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“But we test with real users!” you say. Really? Doing one usability test every 3-5 years when you redesign your website doesn’t tell you anything. Handing out a survey by itself once every few years doesn’t do anything except waste paper. Done infrequently, these things just let you check off the “user-centered design” box when you write up the whole process for Library Journal. Understanding your users isn’t one step in a long process to make a great web experience. It’s the foundation of that experience. This is about building a relationship with your users. How many successful relationships have you seen that do a quick check-in once every 3-5 years? You should always be doing it. ALWAYS.

Check your gate counts. Now check your Web usage statistics. Is your catalog on your website? Your databases? Then guess what: 100% of your users come through the website. Now, how many come through the front door? Less than 100%. Yet where do your library’s priorities lie? You can find them written in the staff directory. How many people spend their time dealing with patrons in meat space? Now how many spend their time building great web experiences? See the discrepancy?5