People Interact

Blog about people-centered design by Lisa Chow and Sandra Sajonas.

Monthly Archives: January 2016

What Are Your 2016 Career Goals?

Leave a comment Posted by peopleinteract on January 26, 2016

It’s a new year. What are your career goals this year? One of our career goals this year is to be better bloggers.

Self-assessment and career strategy are important when it comes to working on your career goals. We discuss this in our leadership and career development presentations.

Self-assessment: Do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals.

Career strategy: People, professional brand, and online presence are three important aspects of your career strategy.

Here are some ideas and resources (from our presentations and blog posts) to get you started on your career goals this year:

Uncategorized career-goals, career-strategy, New Year

Selling User Experience (UX)

Leave a comment Posted by peopleinteract on January 19, 2016

Join us for our next METRO User Experience (UX) Special Interest Group meeting on Tuesday, February 9th from 10am-12pm.

Those of us who are UX practitioners and evangelists understand its tremendous organizational benefits. However, many organizations either do not understand the role of UX, or marginalize it organizationally, thereby reducing its effectiveness.

Nadaleen F. Tempelman-Klui, head of the User Experience Department at NYU Libraries, will discuss her experience in selling UX to the organization. She will share critical components for success and stories of failure that can be avoided!
Nadaleen shepherded her department from the ground up; please read her blog post about how she got started in UX. Please post your questions in the comments prior to February 9th and she’ll answer them at our February 9th meeting.

Our meeting will also include opportunities to network with colleagues, share UX tips, and get feedback on UX projects. Please email Lisa at lchow23 <at> yahoo.com and Sandra at ssajonas <at> gmail.com if you’re looking to get feedback on your UX projects.

For more information and to register.

Uncategorized career-professional-development, METRO-New-York-Library-Council, metro-sig, metro-ux, Nadaleen F. Tempelman-Klui, nyc, nyu, nyu-libraries, user experience, UX

Wandering Librarian: South End Branch

Leave a comment Posted by sajonas1 on January 11, 2016

IMG_20151008_101804 Last summer, mixing work and play, I decided to embark on a story time tour of various libraries. Getting a word-of-mouth recommendation from a fellow mother, the South End Branch was on our list.

Like many smaller libraries, the South End Branch was unobtrusive and downright difficult to find. Entering what was once a school building, via the parking lot, we finally located the branch.

The next fantastic 1 1/2 hours made the search worth it. The consideration of the staff for the morning program created a friendly and fun morning for the kids. The fact that the library was closed except for story time attendees helped in creating a great program. A mix of singing, free play, stories and snacks made this experience a definite repeat for this wandering librarian.

IMG_20151008_102741 While limited in space and resources, the South End Branch manages to offer basic services to their community. Technology wise they have computers, internet, printers and cash-operated copiers. The collections shows the care which was taken in selecting materials suited for their diverse community. The staffs’ knowledge of their patrons’s names further exemplified the South End Branch’s commitment to excellent service. All in all, the South End Branch provided a delightfully intimate library experience for me and my family.