Abstract. The university library is a large socio-technical system with a vital part to play in university life. It has been described as "the social and intellectual heart of campus", with users now able to make use of both the digital and physical aspects of their library. Based on case studies in UK university libraries, this study aims to find out how and to what extent user experience forms part of university library policy, and how it can effectively be incorporated into it. Staff interviews and researcher-administered questionnaires with library users on campus will show the areas where usability issues occur and the gap between users' experiences and expectations of using libraries. These together with analysis of library policies will aim to suggest the factors that a user experience policy should cover.

The Centre for Internationalisation and Usability within the School of Computing and Technology at The University of West London aims to enhance understanding of cultural differences in international software development. A particular focus is the development and usability of ICT products in a global market, both in terms of international software development and economic, community and social development. We host a number of researchers and PhD students working in topics such as usability evaluation and culture, sociotechnical participatory design, internationalization attitudes of software engineers, mobile learning and library cognitive design.