This is a very working draft of possible thoughts/questions for studying our space this term. See below - EVERYTHING is up for discussion/debate (even the goals). Please review and give feedback.
Thanks - SH
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Question ideas taken from "User Needs study ideas"
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- would you be more likely to visit a library if it had a cafe?
- what time do you want to get help? (morning, afternoon, evening)
- do you have a general idea of what you want to accomplish when you come to the library?
- what is the best time for you to do work or study?
- do you work best in a team or alone?
- what times of day are you the most productive? lazy? curious?
- what is the one thing about the libraries at MIT that you would change if you could?
- what are the 2 or 3 things that are provided by the libraries that you find most valuable/important?
- what level of noise and activity are you willing to tolerate?
- what was your most memorable/helpful library experience?
Public Space UX group -
Why & what people do
- would you want to be able to eat/drink while studying in a library?
- would you be distracted if people around you were eating/drinking in the library?
- why do you come to the library?
- what makes you choose library space for your work?
- why did you come into the library the first time?
- how often are you on campus? what days/hours typically?
- do you work away from Cambridge frequently?
- are the library services you need available when you need them? would you use services that were offered virtually?
- do you feel secure/safe in the library?
- is the room temperature comfortable?
- what is the earliest hour of the day that you would ever expect to be able to get into a) library study space, b) library print collections ?
- what are users doing in our spaces @ different times of the day? i.e. how does time of day affect how a library is used?
- what do you avoid in our spaces?
Why people don't use our spaces
- if you had to choose which library on campus to close, which would it be and why?
- why do you NOT come to the library?
- if you don't work regularly (or ever) in a library space, why not?
What we lack
- what type of spaces to users see us lacking?
- what is lacking in our spaces that require you to leave when you'd rather keep working?
Outside users
- what are non-MIT users doing in our spaces?
- how do outside users affect how our spaces are used?
Studying
- what percentage of your work time/study time is individual and what percentage is group?
- what's the best place on campus to work or study?
- how do you study?
- where do you study?
- what tools/objects do you need when you study?
- do you need quiet study space?
- where is you favorite place to study, in or out of the libraries?
- is lighting in our study spaces adequate?
Beyond studying: what else people come to libraries for
- do you feel you have convenient access to our print collections?
- do you care about print collections?
- do you have more need for study space or for access to our print collections?
- what would make you come to the library more often?
- do you want library staff in the spaces you use? do they support the work you are doing?
Equipment and technology
- what equipment do students usually carry with them? (laptops, smartphones, ebook readers, camera, etc.)
- do you expect the libraries to provide ANY equipment?
- do you need library computers? or do you prefer to do as much work as possible on your own laptop?
- is there special equipment that you would find useful for the libraries to provide?
User expectations
- what bothers you the most about the library you usually use?
- what do users like best about our spaces that we should replicate?
- what are three positive and three negative words you would use to describe our spaces?
- what is your favorite feature of the library?
- what is the top thing you would change about one or more of our libraries?
- are library hours adequate?
- what do you think happens in a library?
- what does the word "library" mean to you?
- how far would you be willing to walk to get to a library?
- which part of campus are you in most frequently?
- what are user expectations around sound in library spaces? quiet? low conversation, etc. Would they want spaces demarcated based on sound level?
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- How spaces are used by activity and by time of day. Which times of day do people use our spaces and for what? How busy are the group study rooms.?
- How well do we meet people's needs as a mobile workspace? Carrells, lockers, laptop safety, outlets, mobile printing.
- What are people expecting from us? User perceptions
- what are the reasons people don't use our collections
- questions about Hayden: is first floor best spot for browseable collections
- is browsing in stacks needed? how many people still want to browse
navigating and using space
- how much time do you spend in the library?
- what do you users like about our spaces?
- what brings you to the library?
- how often do you visit a library and how often do you use our web pages?
- who is using our space? what are they doing and for how long?
- when and where do you study? on your own? in groups?
- can people find books in Hayden by call numbers?
- do you find the library staff to be approachable? helpful?
- is there anything that you found useful at another library, that MIT Libraries could be doing?
- what's the most valuable library service?
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Space issues
- what do they think about noise levels at each location?
- what other things should we have in our spaces? bike racks? coffee shop? food truck?
- should lockers be available for personal study spaces for undergrads or groups?
- ways to secure laptops and other belongings... to prevent theft
- what hours are the most important to you for the libraries to be open?
- what hours of operation for MT Libraries spaces best meet user needs for study spaces or access to collections?
- how would you rate our facilities?
- do people feel safe in the library?
