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Library Research and Publications ACU Faculty and Staff Research and Publications

2016

UXperimentation: The Library as Design StudioJohn B. Weaver DrAbilene Christian University

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Recommended CitationWeaver, John B. Dr, "UXperimentation: The Library as Design Studio" (2016). Library Research and Publications. Paper 9.http://digitalcommons.acu.edu/library_pub/9

UXperimentation:TheLibraryasDesignStudioPresentationatAnnualConferenceofTheAmericanTheologicalLibraryAssociation

LongBeach,CAJune17,2016

JohnB.WeaverAbileneChristianUniversity

Theformandfunctionoflibraryservicesistodayinastateofflux.Librariesthatarenotrapidlychangingtheirservicestoaddressnewrealitiesinuniversitybudgets,scholarlycommunications,andinformationmediaareinsteadeitherbeingreducedorfacingreductionwiththenextregimechangeattheleveloflibrarydirectororVPofAcademics.Librariesthatarechanginginordertomaintainresourcesandimpactwithintheirinstitutionsfacethedauntingquestionofhowtoredeployresourcesinwaysthataresensitivetolocalneedsandbroaderprofessionaltrends.Thefocusofmypaperisonepossibleavenuefordeploymentoflibraryresourcesthatareredirectedfromactivitiesthatareoutsourcedore-sourcedatlowercost(e.g.,LMSsupport,roomreservation,andcataloging),orotherwiserenderedobsolete(e.g.,periodicalscheck-in,computer-labmonitoring,andsomeformsofresearch/referencesupport).

Thepurposeofmypaperistoargueforthedevelopmentoflibrariesasacademicinnovationcentersanddesignstudiosoncampus.Iwillarguesthatthesebusinessmodelsshoulduniquelyconnectresearchandinstructionaldesigninourlibrariestocreatedesired,predictable,andconsistentuserexperiencesamongstudents,faculty,andothertargetaudiences.

Hereisthecentralproblemthatlibrariesneedtoaddress:atmanyofourschoolsinavarietyofacademicprograms,thedesignofourinstructionandresearchisoftendisconnectedfromaneededordesirableuserexperience.Thisdisconnectionismultifaceted.Thereisdisconnectionfrom:1)otherdisciplinesandperspectivesoutsideaspecificacademicdepartment,2)realworldchallengesandquestions,3)otherpeoplewhoareneededasinterlocutorsandcollaborators,and,4)disconnectionfromtheneedsofusersofteachingandresearch,especiallytheirneedsandcapacitiesforunderstanding.

Amongtheexamplesofthisdisconnectionistheproverbial“deathbyPowerpoint”thatisstillcommonplaceinacademia.Thepresentationofresearchinclassesandconferencesoftenexhibitadisregardforthecognitiveloadthattheyplaceonusers,especiallythroughovercrowdingofpresentationslides.

Academicadministratorsarenotimmunefrompoorvisualcommunication,andourfaculty’sresearchreportsaresometimesnotmuchbetter,decipherable,perhaps,onlytothemostinitiated.

Weinhighereducationmighttakesolaceinthefactthatwearenotaloneinthepoorvisualcommunication.Newsorganizations,forexample,arenotimmunetobroadcastingpoorlydesignedandmisleadinggraphics.II.TheResearchandInstructionalDesignProcess,RevisitedAllofourschoolshavemoreorlesseffectiveprocessesinplaceforsupportingthedesignofresearchandinstructionbyprovidingdataandinformationresources,which,inturn,supportpracticesofteachingandresearchthatproduceacademiccoursesandresearchpresentations.Wehaveinplaceprocessesofdatacuration,learningmanagement,courseevaluation,learningmetricsthatareintendedtobetterinformwhatshouldbeaniterativeprocessofinstructionalandresearchdesign.Myquestionishowwecanenhancethisprocess,especiallywithaviewtouserexperience.

Inlibraries,intheareaofeducationaltechnology,intensefocushasbeenplacedinrecentyearsonthebottomarrowinthefigureabove,thatofleveragingdigitaldataandmultimediainformationforbetterlearningandresearchoutcomes.

