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Understanding international users' library experience in the Digital Age – joining the behavioral and experiential aspects

Fu, Yaming; Lomas, Elizabeth; Inskip, Charles; Bunn, Jenny; (2022) Understanding international users' library experience in the Digital Age – joining the behavioral and experiential aspects. Journal of Documentation 10.1108/jd-02-2022-0035. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze and understand international users' library experience in the Digital Age in order to inform library service design and ensure it provides an inclusive environment. In this study, the behavioral and experiential aspects of user library experience are merged to develop essential interconnections between information behavior (IB) and user experience (UX) in the context of the academic library with the goal of constructing a more holistic understanding of ‘library experience. Design/methodology/approach: The study was built on the concept “library experience” through analyzing its essential components of IB and UX. It was developed through findings from mixed methods research, consisting of the quantitative investigation from a library log analysis, and qualitative investigations via cognitive mapping exercises and semi-structured interviews, both targeted on the largest single group of international students in United Kingdom – international Chinese students. Findings: The findings demonstrated the complexity and multilayered characteristics of international Chinese students' library context, and three unique contexts emerged from the data shaping their library experience. Building on the previous findings on the connections between IB and UX, the work attempted to redefine “library experience” by joining both behavioral and experiential aspects. It is found that the key components of cultural library experience are the multilayered context, cultural group's perception needs, sense-making process and subjective evaluations. Originality/value: This study joins the behavioral and experiential perspectives together to explore library experience in a more holistic way and proposes a systematic structure to understand and analyze library experience, especially that of international users in a cross-cultural context, which, in turn, will better serve their information needs and inform the design of a more equal and inclusive library system.

Type: Article
Title: Understanding international users' library experience in the Digital Age – joining the behavioral and experiential aspects
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1108/jd-02-2022-0035
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1108/jd-02-2022-0035
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: library experience, library user study, the Digital Age, information behavior (IB), user experience (UX), international Chinese students
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Information Studies
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10154743
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