Journey mapping plots a process or service to produce a visual representation of a library transaction, from the point at which the student accesses a service to its final resolution. The Consortium Library Assessment Team completed a Journey Mapping exercise in 2016, analyzing twelve journeys or service scenarios in the library.
In Spring 2017, we organized a follow-up journey mapping exercise. Three scenarios that many students found difficult to complete in our first round were re-examined. The team recruited students on social media and by posting flyers on UAA and APU campuses, and four volunteers completed each of the three follow-up journeys.
The three scenarios we analyzed were:
- Find one journal article
- Check out a DVD
- Find a Library course guide
After the first round of journey mapping, we made changes in the library that could affect the completion of each of these journeys. Refworks (the citation management tool used in Scenario 1) has settled into one version. During our first round of journey mapping, Refworks was transitioning to Flow and back to Refworks, and currently, the product has settled into one version. We also moved the Media Room last summer, so the steps followed in Scenario 2 now entail going to a different Media Room and a new Circulation Desk. Scenario 3 is affected by a change to our website. We consolidated different types of guides (topic, course, and how-to) into one link in the Research section. We were hopeful that a link to Guides would be less puzzling to users than the previous three links to different types of guides.
Please follow the links below to view our full report and the graphical mapped journeys.