Mann Library Knowledge Base

Results & Impact

Key Outcomes

The development of the knowledge base led to several important improvements for the library staff and their daily operations. We established an accessible, standardized knowledge base for library procedures that any team member could navigate and contribute to. Standardized templates and style guides allowed any staff member to create new pages with a consistent look and feel, reducing the learning curve for documentation.

We also created sustainable maintenance workflows designed to account for natural staff turnover which ensured the system would remain useful even as team members came and went. Information accessibility improved significantly through search capabilities and clear content categorization. This made it faster for staff to find what they needed.

User Feedback & Adoption

The knowledge base has been successfully adopted by the staff. Over 110 pages of documentation have been implemented and maintained with more pages being contributed regularly by various staff groups. Staff responded positively to the intuitive navigation using hero buttons which made finding information straightforward.

The system expanded beyond its original scope to include staff profile pages which evolved into a valuable onboarding tool. New team members could easily become familiar with the site's functionality while also learning about their new team members. OneDrive integrations allowed staff to more easily centralize folders and files for tasks like inventory management and meeting notes.

The addition of personal staff pages, suggested through user feedback, transformed the knowledge base from a pure documentation tool into a comprehensive staff resource that supports both existing team members and new staff members.

Design Process

Research & Discovery

I gathered insights through an iterative feedback process during regular team meetings. This approach allowed for real-time feedback on new features as they were developed along with organic discussion of pain points and needs. Staff could collaboratively refine the solution which led to higher engagement and adoption through their continuous involvement.

Key Insights

Staff expertise varied widely particularly in technical areas like AV equipment troubleshooting. While circulation and reference staff shared common knowledge needs, position-specific information required different organization approaches. Staff were using multiple platforms like Box, OneDrive, Google Drive. This led to information fragmentation and critical procedures were often documented in physical formats making updates and access challenging.

Knowledge loss occurred when staff members left as much information was stored in personal systems rather than shared resources. Mobile access was also essential since staff frequently needed information while moving around the library.

Solution Selection

Why SharePoint?

SharePoint was already integrated with staff's Microsoft 365 environment ensuring access without requiring new logins or learning a completely new system. It was cost-effective since we could utilize existing software licenses, and direct integration with OneDrive and Outlook improved file accessibility. The platform was scalable and could be maintained by future staff with built-in version control and collaborative editing features that suited our documentation needs.

While a custom website could have been an option, SharePoint's integration with existing workflows and long-term maintainability made it the ideal choice for sustainable knowledge management.

Information Architecture

I developed a site structure based on position-based categorization and task-based navigation paths making it easy for staff to find information relevant to their role and current task. Standardized templates supported different types of documentation while maintaining consistency, and integrated links provided easy access to shared folders on other platforms.

Solution Design

Key Interface Features

The interface was designed with a small learning curve so staff could quickly create and edit pages. Standardized page templates ensured consistency across all documentation while search functionality allowed users to find information by keywords. A clear hierarchical navigation structure made browsing intuitive, and a centralized interface let users access and manage shared files from other platforms in one place. Since the site is nested within the Microsoft 365 environment, it's directly accessible through email, OneDrive, and other Microsoft 365 applications staff already use daily.

The screenshot below shows the homepage of the knowledge base as of the time of this case study which staff have been using and editing for over a year.

Standardized templates were key to maintaining consistency and ease of use across different types of content, as illustrated by the following examples:

Key Learnings