Extensivetimeandlargeamountsofmoneyandprimeuniversityspacehavebeengiventothequestionsofhowdigitalpedagogiesofblendedlearning,flippedlearning,activelearning(suchasthroughmobiledevices),andmassiveonlinelearningcoursescancreateadesirablelearningexperienceforstudents,whilemeetingtheinstitutionalobjectivesofourschools.Inresearch,theriseofdigitaldatahastransformedthescholarlyinputandoutputofmanyourfaculty.Increasinglylibrariesareaddressingassetmanagement,especiallyfromthestandpointofcollectingandcuratingdataforanalysis.Soweseetheriseofinstitutionalrepositories,amongotherstrategies.Indigitalscholarship,werecognizetheimportanceofcomputationofdata.Bigdata,whetherbigthroughvolume,velocity,orimportance,isincreasinglyimportanttoourschools.Scholarsandstudentsbothareemphasizingpracticesofanalyzingandvisualizingdata,suchasthatproducedbytheHubbletelescope,whichtransmitsabout140gigabitsofrawsciencedataeveryweek.Onerealizationisthatvisualizationisinterpretation,whichmustframethedatafromadifferentperspective,suchtheinfraredspectrum,inordertobringnewinsightsintoview.Orthedataissobigandcomplex,suchasinthehumangenomeprojectanditsmappingofmostofthehumangenome’sthreebillionbasepairs,thatnewmodelsandparadigmsofvisualizationmustbecreated.Notonlyinthenaturalsciences,butinthehumanities,arts,andsocialsciences,thequantityandcomplexityofdataisproducingnewchallengesindatastorage,analysis,andmanagement,(thelibraryofCongressstillhasnotbeenabletomakeitsdatastoreofTwitterdataavailabletothepublic),butisalsoallowingscholarstoaskandanswernewtypesofquestionsaboutthehumancondition—questionsbothprofoundandsomewhatprofane(e.g.,themappingofswearwordsusedintheUSAathttps://flowingdata.com/2015/07/17/swear-maps/).ThecentralimportanceofGeographicInformationSystemstothescholarlyandpedagogicaltasksdataisevidentbytheinvestmentsinGISdataonourcampus,andisenablingnewfieldsofinquiryandinsight,suchasthecircumstancesofHolocaustsurvivorsinthedaysoftheirevacuationfromconcentrationcampsduringthebrutalwintermonthbeforeliberationbytheRussiansinlateJanuary1945.Inadditiontodatavisualization,themediaofvideoisenablingfacultytosharetheirresearchdatainincreasinglyaccessibleandcompellingways,suchasscholarlystorytellingaboutresearch,whichallowscomplexideastobesharedwithstudentsandotheraudiencesinanimmediateway.Forexample,atAbileneChristianUniversity,facultymembersaresupportedinthecreationofvideostocommunicatetheirresearchfindings,e.g.,thedigitalstorybyAbileneChristianUniversity(ACU)LiteratureProfessor,LauraCarroll,athttps://vimeo.com/127084149.Animportantdriverforthisbigdataandotherdigitalscholarshipandteachingarefederalrequirementsandrepositoriesfordata(e.g,.data.gov),which,amongother

thingsisproducinganewbreedofdatastorytellingthatcancommunicatepowerfulnarrativesaboutouruniverseandourhumanexperiencethroughgraphicalrepresentationsofinformation(e.g.,theNYTimesproject“AHistoryoftheDetaineePopulation”atprojects.nytimes.com/guantanamo).III.InnovationinPhysicalLibrarySpacesThesetrendsindigitalscholarshiparereshapingtheplacesandpracticesofourcollegesanduniversities.Theriseofnewcentersfordigitalscholarship,(seeJoanLippincott,“TrendsinDigitalScholarshipCenters,”EducauseReview,June16,2014),ofteninourlibraries,isarelativelynewdevelopmentinaseriesoftransformations,thatbeganwithcomputerlabsandlearningcommons,evolvedintomediastudios,suchastheAT&TLearningStudioatACU(http://blogs.acu.edu/learningstudio),andaremovingintonewtypesofcreativityspaces(e.g.,theCreativityStudioatNCSULibrary),includingvisualizationlabs(e.g.,CURVEatGeorgiaState),ordataandvisualizationlabs,suchas“TheEdge”recentlyconstructedatDukeUniversity.Theriseofdigitaldatahas,ofcourse,beendrivenbyadvancesincomputingsoftwareandhardware,includingdigitalfabricationtools,whichhaveinpartpushedtotheforethepossibilityofconstructionistlearning,learningbymakingordoing,inourcurriculaandthespacesandpersonnelthatsupportthem.Coupledwithprinciplesofdesignthinking,thishasledtothecreationofMakerspaces(e.g.,http://blogs.acu.edu/makerlab/)onanumberofuniversitycampuses,whichprototypeproducts,oftenwithaviewtothemarketplaceanduserexperience.Likeourmedialabs,thesemakerspacesincreasinglyutilizecreativesoftwaretodrivetoolslikelasercuttersandCNCrouters,whichallowforrapidfabrication,andteachourstudentshowtofailfast,totrytocreatemeaningfulproductsfromthestart,andtoinnovateearlyintheirprogramofstudy,notonlyattheend.Ourstudentsalsolearnhowtodesignproductsthatareresponsivetotheirenvironments,includingdevicesthathelptoaddresschallengesandsolveproblems,suchasrecentproductsintheACUMakerLab,e.g.,akeyboardforwheelchairsandatherapeuticfootroller(https://vimeo.com/126307668).III.InnovationinDigitalLibrarySpacesTheincreasingemphasisoncomputationalmethodsanddigitalcreativityistransformingnotonlyphysicallibraryspaces,butalsothedigitalspacescreatedand/orlicensedbylibraries.Creativeandanalyticalsoftwareisincreasinglyimportantforresearchandteachingonourcampuses,andthereisneedtodemocratizeaccessandencouragenewliteraciesforouremergingdigitalculture.Forexample,AdobeCreativeCloudtools(www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html)providefacultyandstudentswithcollaborativeaccesstothedesignandvisualizationtoolsthatareincreasinglyimportanttoeffectivecommunicationthroughimages,sounds,videos,andwebsites.

