Amanda Thomas serves as the User Experience/Public Services Librarian within Fondren Library's User Experience Office, where the primary focus is enhancing both digital and physical interactions between the library and its community.
Her responsibilities encompass user research, the administration of usability tests, and the utilization of ethnographic and other research techniques to discern user preferences. Her aim is to craft compelling customer experiences and involve users in the design of library services.
Furthermore, Amanda provides support for collection development and library instruction within the field of Psychological Sciences. She is a facilitator for programs such as the Fondren Library Ambassadors and the Graduate Student Library Advisory Board. She actively participates in civic engagement events, primarily focusing on voter registration, both on the Rice University campus and in Houston.
Amanda holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from San Jose State University and a BA in Psychology from San Francisco State University.
SKILLS and expertise: assessment, citation analysis, civic engagement, facilitation, focus groups, library instruction, survey creation and analysis, subject librarian expertise, usability testing, and user experience.