2018 Charleston Library Conference

User experience and assessment activities are essential for academic libraries and other information organizations to effectively serve their users, but LIS students may not receive the necessary preparation for this kind of work in a standard Master's degree program. Creating an educational program to assure that information professionals attain expertise in these areas presents unique challenges and provides rewards for individual students and the information profession. This session focuses on a specialized program, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which supplemented an existing Master’s program with curricular and co-curricular experiences to provide participants with mentoring, on-site practicum experience, and specialized skills. In May 2018, twelve Library and Information Sciences Masters students completed the American Library Association-accredited degrees with specializations in User Experience and Assessment. Six of the twelve students focused on UX and Assessment in academic library settings, while the other six explored these topics in organizations other than traditional libraries, including government agencies and a large media corporation.

This presentation describes the program from beginning to end, providing attendees with insights into the process of submitting an education-focused proposal for funding, developing a recruitment timeline and strategies, and designing the formal curricular and multifaceted extra-curricular program. Presenters will include representatives from all aspects of the program, including faculty principal investigators, program staff, librarian on-site mentors and practicum supervisors, and recently graduated participant students, who have just begun their own professional careers. Collaboration between the home university’s LIS and library faculty was an essential component of the program’s success, and the presenters will also touch on this topic.

This session will be relevant to those interested in user experience and assessment in academic libraries and other types of settings, mentoring graduate students, LIS curriculum, and the professional development of early-career librarians, especially those in functional specializations.