Uncovering Stories

Michael LascaridesUser Analyst, Digital Experience Group

New York Public Library

September 22, 2009

twitter: @mlascarides

The future is calling...

The future is calling...

...from inside the

building!!!

“Digital User Analyst”

“Digital User Analyst”

Digital

Physical

“digital collections”

“People will be reading

[Neuromancer] to get

their heads around a day

when the digital was

thought of as being a

some small part of the

world.”William Gibson, on his coining of the term “cyberspace”

http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail389.html

87% of all catalog

visits come from

offsite

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?imageID=805999

Nobody wants a

half-inch drill bit.

What does it mean to

run a library in a

world of information

superabundance?

“The Net interprets

censorship as

damage and routes

around it.”-- John Gilmore, 1993

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Gilmore

The Web interprets

bad design as

damage and routes

around it.

The 2009 version:

The Web interprets

bad user experience

as damage and routes

around it.

The Web interprets a

bad social interaction

as damage and routes

around it.

The bad news:

People would rather

pay for a good

experience than

endure a bad one for

free

A brand is a promise

of performance

“„Books‟ is the

library brand”

OCLC : Perceptions of Libraries and Information Services 2008

The good news:

People would rather

have for a good

experience for free

than pay for one

At least we‟re not

alone• Broadcast Media

• Newspapers

• Magazines

• The Music Industry

• Textbook Publishers

• Academic Journals

• Universities

So, why libraries?

Stories

Access and services

Love of books

Love of music

Love of film

Love of theatre

Love of learning

“My wife says I am married to my art, but my art complains that I am still sleeping with my wife.”

-- EMEK

http://www.juxtapoz.com/Features/back-talk-with-emek

Two emotional

journeys

OK, Let‟s try that

again

Same physical

experience,

two emotional

perspectives

Emotions are at the

core of the library

experience

No one forces you go

to the library

We‟re elective

Librarians are the

original search

engines

Libraries are

“third places”

Libraries are engines

for letting

communities find

each other

Things you can do.

Today.

For free.

1. Spend a day

watching your

patrons

“You can observe a

lot by watching.”-- Yogi Berra

(Breaking the system

and fixing the system

are two different jobs)

2. Google Analytics

3. Twitter search

4. Look at what‟s on

every screen

in your library

Instructions are

signals of design

failureTip o’ the hat to William McDonough

5. Send user

feedback to your

software vendors

Your patrons are

not stupid

None of your patrons

like to feel stupid

“If you have trouble with

the concept of humility in

design, remember that it

took us 5,000 years to put

wheels on our luggage.”William McDonough

Self-promotion Bonus

Round: Infomaki

6. Decide what

metrics measure your

success

NYPL Digital Gallery

2009 Redesign

• Pages Per Visit: 13 Down 26.09%

• Average Time On Site: 5:11

Down 17.83%

Conclusion: Success!

NYPL Digital Gallery

2009 Redesign

• Total Visits: 879,307 Up 62.5%

• Pageviews: 11.5M Up 20.2%

• Traffic from Search Engines Up

34.5%

How long should

a web visit be ?

7a. List the things

that make your library

unique

(There‟s always

your staff)

7b. Write down 10

things your patrons

are passionate about

(Ask your staff.

They will know.)

1. Audience

2. Services

3. Words

8. Start blogging

about those things

9. Share content

10. Play, especially

with

the line between

online and physical

11. Steal an idea

http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/09/15/museum-software-elevator-pitch/

Capitalize on the

warm fuzzy feelings

12. Look for stories in

your search terms

What‟s the most

popular search term

on nypl.org?

[second level]

[pics]

Finally:

Don‟t forget the

basics

We have about

10 years

[demographic curve]

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uspop.svg

[demographic curve]

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uspop.svg

Grew up with personal computers

Always had the World Wide Web

Always had media abundance (The iPod

generation)

Source: NYPL Infomaki survey July 2009

“This is something

four-year-olds know:

a screen that ships

without a mouse

ships broken.”

-- Clay Shirky

Have empathy.

Thank You!

Michael LascaridesUser Analyst, Digital Experience Group

New York Public Library

September 22, 2009

twitter: @mlascarides