I've worked at numerous places in the past few years:

1. Dedicated Designer + UX person (non-librarian, large academic library).
The web team consisted of 4-5 people, one of which was solely dedicated to
design (including graphics design), user interface, and user experience. It
made a really big difference to the look of the website and doing actual
user testing.

2. I was the acting web services librarian and it was just one component of
my job (in a medium sized, bordering on large academic library). I
unfortunately rarely had time to do as much user testing as I would've
liked, but set aside time for it. The library also has a web committee
which would provide staff input, and a student advisory committee exists to
provide feedback (in general, though I took over one of their meetings to
focus on the website).

3. There is a dedicated User Experience librarian (in a small-ish college
library), however, this is user experience in general, including the
physical library. Currently, this means that she is too busy to really
focus on the website because she takes care of the learning commons and
other aspects of user experience. To provide a bit more context though, the
website is in an IT controlled CMS, so not a huge amount of customization
can be done.

4. In my current organization, there are 2 librarians, so there is no room
for dedicated positions and I'll be in charge of the website and any user
experience/user testing, which will simply have to be done on an as needed
basis.

If you can have it, a specific person tends to work better whether it's
full time or part of a full time position depends on how much work you
think is needed. If you have a team where there are programmers already, I
would suggest focusing on the design/creativity/architecture side of things
with technical know how (but not necessarily a "coder"). It also seems to
work best if they reside in the systems/IT team, but working closely with
other staff.

As to qualifications, the only thing I might add to Shaun's list is
universal design & accessibility.


On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 11:15 AM, Notess, Mark <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> We are spinning up a UX team at IU Bloomington Libraries—below is the
> current opening for the initial hire. More are anticipated. As library
> collections and services move increasingly online, we need to invest in the
> kind of staffing needed to create successful online experiences.
>
> We did formerly have a usability specialist, but we haven't had a
> dedicated team. The team will provide internal consulting to technology
> projects.
>
> Mark
> --
> Mark Notess
> Head, User Experience and Digital Media Services
> Library Technologies
> Indiana University Bloomington Libraries
> +1.812.856.0494
> [log in to unmask]
> --
>
> User Experience Designer
> Rank: PAE-3IT
> Position#: 00039047
> List #: 9631
> FTE: 100%
>
> Job Summary: Provides interaction design consulting services to key
> technology-based projects. Works with stakeholders across IU Bloomington
> Libraries’ departments to understand requirements in order to design
> web-based user interfaces, mobile user interfaces, and online visual
> elements. Performs usability testing and ensures accessibility of services.
>
> Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in a user experience discipline such as
> human-computer interaction design, interaction design, or related field and
> two years of experience in interface and visual design (as demonstrated by
> a portfolio) or a related professional position required.
>
> An equivalent combination of related education, training, and experience
> from which comparable skills can be acquired may be considered at a 2:1
> ratio.
>
> Experience with interaction design, visual design, web design, mobile
> design; demonstrated experience with the relevant interaction and visual
> design tools (Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent); and demonstrated
> experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Excellent oral, written, and
> interpersonal communication skills.
>
> Knowledge of and experience with academic libraries or higher education
> work environments preferred.
>
> Note: Submit a letter of interest and resume that provides evidence of the
> qualifications outlined and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of at
> least three references that can comment about your qualifications for the
> position.
> ________________________________________
> Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
> committed to excellence through diversity. Indiana University has a strong
> commitment to principles of diversity and in that spirit seeks a broad
> spectrum of candidates including women, minorities, and persons with
> disabilities. Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
> Employer and encourages applications from candidates with diverse cultural
> backgrounds.
>
> For more information about Indiana University-Bloomington go to
> www.iub.edu <http://www.iub.edu/>.
>
> To browse other open staff positions at Indiana University, please go to
> https://jobs.iu.edu <https://jobs.iu.edu/>
>
>
>
>
> On 10/30/13 11:24 AM, "Andrew Darby" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:
> [log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> Hello, all.  This is perhaps a bit off-topic, but I was wondering how many
> of you have a dedicated usability person as part of your development team.
> Right now, we have a sort of ad hoc Usability Team, and I'd like to make a
> pitch for hiring someone who will have the time and inclination to manage
> this effort more effectively.
>
> Anything you'd care to share (on-list or off-) would be welcome.  I'm
> especially curious about whether or not this is a full-time responsibility
> for someone in your organization or if it's shared with another job
> function; if you find this position is working out well or you wish you'd
> spent the money on more robots instead; where this person resides in your
> org chart; what sort of qualifications you looked for when hiring; etc.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew
>
> --
> Andrew Darby
> Head, Web & Emerging Technologies
> University of Miami Libraries
>