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Tuesday 20 June 2017

Initial findings of our UX interview project

The aim of this survey was to further understand the work, study habits and preferences of our students and where we (as their College library) fit in within this.  As a typical student’s work day does not necessarily revolve around the library, we wanted to look at where they might choose to work – whether in the library or elsewhere - and why, but also what might hinder their study.  Our intention was to investigate behaviours to see how we could further support our users.  

We interviewed 32 students in total.  We had a broad coverage of the entire student population:
Subject
1st year UG
2nd year UG
3rd year UG
PG
Total subject
Law
2
2
4
Maths
1
2
3
Engineering
3
3
English
2
2
Modern Languages
1
2
3
History of Art
1
1
Anglo Saxon Norse & Celtic
1
1
Psychology
1
1
History
1
2
3
Human Social & Political Sciences
2
2
Economics
1
1
1
3
Classics
1
1
Development Studies
2
2
Earth Sciences
1
1
Linguistics
2
2
Total
7
9
10
6
32
26 UG
6 PG

Out of the total student population we interviewed approximately 8% of the undergraduates and 3% of the postgraduates.  The postgraduate number is low, but they don’t tend to stay in college during the day – they work more in their departments.  This is also true of many undergraduates, especially science and medical students.  If we were to carry out surveys in the future, we need to schedule some sessions after dinner when these students have returned from departments and lab sessions.

The main themes coming out of the responses were:
  • A sense of apathy in not reporting problems
  • Lack of awareness of what library resources there are
  • A marked difference of requirements and preferences between different subject areas
    
Apathy
This was perhaps the most striking and unexpected finding from our survey.  As we were asking about study spaces in general, this also included their accommodation, IT services, other libraries in Cambridge and public spaces.  What came out strongly was that the students were reluctant to complain about the problems they faced.  They either didn’t know they could or how to report things, got used to it or tried to fix the problems themselves. 

Students seemed more comfortable reporting library problems to library staff as we’re a visible presence within the library.  A couple of students did, however, touch on past experiences, tainting their willingness to approach a member of library staff if they needed some advice or were having problems.  These comments reflected what Bethany Sherwood had written back in February 2017 in her funny but very insightful blog about library (and other) anxiety: “To boldly go: empathy, library anxiety and & comfort thresholds” (https://whatsaclassmark.wordpress.com/2017/02/04/to-boldly-go-on-empathy-library-anxiety-comfort-thresholds/).It's very easy to forget that our own library functions seem obvious to us, but they are not obvious to a nervous 18 year old who is already coping with settling into a new city, and new life.  We need to provide the firm-but-kind advice so next time they will comfortably know how to carry out these actions independently and feel more confident using the library.

Lack of awareness of library resources available
Some students had decided to work elsewhere as they were unaware of the resources which could help them or make their environment more comfortable.  One student said she used to bring her own cushion to the library as she thought all the cushions already there belonged to other people, she didn’t know the library provided them.  Many commented that the library might not have the books relevant to their subject or enough copies, they were unaware or confused about what they could request to be purchased for the library.  Another student found it worrying coming down the stairs from the third floor but didn’t know we offered a fetching service.  We therefore need to consider how we promote these services to students and how we improve their awareness of what’s available.

Subject preferences and requirements
Being a college library, we support students from across all disciplines and requirements across subject areas naturally differ.  We noticed a marked difference of preferences and tastes between the subjects.  When asked what their favourite working space was, our library and libraries across Cambridge were chosen by many, and this was across all disciplines. 

We were interested in how the different disciplines used the library spaces.   The maths and law students relied heavily on electronic resources.  Development studies, economics and engineering students were the only ones who commented that, although they made good use of the library space, they didn’t use it much for the books.  ASNAC, law, English, history, classics, economics (i.e. social science and languages) students said they use the libraries book collection ‘heavily’, often choosing which library to work in depending on which had the more books available to their subject.  When asked about what they felt were the pros and cons of our (Murray Edwards College) library, the social sciences, languages, arts and humanities seemed to value ambiance and comfort (mentioning lighting, coloured cushions, DVDs, ‘jolly library’, nail art, radiators under tables, temperature being good, architecture, decoration, sofa area and the variety of table types to choose from).  On the other hand, the STEM subjects valued that it was a ‘useful’ space, the light in the IT suite, although it was mentioned various times by these subjects that it was a relaxing library.  All subjects valued the tea and coffee provided in the library, good lighting and the bookrests. 

When asked what they would suggest to improve our library space, again there seemed to be quite a marked difference between the two areas: the languages, arts and social sciences valuing comfort in the library (suggesting blankets, more cushions, lamps for the sofa area, more art); the STEM subjects requested specific software, less noise, whiteboards.  All suggested that the lighting be improved and a group study area added. 

We feel that as our sample survey was quite small we wish to see whether these patterns recur when we continue our surveys in the new academic year.

Positive outcomes
From a library point of view it was lovely to see that we are doing well as most comments were very positive. Students seem to genuinely enjoy spending time in our library, finding the environment comfortable, calming, “jolly”,  fun.  The surrounding gardens, with the water fountain, and the architecture of the library, create a space which is appreciated by many. 

Another good thing which came out of interviewing the students was the ability to alleviate problems and give advice about services at the time.




Moving forward….
We plan to liaise with the student committees in relation to the promotion and marketing of our services. As we no longer have a library committee we rely on social media and email to make students aware of what we offer but this could do with being backed up by the student reps themselves as most of our students check the JCR and MCR webpages. We need to consider whether we can establish a library working group from the student body or perhaps use focus groups to target specific issues.  Having said that we are lucky that our students when touring prospective students, do mention the library facilities and activities.


We need to keep an open dialogue with the students through existing pastoral activities, such as tea and coffee and our Easter Term new craft hour.

Kirstie Preest @kirstiewales and Samantha Percival @Samaanth70


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