Catherine L. Larson

My research and practice primarily focus on enhancing access and improving the patron experience in the fields of user experience (UX) and information architecture (IA). My work includes evaluating and improving library technologies in systems management. As Associate Director of the Systems & Technology team in the NYU Health Sciences Library, I evaluate the operational efficiency of the library’s systems for the library’s patrons and work to improve library patron satisfaction through a continuous quality improvement approach to user experience. Central to my work is understanding patrons’ challenges, and I’ve made it a point to meet with different types of patrons to elicit their viewpoints and user experiences. 

My team is actively engaged in improving access to core library services. For example, we have explored automated accessibility testing, allowing for earlier issue detection in the development phase and supporting iterative remediation. My research has included assessing clinical point-of-care tools, e-content platforms, literature databases and other digital platforms regarding the mobile user experience to bring attention to making platforms more accessible. With my colleagues, we have developed methods and technical solutions to improving the accuracy and efficiency of the Faculty Publication Bibliography – an authoritative source for publication data for our faculty.