Lessons From a UX Librarian

As I’m beginning my new role with Ad Hoc after 19 years at the University of Arizona Libraries, I recently published this article in Medium: What I’ve Learned as a UX Librarian: 19 lessons over 19 years at an academic library.

Here’s the abbreviated list:

1. Decision making needs to be clear
2. Leadership needs to be on board
3. UX can influence culture and should inform strategy
4. Students should be on our teams
5. UX requires research, design, and content
6. Content strategy is critical
7. Web writing matters
8. Usability testing pays off
9. Internal-facing UX is good, too
10. We need allies and champions
11. Assessment and UX work should be aligned
12. Marketing and UX should collaborate
13. We should make it fun
14. We need to work with the implementers
15. Research can be lightweight
16. We should democratize UX (to a point)
17. Patience is key
18. We need to adapt and iterate
19. We should prioritize what matters most

I’d love to hear from others what resonates and what I might have missed, either in comments here or on the Medium post!