Getting Started in Service Design: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians

Abstract

Service design is a holistic, collaborative methodology that puts the user at the center of the service delivery model. Because this approach prioritizes users and their overall experience, it’s a valuable framework that librarians and administrators can use as a group to assess, revise, and create library services, spaces, and workflows. In this book, the authors use an action-oriented assortment of exercises, templates, and tools to make service design more accessible to all types of libraries. Escorting readers through all the fundamentals, this how-to-do-it manual * introduces the service design concept, what it is used for, and how it can benefit every institution; * includes a checklist for determining if service design is the best approach; * describes the four necessary phases for any service design project, with key exercises for thinking in service design terms to craft a “thick description” of the library’s users and behavior; * explains the importance of making assessment part of the fabric of the library, and offers tools following through; reviews real-life examples of implemented service design, spotlighting how students and researchers use library services; * provides templates for documenting service design; and * offers advice for moving forward and managing change. This book is the perfect primer for those new to the methodology as well as a useful reference to consult throughout a service design project.