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
Question ideas taken from "User Needs study ideas"
- 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
Goals
- learn now we can best serve our users
- learn what our users needs are related to our spaces
- equipment
- staff
- collections (including reserves)
- study spaces
- other
- find ways to reach users who don't come into spaces too
- find out why they don't
- or what would inspire them to visit
- where do they work/study instead
Things to keep in mind:
- want specific stories - not just opinion - don't always ask why - find out the thought process behind their action
Several pronged approach
1. Ethnographic interviews - scheduled (get volunteers through sign up or lists already compiled - or does this lend itself to a survey?)
Possible questions:
- how often do you visit a physical library
- what do you do in the library (reserves, equipment, study, sleep, etc.)
- what could we do to improve the space
- where is your favorite place to study/work
- where else on campus do you like to study? what draws you to this space?
2. Observational studies
From CQ (information she'd like to see - my notes in italics):
- count users in all of our spaces on an hourly basis - (possible via gate count)
count users in the zones of our spaces on an hourly basis [24 hr and group study spaces, use of LAN computers for MIT and non-MIT] - (would just need to define/map zones in each library - and then decide who would count and how the counting would occur)
- conduct study over multiple sample weeks during semester - (two or three times?)
- compare observational data to Aleph transactions happening during sample weeks and referrals/Ask Us questions or away from desk/Reserch Consultations during those sample weeks - (is this data Lisa S. could gather in her data role?)
- another interesting data question from CQ: is there any hourly data to be gathered from use of our web site, research guides, Barton OPAC, ILLiad or Vera resources that could inform when our users are actively working?
Other things to record at determined time/intervals:
- make a note of what people are doing, what objects they are using or trying to use, or what people are doing in interaction with each other
Sample observation report form (for bullet point above):
- Observer name
- Location/time/date
- Description of setting (for a particular spot in a library or other space)
- What people were doing (activities observed, with any counts that may have been done - such as, x number of people had laptops)
- Difficulties and comments (any problems that arose or that were perceived, plus any additional comments on the task or what you saw)
3. Lobby interviews (give a questionnaire or a $100 test or both)? We could hand these out - they could give them back when they leave or we could have a box near the door. Participating would enter them into a drawing for a $25? gift certificate. We could also ask liaisons to send this out electronically - similar to what we did for Sugg. Box.
- what are you coming to do
- how often do you visit the library
- how long do you think you'll spend?
- what could we do to make the space better for you?
or if they are leaving the library
- 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