16th Distance Library Services Conference: Keynote Speaker

The Distance Library Services Conference is honored to welcome Steven J. Bell as Keynote Speaker

Steven is the Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services at Temple University and is the past-president of ACRL for 2013-14. He writes and speaks about academic librarianship, learning technologies, library management, higher education, design thinking and user experience. Steven is a co-founder of the Blended Librarian’s Online Learning Community on the Learning Times Network and enjoys delivering virtual presentations. He was the founding blogger of ACRLog, ACRL’s official Weblog, and currently writes at Designing Better Libraries, a blog about design thinking and library user experiences. He authors weekly columns for Library Journal's Academic Newswire, "From the Bell Tower" and "Leading From the Library". He is co-author of the book “Academic Librarianship by Design”.

Keynote Address: Opening the Virtual Gate: Extending UX to the Distance Learner (Handout)

Within the higher education enterprise the academic library is well positioned to help the institution expand program offerings to meet the growing and future demand for online learning. The library infrastructure supports learners across a spectrum of platforms from the traditional online program to hybrid variations. Academic librarians are exploring how they can extend their services to distance learners in experimental mass distribution models. Even as the modes of delivery evolve, librarians remain challenged in migrating the face-to-face user experience (UX) to the online learning environment. Shifting from gatekeeping to gate opening is aided by an understanding of UX design and applying it to a systemic online learning experience. In this talk, Steven will share insights into experience design, experience statements, journey mapping and other methods that will help distance librarians meet their mission to connect and build relationships with their online community members. In doing so they may contribute to the design of a better library experience for all community members.