![\"The](\"https:\/\/cdn.potomac.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/university-student-life.jpg\")
\u00a0 \u00a0 = <\/span><\/strong>\u00a0![\"Sun](\"https:\/\/t4.ftcdn.net\/jpg\/04\/65\/62\/29\/360_F_465622928_NnO2UeaEkEZMa17l6441LtcFYZ2vCK3q.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThese quotes illustrate to me a standout theme that seems to run through all the modules we\u2019ve explored in The Hyperlinked Library up so far: the importance of the library user.<\/strong> For libraries to succeed and retain a status of value and relevance, librarians need to prioritize user needs and desires above their own and adapt to meet them. This may mean making changes that librarians personally may not want, like, or approve of\u2014or, conversely, not<\/em> making changes that librarians personally want and think are important.<\/p>\n In thinking about how the academic library that I work in has taken a user centered approach, I identified two examples of ways where I believe we\u2019ve successfully prioritized users and implemented changes accordingly.<\/p>\n Physical Space While I and other colleagues have found it painful to relocate our offices and forgo our windows to the outside world, this change will serve our users better.<\/p>\n Technological Trends These changes came about because the library solicited feedback from users and examined usage data and took what was learned to implement positive changes, exactly as libraries should do. While this is admirable, upon reflection, these things occurred largely because the library had institutional priorities<\/em>\u2014using allocated renovation and collection money wisely and keeping up with technology trends\u2014that required<\/em> user input or aligned<\/em> with user needs. However, when these types of institutional priorities are not being considered, we have work to do in being user centered. Two examples highlight this.<\/p>\n Foreign Language Graded Reader Collections Intentional Interaction The readings and practical illustrations demonstrate that for a library to become hyperlinked and succeed, users must be the central focus in guiding the state of library collections, services, and strategies.<\/p>\n References<\/u><\/p>\n Denning, S. (2015, April 28). Do we need libraries? Forbes<\/em>. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevedenning\/2015\/04\/28\/do-we-need-libraries\/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Technology&linkId=13831539<\/a><\/p>\n Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0: A guide to participatory library service<\/em>. Information Today, Inc.<\/p>\n Schneider, K.G. (2006, June 3). The user is not broken: A meme masquerading as a manifesto. Free Range Librarian<\/em>. https:\/\/freerangelibrarian.com\/2006\/06\/03\/the-user-is-not-broken-a-meme-masquerading-as-a-manifesto\/<\/a><\/p>\n Stephens, M. (2006). Into a new world of librarianship: Sharpen these skills for Librarian 2.0. NextSpace, 2<\/em>, 8. https:\/\/www.oclc.org\/content\/dam\/oclc\/publications\/newsletters\/nextspace\/nextspace_002.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe user is the sun\u201d and \u201cYou cannot change the user, but you can transform the user experience to meet the user.\u201d (Schneider, 2006) \u201cOld or new, the ultimate success of any service is determined by the library user.\u201d (Casey & Savastinuk, 2007) \u00a0\u201cHow can we delight our users and customers?\u201d (Denning, 2015) \u201cLibrarian 2.0, … Continue reading Assignment X: The Importance of Users<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":848,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Active](\"https:\/\/files.lib.byu.edu\/services\/experiential-studio\/ActiveClassroom.jpg\")
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ![\"prototyping](\"http:\/\/files.lib.byu.edu\/services\/experiential-studio\/PrototypingAreaView1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>My library is currently undergoing a 10-year internal renovation (of which we\u2019re on about year 7). Several changes have been made to the physical space to meet users\u2019 needs including the relocation of offices on each floor to a central area. This relocation:<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n<\/span>In the past 10 years, the library has kept pace with technological trends. We have become an \u201ce-book preferred\u201d institution, leading to a substantial increase in books purchased in electronic format and digital resources. The following spaces were also added:<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Japanese](\"https:\/\/files.tofugu.com\/japanese-learning-resources-database\/level-betsu-nihongo-tadoku-library-nihongo-yomuyomu-bunko\/level-betsu-nihongo-tadoku-library-nihongo-yomuyomu-bunko.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/u>According to colleagues who have been here much longer than I have, users have been asking for dedicated collections of foreign graded readers for language learning for years<\/em>. Due to a variety of reasons, including our institution\u2019s preference for e-books and reluctance to create dedicated spaces, these requests were disregarded by upper management. But, after a colleague\u2019s continued, yearslong advocacy, an Asian languages\u00a0graded reader collection was finally created one year ago. It has been so successful that now others are being created. If the library had prioritized the user\u2019s needs and wants when they were initially identified, regardless of the traditional format and the space concerns, this success could have happened years ago.<\/p>\n
\n<\/u>The location of the library I work in is the heart of the university campus. As such, we have a real opportunity to draw in and engage with our primary users (students) in intentional and interactive ways. While librarians regularly interact with students in library instruction sessions and reference appointments, outside of these, the library does little to intentionally interact with users. The library rarely hosts activities or events; those that it does are often tailored to a specific subset of users. The library rarely solicits feedback; when it does, it is on specific and predetermined issues that meet current administration concerns. If we genuinely want to understand and connect with users, we need to intentionally engage with students through events and requests\/avenues for all types of input. Although this will require extra work, effort, and expense, this intentional interaction will help the library become the true<\/em> heart of campus.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/linkinlibrary\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/574\/2026\/06\/AdobeStock_316777582-300x300.jpeg\")
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