serve or relate to me. I went to the back, and was immediately greeted
by a young woman who was dressed in very business-like attire; she asked if she could help me find
something. To see if I would get the same kind of answers I received from my first contact, I
repeated my story about what brought me there. After explaining my program of study, career
goals, course assignment, and chosen persona, she referred me to another worker—in the reference
section—because she was there “hosting a workshop”, and thought I was “looking to join it.” That
made me laugh out loud; she was so polite, and I thought it was funny that she listened to my whole
bit before telling me that she couldn’t help me. I
thanked her and the woman to whom she
referred me anyway, and just continued my
browsing. I went as far back as I could, and came
across the genealogy room, where I was eagerly
greeted by a forty-something year-old white
woman who, in her defense, didn’t have much of
a set-up to quickly come from behind the desk
(but she did stand up); she too, asked if she
could assist me.

Just outside of the genealogy room is a

comfortable lounge area, where people were
sitting casually, using their mobile devices; I
assumed they were either taking advantage of
the free Wi-Fi service, waiting for a scheduled
activity, or both. Also in that back area was a
glass-encased meeting room, some printers and tax resources, and an additional circulation desk.
There seemed to be something going on in every nook of the place, reaffirming the concept of
providing a variety of services to meet the diverse needs of the patrons within the community. I
thought about how I could use that space as a physician; perhaps I could invite an obstetrician, a
social services worker, or both, to meet with me in the conference room to discuss the current
treatments for opioid addiction in pregnant women and infants.

Next, I circled back to the entrance I

used when going into the library; I
passed the non-fiction and YA section,
along with the children’s section
again. I entered the children’s section, and
instantly noticed that the space was very much
suited for younger children, rather than
adolescents. I began to envision an arrangement
that would meet the physical, social, and
information-seeking needs of adolescents, as some
exemplars I have learned about in LIS618. So
many possibilities! Toward the back, there is a
computer lab that seemed to be set up for teens,
but it looked as though it had just that one
function—to provide computer access.

Overall, the user experience at this library

was favorable—for Carla, and for Dr. So-and-
so. While there weren’t a whole lot of physical
resources for the physician to choose from, the
staff was knowledgeable about where to send
me to get the information I needed. I would like
to think that as a physician who is almost
retired, the library wouldn’t be strange to me;
this is a small enough community, that it
wouldn’t surprise me that this type of persona
would encounter familiar faces, past and/or
present patients when using the facility, and be
greeted much more authentically than I was—
understandably. Considering the status of the
physician—semi-retired—I can use my prior
experiences in meeting almost-retired people from all kinds of professions; there is a certain resign,
or “I’m not worried about it; I’m about to retire!” attitude that goes along with this persona. In a
truly authentic user experience for this particular patron, he might enter the library, with which he
is already familiar, and jokingly complain about his “young buck” of a partner, who wants him to get
information on something “he doesn’t feel like doing it himself.” (Can’t you just imagine it?!)

There are many computers for adults to

use, whether for job-seeking, educational, or self-
help purposes. On one of the café tables behind
this section, was a table-top advertisement for
BOY device training; IT students from Coastal
Carolina Community College give scheduled
tutorials on how to use various PC models; this is
yet another way the college works with the
public library in serving members of the
community.
 The fire-escape plan illustrates the
layout of the facility; considering it is one of four
branches within Onslow County, it is fairly decent in
size, although as mentioned earlier, it is lacking in an
inviting and effective teen space. Perhaps the
county’s future plans of opening up a YMCA—which
I learned about during this visit—will foster another
relationship/partnership with the library and
another county entity, for which to provide services
to adolescent patrons.

Just outside of the library are a couple of public

transportation stops for patrons coming and going from
the facility. While strict budgets always leave room for
improvement, it is clear that Onslow County advocates
for its citizens to provide them with a variety of
opportunities from which to learn and grow.

Libraries are familiar and comfortable places for those who choose to go into this
profession…After this experience, I realized that there is no reason why everyone can’t feel
comfortable here; regardless of one’s level of information literacy, the library should serve as a
connection to any and all information. For another persona I adopted for another class, I was given
several outside resources that I would never have been able to locate on my own—for not knowing
what to search for—by some undoubtedly passionate library professionals.
 References:

Alexander, S. & Harrison, A. & Nerminathan, A. & Phelps, M. & Scott, K. (2017) Doctors Use of Mobile
Devices in the Clinical Setting: A Mixed Methods Study. Internal Medicine Journal. 47(8), 978.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libproxy.uncg.edu/doi/10.1111/imj.13349/full

Onslow County Public Library

http://www.onslowcountync.gov/150/Library