Librarians as "User Experience" designers

For now I will ignore the fact that the abbreviation "UX" for "User Experience" bugs the crap out of me. There is something pretentious or faux-techie about it. I react in the same sort of way to products and advertisements that spell the word "extreme" as "Xtreme." *Shudder*

But I digress.

I like this article on The User Experience by Aaron Schmidt, and I particularly like this bit about empathy:

When we are mindful of our roles as library experience designers, we can make more informed design choices. This awareness can provide better experiences for our patrons and demonstrate that we care about them.

Really. People will notice, though not necessarily consciously, if we take the time to think about them when we're developing our services. The secret here is not to think of library patrons, users, or customers: we need to think of people. We need to consider their lives and what they're trying to accomplish. This act, which can only be done by cultivating the skill of empathy, is the most important—and perhaps the most difficult—part of user experience design.