Innovating Digital Library User Experience: A Student-Led "Learn by Doing" Collaboration

Author Info

• Heather L. Cribbs, California State University, Northridge
• Camille L. Paradis, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
• Danielle T. Daugherty, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis ObispoFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7064-9962

Recommended Citation

Postprint version. Published in International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 42, Issue 6, August 6, 2025, pages 4676-4696.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2537781.

Abstract

This case study presents a year-long user experience (UX) research project that redesigned Cal Poly’s Kennedy Library website for the first time in over a decade. Grounded in the university’s “Learn by Doing” pedagogy, students led all phases: identifying top user tasks, validating usability methods, and testing a WordPress prototype. The project emphasized real-world skill-building, with students serving as UX researchers, designers, and developers. Findings from a campus-wide top tasks survey shaped the development of usability tests, revealing critical pain points and guiding iterative improvements. Students conducted and analyzed usability testing with Loop11, uncovering user needs related to search functionality, accessibility, and course reserves. This collaborative process produced a reproducible framework for future academic library redesigns. By centering student leadership in UX research, the project enhanced resource discoverability, improved institutional alignment with user needs, and demonstrated how libraries can advance usability through participatory, skills-based design approaches.

Disciplines

Library and Information Science

Copyright

© 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Number of Pages

21

Publisher statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction on 6 Aug. 2025: Cribbs, H. L., Paradis, C. L., & Daugherty, D. T. (2026). Innovating digital library user experience: A student-led "Learn by Doing" Collaboration. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 42(6), 4676–4696. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2537781 It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.