UXperimentation: The Library as Design Studio

The university and seminary’s work and workplaces evolve within emerging digital ecologies, such as mobile communication, digital fabrication, and cloud hosting. At Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, TX, we have driven this transformation of educational spaces and curriculum with 1-to-1 and BYOD smartphone and tablet initiatives, and through construction of an interdisciplinary makerspace. Now our provision of personalized access to Adobe Creative Cloud for all students and faculty is again reorienting library spaces and practices with a focus on User Experience (UX). This paper explores: 1) the relation of UXD to library research and instruction. 2) an ecology for UXD and other design thinking in university academic support services, and 3) a trajectory beyond computer labs, media studios, and digital scholarship centers as library learning space