09 September 2024 -- OpenAthens launches its 2025 UX Award and invites publishers and library service vendors of all sizes to apply by 22 November 2024. Award organizer, Jane Charlton, will announce the winner at the online Access Lab event on 24 February 2025.
OpenAthens' UX Award showcases publishers and library service vendors that put users at the heart of their service design. All with the simple aim of providing easy access to content and services. Through this yearly award, OpenAthens aims to inspire publishers and other library service vendors to invest in user experience and deliver simple journeys to their content and services.
Previous award winners
Cambridge University Press won this year's UX Award for their Research Directions open access journal series. They clearly evidenced their commitment to accessibility, a user-centric approach and cross-team collaboration. Judges highly commended their use of personae in product development and inclusion of user behavior data and feedback at each stage.
Rubem Barbosa-Hughes, head of user experience at Cambridge University Press outlines the benefits:
"Taking part in the UX Award has been an enriching experience for us at Cambridge University Press. It not only provided an opportunity to benchmark our work against industry standards but also to receive constructive feedback from professionals in the field.
Winning this award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams and it reaffirms the value of prioritizing accessibility and user-centered design in our products. This recognition not only celebrates our achievements but also motivates us to continue innovating in ways that truly serve our global audience."
Previous winners include Sage Publishing, De Gruyter, nkoda and Emerald Publishing.
About the 2025 UX Award
Now in its sixth year, any publisher large or small, library systems vendor, research and analytics tool, or other library products and services can apply.
Award organizer, Jane Charlton, explains:
"Library users access a wide range of data, content and analysis services for their research and studies. We welcome applications from any publisher or library service vendor to share their UX innovations and inspire others through this award process."
Panel judges will assess all applications based on their merits and how closely they meet the award criteria. One new judge has joined the award panel. OpenAthens welcomes Joshua Wier, programmer and analyst at GALILEO digital library in the United States of America.
Why you should apply
Librarians and library users highly value simple and easy access to online products and services. It makes perfect sense to keep your users and customers happy as they'll return again and again.
Inflation and price increases have had a negative impact on library budgets. This has led librarians to pay close attention to usage and value for money when making decisions about content subscriptions. Vendors that deliver a great user experience help to drive increased usage, and this is one of the key metrics librarians use to decide where to spend budget.
Delivering a superior user experience also helps position your product or service above your competitors. Publishers and library service vendors that put their users first and center will get great reviews. Users are also more likely to use your product than a competitor that has not made the same investment in product UX.
You don't need to be a large vendor to win as nkoda digital sheet music app proved when they won the award in 2021.
How to apply
Find out more about the UX Award criteria and send your application form by Friday 22 November 2024. Complete the short expression of interest form on the OpenAthens website and you will be sent the application form.
Next year's winner will be announced online at Access Lab on Monday 24 February 2025.
Contact the UX Award organizer, Jane Charlton, with any queries.
About OpenAthens
We make it easy for people to access knowledge through single sign-on. Our mission is to enable people to achieve great things by connecting them to knowledge and information, whenever and wherever they need it.
We strive to be the world's most user-friendly single sign-on experience and help more than 3,000 organizations worldwide to provide simple and secure access to online resources for their end users.
OpenAthens is part of Jisc.