Are you a Hulu or an ABC Library?
Before and throughout much of the holiday break, I felt kind of crummy. And I lost my voice. For about 10 days.
Needless to say, I spent more than the usual amount of time reading lightweight books (some people run out for milk when they hear a storm is imminent; I head for the library the minute the first ache travels through my body) or watching videos or TV. As I watched video streaming online with Hulu and ABC, it occurred to me that these two services make a great metaphor for user-centered design in our libraries. Let me explain …
For free, both Hulu and ABC offer current and vintage TV programs.Both interrupt the programs with commercials. But the two services are far from being the same. When I use Hulu, I can use whichever browser I like. I can use a search box on the home page to instantly navigate to a show or movie I want to watch, click a button, and it starts playing. Great!
But ABC? First, I have use one of two preferred browsers (neither of which is my preferred browser). Then I go to its home page that plays loud previews, and the preview noise continues even when I click and say that I want to watch Full Episodes. So before I can do anything, I have to mute the preview window. Then I have to click on Full Episodes and wait for the list of available shows to pop up — no search box like on Hulu. Pick my series, then pick an episode. Then, just when I should be leaning back and availing myself of a fresh Kleenex, I get asked again whether I want high definition or standard viewing. Oh, I lament, why can’t it remember what I wanted last time! A brief commercial plays, and then … The. Whole. Thing. Stops. If I don’t click “Click to Continue,” the show won’t play. This repeats four or more times during the episode. That’s four times my poor, sick, cranky self has to sit up, stop coughing, reach over, and click.
Hulu is user-centered design. It wants me, the user, to have a good experience. I can customize my experience: leaving comments, creating an account that remembers what I’ve viewed (if I get disconnected from the Web and restart the episode later, it remembers where I left off), and lets me identify favorite shows so it can (like Tivo) automatically identify new incoming episodes. Not an option with ABC. ABC, on the other hand, is ABC-centered design. It can save bandwidth (and money) by doling out the show in segments (say, for example, if someone starts watching and falls asleep or walks away before the episode finishes), but that approach benefits them. Not me. And all of this got me thinking … is my school library a Hulu library (patron-focused) or an ABC library (with procedures and systems that prioritize my needs over those of others)? I’ve had school librarians tell me that it’s not my job to pull book reviews or teach technology or think about assessment. I’ve had teachers express surprise when I ask if a book I’ve seen reviewed would be helpful to them or offer to buy materials that support the curriculum they teach. I’ve had a teacher stunned to hear that I will deliver books to the classroom or stay after school to work through a technology glitch or think through a lesson. None of this is Advanced Librarianship. This is basic stuff we all do – or is it? Their reactions make me wonder … how many ABC librarians are out there? And … what do we do about them?
P.S. A reminder: our new AASL Standards are not about US or OUR PROGRAM (ABC). They’re about STUDENTS (Hulu).
P.P.S. The New York Times ran an article about Hulu in its Sunday magazine.