The article by Manzari and Trinidad-Christensen starts out by describing what the LIS website originally looked like at the C.W Post campus at Long Island University. The site was used by masters and doctoral students in library science at the university. The website started out basic and was not particularly liked by anyone who used it. A new incoming librarian decided to change the website and make it more user-centered. The website was redesigned and testing was done to see how the new website worked for the users. A problem I have here is that the website was redone without any input from others beforehand. If this was done then some problems that occurred after wards could have not been problems at all. Although I think websites are probably always going to be works in progress and the final design did feature an online survey to see how users like or disliked the changed. “The Web site for the LIS library includes: access to all online databases and journals related to LIS; a general overview of the LIS library and its resources as well as contact information, hours, and staff; a list of all print and online LIS library journal subscriptions, grouped by both title and subject, with links to access the online journals; links to other Web sites in the LIS field; links to other university Web pages, including the main library’s home page, library catalog, and instructions for remote database access, as well as to the LIS school Web site; a link to JAKE (Jointly Administered Knowledge Environment), a project by Yale University that allows users to search for periodical titles within online databases, since the library did not have this type of access through its own software”(Manzari and Trinidad-Christensen, 2006). This quote shows the improvements to the website that were made.
The final design seemed to be liked by most, however, there were some areas that could have been improved. One of these was moving from the main library site to the LIS specific site. Another was trying to find a balance on the site for new students and advanced students. Overall, it seems like the new changes to the website were good ones with only a few problems. I like the idea of a librarian designing a page for LIS students but as I stated earlier input could be done beforehand to help out with the design.

The article by Lowe and Cummings begins by talking about the need for user-centered spaces in libraries because other spaces are becoming user-centered. Coffee shops and bookstores are sometimes more user-centered and attractive than libraries. “One fact is clear: To retain current users and attract more, libraries must become places users want to be, not a means to an end” (Lower and Cummings, 2009). This quote helps to show why libraries need to become more user-centered. The Swilley Library on Mercer University's Atlanta campus serves 2,000 students and the article focuses on this library. An online study and two focus groups were done to understand the users' needs. Four colleges were also visited to see what they had done to be more user-centered and staff at these libraries were also talked to. Some ideas that were received from vising these libraries include allowing furniture to be moved to fit students needs, not getting mad at seeing furniture not returned to how it was, electrical outlets everywhere possible, and allowing a space for students to talk to each other. Some ideas that were implemented were buying used furniture and making sure its lightweight so as to allow students to easily move it, decorative pillows and repainting areas, and allow some food and drink into the library. The library did not have enough money for a full service coffee shop but had a single drip coffee station with a cup costing $1. A comments section was put into the new area to allow students to write how they felt about the changes. 

Overall, most of the comments were positive ones. I liked this article very much because it shows how a small library on a tight budget can make changes that improve the library for its users. Buying used furniture that was still in good condition was a good idea, and I am also much in favor of allowing some food and drink into the library. Some people end up sneaking food in anyways so this allows them to feel more comfortable with bringing a snack to study. Plenty of people also drink coffee when studying, so selling coffee at the library makes sense. I think this article was very interesting, and I hope to see more of what user-centered libraries will look like in the future.

References:

Lowe, L. L., & Cummings, R. (2009). Small Spaces, Small Budget, Big Results: Creating a User- centered Learning Space on a Budget. Georgia Library Quarterly, 46(1), 18-21.

Manzari, L., & Trinidad-Christensen, J. (2006). User-Centered Design of a Web Site for Library and Information Science Students: Heuristic Evaluation and Usability Testing. Information Technology & Libraries, 25(3), 163-169.

This is my blog for SLIS 4630 class.  The idea behind user-centered spaces is to meet the needs of the user.  For libraries this means designing physical spaces geared for users of the library or web sites geared to be easy for users to navigate.  Sometimes these can be as simple as repainting or rearranging a room and sometimes they can be overhauls of the whole library.  For this project I have chosen to review two articles about user centered spaces in libraries.  My next post will be the reviews of these articles.