AtACU,thelibraryhasledintheuniversitylicensingofAdobeCreativeCloudforallstudents,andpresentstoeveryincomingstudentabouttheimportanceoflearningtoolsandprocessesfordigitalcreativity.Inthisway,thelibraryisbecomingadesignstudio,focusedoninformationandideas,yes,butfocusedontheircollaborativeillumination,presentation,anditeration,asinadesignstudio’smethodology.Thekeygrowthinthelibrary’sroleistofocusmoreonthedigitalpresentationofteachingandresearchthroughcreativetools,likeAdobeIllustrator,EdgeAnimate,andPremierePro.Weareseeingthegrowthofacottageindustrysupportingtheuseofcreativesoftwaretorepresentresearchdataandotherinformationthroughgraphicalandpictorial.Lookedintheaggregate,thedigitalspacesofthelibraryaremovingtowardanmoreseamlessandmorepurposefulintegrationoftoolsfordatamanagement,dataanalysis,andthedigitalexperienceoftheusersofthisanalysis,whoareoftenourstudents,otherfaculty,orinterestedmembersofourcommunities,likechurchleaders.Thereisagrowingabilityofstudentsandfacultytocreateadigitalexperienceoftheirteachingandresearchthatgoesbeyondwordsandthatfocusesevenmoreontheuserexperienceofteachingandresearch.

Librarieshavelongfocusedonresearchasuserexperience,e.g.,inourfocusonresearcher’suseofstandardbibliographiccitationstyles,aswellasourfocusonauthoritativeandreliablesources.Nowasthedataourstudentsandfacultyuseandcreatebecomesmorecomplex,andashumanpatternsofcommunicationshiftbacktothevisual,thegraphicrepresentationofresearchdataisbecomingan

increasinglyimportantskillforlibrarianstolearn,teach,andsupportthroughthedigitaltoolstheyprovide,toolslikeAdobeCreativeCloud.IV.TheLibraryasDesignStudioBeyondtheLearningCommons,MediaLabs,andeventheDigitalScholarshipCenters,whatweareseeingistheriseofprocessesandpracticesindigitalteachingandresearchthatemphasizebothresearchdesignandgraphicdesignaskeycomponents.Thisfocusondesignisnecessitatedbothbytheincreasingquantityandcomplexityofinformation(designhelpstofocusandorder),andtheincreasingabilitytodiscoverrapidlyinformationandtomodelanexpressionofthatinformation(designhelpstoilluminateaproblemandtorapidlyprototypeasolution).Forexample,astudent’sabilitytodiscoverandtoseektoaddresstherootcausesofpovertyinhercommunityisnowpossibleatanunprecedentedlevel.Thisisduetoherabilitytoarticulateanenterprisingresearchgoalwithaclearfocusontheneedsofauserandtocollectandanalyzedataonpovertythatcanbepowerfullycommunicatedthroughvisualmediainwaysthatotherscanseeandacton.Inlargepart,theseareabilitiesenabledbytheservicesandresourcesthatlibrariesareincreasinglyabletoprovide.Theseabilitiesarealsoskillsthatourschoolsareincreasinglypressingourstudentstohave.Thesearepedagogicalprinciplesweregularlyhearorreiterate:theabilitytolearnbybeingchallenged,tolearnbyfindingandinterpretingdata,tolearnbymakingsomething(experientiallearning),tolearnwithyouroutcomeoruserinmind,andtolearnbyandwithothers(collaborative).AsinaDesignStudiomethodology,studentsinourschoolsandlibrariesarelearningtoapproachresearchtopicsasachallengeor“problemspace”thattheyquicklyilluminate,sketch,present,critique,anditerateinacollaborativeandvisuallyorientedway.Whenweimagineourfuturelibrary—thelabsandservicesthatwillsupportthismethodology—thereareatleasttenprinciplesthatshouldguidetheirformation:

1. Provisionofpara-curricularservice,withdeepcurricularintegration2. Cultivationofteamsthatarechallenge-focusedandhyper-collaborative3. Operationbyprofessionalstaff,withexpertiseinprojectmanagement,data

services,educationaltechnology,anddigitaldesign4. Hostingoffacultymentorsandstudentleaders5. Supportofacommoncoreofdigitalanalysisanddesigntools6. Pursuitofacademicmissionwithdualfocusonresearchandteaching7. SupportforDataManagement,DataPreservation,andDataSharing8. FocusonUserExperience,bringinginsightsandinnovatorsintoviewonWeb9. Engagedincommunityandglobally10. Developmentofenterprisingandentrepreneurialpractices

AtACU,thismodeloflibrarylabistakingshapeintheformofanewspaceandservicecalledthe“InnovationFoundry.”Thenatureofthisprototypeandtheinitialresultsofitsoperationareastoryforanotherday.