- do you use one of our 24 hour rooms? which one? advantages? do you need more?
- what are favorite places on the MIT campus? how can we be more like those, or complement the other spaces?
- physical collections vs. study spaces: which is more important to our users?
- if the libraries added more 24 hour study space, where would you want it to be?
- do students collaborate, or just work together socially?
- how do you use library spaces, online tools, or non-library online tools in group settings?
- what time of day to people use the physical libraries?
- what is most challenging about studying in Hayden, Rotch... ?
- are there services that are non-traditional to libraries that users would like to have in our spaces? coffee shops?
- do users choose different library study spaces (group vs. individual) depending on the type of work, or do they typically use library study spaces for a particular purpose?
- how do users want to access our print materials?
- if print reserves were in only one library would students continue to use them in the same way? which library would be the most conducive to student needs
- who browses?
- why do people use or not use the MIT Libraries?
- what services do people expect at the library service desk
- what equipment or furniture is lacking?
- enough wifi, network jacks, outlets, printers?
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- do users prefer large, open tables or smaller desks for working in the library?
- would students be interested in meeting with librarians in spaces outside the library?
- are you comfortable in the library spaces?
- are the libraries a destination for study? homework? research?
- where on campus do you like to read?
- why do you visit a library?
- do users prefer a completely quiet space in which to work?
- do users choose a library for content or other characteristics?
- do users browse collections?
- do people really use serendipity to find materials? is shelf browsing still a legitimate idea? would they use a virtual shelf to browse?
- how many books did you check out of the MIT Libraries last semester?
- do users recognize the difference between circ. staff vs. librarians behind the desk
Draft - Ethnographic study - space
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- what was the nature of your visit - have options to circle?
- how long was your visit
- what could we do to make the space better for you
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Question/themes ideas taken from "User Needs study ideas"
...
- would you be more likely to visit a library if it had a cafe? Would you like to be able to eat/drink in the library?
- what is the best time for you to do work or study?
- what times of day are you the most productive? lazy? curious?
- on average, how much time do you spend in the library?
- what is the earliest hour of the day that you would ever expect to be able to get into a) library study space, b) library print collections ?
- what are users doing in our spaces @ different times of the day? i.e. how does time of day affect how a library is used?
- what percentage of your work time/study time is individual and what percentage is group?
- what is the one thing about the libraries at MIT that you would change if you could?
- what level of noise and activity are you willing to tolerate?
- how is the room temperature?
- Why do you come to the library?
- what makes you choose library space for your work?
- do you feel secure/safe in the library?
- where is you favorite place to study, in or out of the libraries?
- do you have more need for study space or for access to our print collections?
- what would make you come to the library more often?
- what equipment do students usually carry with them? (laptops, smartphones, ebook readers, camera, etc.)
- do you expect the libraries to provide ANY equipment?
- do you need library computers? or do you prefer to do as much work as possible on your own laptop?
- is there special equipment that you would find useful for the libraries to provide?
- if you don't work regularly (or ever) in a library space, why not?
- what type of spaces do users see us lacking?
- what is lacking in our spaces that require you to leave when you'd rather keep working?
- what are three positive and three negative words you would use to describe our spaces?
- what is your favorite feature of the library?
- are library hours adequate?
- which part of campus are you in most frequently?
- How spaces are used by activity and by time of day. Which times of day do people use our spaces and for what? How busy are the group study rooms.?
- How well do we meet people's needs as a mobile workspace? Carrells, lockers, laptop safety, outlets, mobile printing.
- questions about Hayden: is first floor best spot for browseable collections
- is browsing in stacks needed? how many people still want to browse
- do you find the library staff to be approachable? helpful?
- is there anything that you found useful at another library, that MIT Libraries could be doing?
- ways to secure laptops and other belongings... to prevent theft
- what hours are the most important to you for the libraries to be open?
- how would you rate our facilities?
- do you use one of our 24 hour rooms? which one? advantages? do you need more?
- physical collections vs. study spaces: which is more important to our users?
- if the libraries added more 24 hour study space, where would you want it to be?
- how do you use library spaces, online tools, or non-library online tools in group settings?
- what is most challenging about studying in Hayden, Rotch... ?
- do users choose different library study spaces (group vs. individual) depending on the type of work, or do they typically use library study spaces for a particular purpose?
- how do users want to access our print materials?
- if print reserves were in only one library would students continue to use them in the same way? which library would be the most conducive to student needs
- who browses?
- what services do people expect at the library service desk
- how many books did you check out of the MIT Libraries last semester?