The use of Design Thinking as a tool for interpreting the profile of librarians in a university library

Abstract

On the part of organizations, it is evident the use of strategies that make it possible to reach an increasing number of consumers. Recent proposals have included customer-centricity in the process of innovation and creation of services. The library, understood as an organism that works with informational services, is also subject to verifying its delivery, through the investigation of the impressions, expectations and needs of its internal and external partners. This work aimed to propose the Design Thinking approach as an innovation tool for the services offered by a university library, constituting a case study. The method used to develop the research was: (a) an open questionnaire, elaborated from the criteria/attributes belonging to the LibQUAL methodology, with the aim of verifying librarians’ perceptions about their activities and attributions; (b) content analysis, with the purpose of interpreting the data. As a result, an empathy map was obtained, which offers an understanding of the profile of librarians, with the intention of expressing the reality of the mentioned library. It was concluded that internalizing Design Thinking practices can help librarians and managers in reaching different perceptions of performance, functions and objectives that their libraries can catch up, guaranteeing new interpretations of their roles.

Keywords:
University Librarians; Design Thinking; Provide Services Projects