UGA Usability Study: StackMap a Success!

The University of Georgia implemented StackMap back in 2019, and since then, they’ve noticed a renewed interest in the library experience. User Experience Librarian, Chandler Christoffel, explains how StackMap helps patrons who previously felt intimidated by libraries to feel comfortable and excited to explore the shelves. He also shared a StackMap usability study the library conducted in Fall 2021. Some insights from the study are below.

I think I was a little skeptical of StackMap initially. I had concerns that we were just adding another classification system on top of our existing one and it would make things more confusing. I thought it was going to be one more button, one more thing for users to have to think about. But what the usability surveys showed me is that it’s a very intuitive tool that students can grasp pretty quickly. 

One thing that happens a lot is users get intimidated by the library. It’s interesting because we try so hard to promote library services and make them more available, but some of our unintentionally poor design ends up intimidating users. The unintentional message is ‘stay away,’ or ‘this isn’t for you.’ We make it unintentionally hard to get access, so any tool that clears that hurdle has an impact on other library services.

I’m seeing time and again undergrads and even grad students who very rarely — if ever —get a physical book. It’s not something they’re in the habit of doing. A lot of users don’t even really explore the collections because they may only use the library for study space, they’re unfamiliar about how to locate books, or the demand isn’t quite there. But I do find that once they start exploring and seeing all the amazing stuff they have access to, they’ll make more of a habit of using it. So I think sometimes, getting over that hump to actually get users to see what we have is really big, and I think StackMap helps us get over that hurdle with a lot of users.

StackMap removes a lot of barriers to access: architecture and signage. I think that when things are easier for them [students], they’re more likely to come back and feel welcome and wanted. If they feel like we’re meeting them halfway to improve their experience, then that resonates.

—    Chandler Christoffel, User Experience Librarian, University of Georgia