Karen Caldwell

Situation:

Public libraries thrive when they engage as much of their community as possible, fostering deeper relationships with their users. However, many users begin their research outside the library, limiting direct engagement. WorldCat.org aimed to bridge this gap by expanding library reach through a mobile app, providing easier access to library resources.

​

Task:

The goal was to design and develop the WorldCat.org mobile app, transforming the newly designed website into a mobile experience while introducing mobile-specific features such as ISBN scanning, GPS-based library navigation, and voice-to-text search. The project faced the challenge of a tight three-month timeline, requiring an agile approach to meet the executive deadline.

​

Action:

• Discover: Reviewed high-level requirements collected through surveys and analyzed the newly updated WorldCat.org website UI to break down pages and features into agile iterations.

• Define: Created UX wireframes, ensuring alignment with company design standards and ADA compliance before presenting them to the Product, Business Systems Analyst (BSA), and Development teams.

• Implemented: Figma Templates & UI Design System to reduce efforts by 86% for prototyping.

• Ideate/Review: Collaborated with cross-functional teams to refine wireframes, then passed finalized Figma files to the UI Designer for implementation within the design system.

• Build/Deploy: To meet the executive challenge of launching the mobile app alongside the website, restructured the high-level requirements into a phased roadmap focused on user needs and prioritized features that could be delivered in the tight timeline.

• Measure: Partnered with the Product Manager to reassess survey data and conduct in-person interviews, refining the roadmap into five development phases to align with user values and engagement goals.

​

Result:

• Successfully transformed a B2B-centric library platform into a consumer-facing mobile app.

• Developed a structured release plan that enabled the mobile app to launch alongside the website within three months.

• Created a feature-rich experience that leveraged mobile capabilities to enhance library engagement.

• Established a phased roadmap to ensure continuous improvements based on user needs, ultimately deepening user engagement with WorldCat.org and public libraries.