And along the same lines, its up to catalogers to determine the subject
needs of the users. ;-) If we based our cataloging on what the users
want, we'd never get to do what we want because we'd be too busy
reacting to them.
Stepping back - where does the idea come from that it has to be all one
way or another? ("When you base all your design...") An approach that
blends the strengths of human cataloging/indexing practices,
system/interface design, and user feedback/input might just be possible.
Allen Mullen
Cataloger provocateur
Eugene Or Public Library
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Next generation catalogs for libraries
>[mailto:NGC4LIB_at_listserv.nd.edu] On Behalf Of Ron Peterson
>Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:57 AM
>To: NGC4LIB_at_listserv.nd.edu
>Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] user-centered design
>
>I would go further to say that user-centered design is "us
>figuring out how to meet the needs of the user." I think what
>Erik was describing, "embracing their ever changing desires,"
>is user-driven design, as opposed to user-centered design.
>The difference between the 2 is the difference between being
>reactive and proactive. When you base all your design
>decision on input/feedback from your users, you become
>reactive and it is very hard to be innovative from that
>posture. When you are proactive, you take the time to learn
>about your users and their hopes, needs, and goals and you
>design to help your users fulfill those hopes, needs, and goals.
>
Received on Thu May 03 2007 - 12:27:52 EDT