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Keeping the Antennae Up: How Listening In The Library Improves The UX
Steven Bell at Designing Better Libraries writes about Keeping the Antennae Up: How Listening In The Library Improves The UX. This contemplative piece was contributed to the recently published book, Listening to the Customer by Peter Hernon and Joseph R. Matthews.
“In our library work we must never underestimate the power of listening. To excel at it we must always have our antennae up, picking up the signals our user community members emit all around us. Doing so allows us to gain sensitivity to the needs and desires of our users. Put simply, listening leads to a better library experience. While the act of listening sounds simple, doing it effectively in a way that leads to positive change is anything but simple. The major challenge is that in our day-to-day work we become so involved in our routines that we become oblivious to much of the non-routine activity happening all around us in our libraries. Those things which are problematic to our users and that prevent them from having the best possible library experience are what’s likely to fly right under the radar of the library worker. In order to become good listeners library staff must make a conscious effort to become more attuned to the sounds and sights around them. When the antennae are up, it can make all the difference.”
