The aim of this master’s study is to contribute to the knowledge base about the phenomenon User Experience (UX) in libraries. That leads to the following research questions: How is UX defined in the analyzed literature? Based on the analyzed literature, which UX methods can be used in libraries? According to the analyzed literature, which problems can UX solve in libraries? A handbook, a book chapter, a blog article, an article in a professional journal, and an article in a scholarly journal get studied in a qualitative content analysis with a discursively oriented theoretical approach. UX in libraries is defined as user-centered method, and it is not an academic discipline. In libraries is UX a combination of UX research and design, UX is based on empathy, and it makes library services, spaces and products usable, useful, and desirable. All five analyzed documents used a positive tone when they described UX in libraries. Moreover, I found three narratives in the texts. The authors treat UX as “a new thing in libraries”, write that UX “works out”, and say that UX is for all users. I could identify the following UX methods in the empirical material: behavioral mapping, cognitive mapping, semi-structured interviews, touchstone tours, as well as graffiti walls, love and break-up letters, observations, photo studies, surveys, usability testing, and user journey mapping. I could find three problem areas where UX can solve problems in libraries. The first problem area was called digital library space. According to the analyzed text documents, UX can solve problems with library homepages, mobile websites, library catalogues, and discovery systems for a better information seeking. The second problem area was the physical library space. UX methods can be applied to improve the room and building design in libraries, the library layout, library access, and navigation in the library. The last problem area was called library products and services. There, UX can solve problems with communication, library use, and activities in the library. I realised in the analysis that UX in libraries cannot change politics or the organizational structure of a library.

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This case study investigated how to evaluate users’ experiences with physical products with a small sample size in a reliable way and how to provide actionable insights for future decisions about design and practice. Through an improving case study performed in collaboration with ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, this study specifically focused on interactions with locks. Three major activities were performed and used to investigate how to conduct usability tests with a small sample size and to explore possible measures that can help increase reliability. Altogether 13 participants participated in this case study through two sets of tests and one final workshop. These activities had the purpose to investigate, to suggest and to evaluate how to best capture users’ experiences with locks using Single-Ease Question, Nasa Task Load Index instrument and Product Reaction Cards. The results showed that there are many different measures to apply to increase reliability in test design whilst using a small sample size, for example to mix methods and to counterbalance, both metrics and tasks, to both deepen the understanding of the experiences and to decrease the risks of possible biases. Further results also showed that qualitative and quantitative methods provide different insights about user’s experiences with respect to detailed and general knowledge respectively. It also showed that a combination of the two provides deeper insights than what one method provides alone and that they help validate individual findings.

UX is a discipline which is gaining attraction and simultaneously changing. This study takes an exploratory approach into how UX practitioners adapt to this young and changing industry. The implications of this helps us understand their reality as well as potential areas for further research. To do this, data was collected in the form of interviews from working practitioners within the field and interpreted with thematic analysis. The contribution from analyzing the data revealed that UX practitioners are adapting by seeking knowledge from peers and other non-academic sources such as webinars and conferences, and they use this to adapt both to their environment as well as potential future areas. Other findings were the limitations in practice that UX practitioners struggle with on a day-to-day basis, and that these limitations could have a potential impact on why they seek knowledge.