Lybrary

A social app for making libraries cool again. A mobile-first platform transforming libraries into community-driven, socially engaging spaces for digital-native users.

Lybrary is a social library platform designed to increase engagement among younger, digitally native audiences.

Lybrary explores how libraries can evolve within a digitally dominant ecosystem. While libraries remain culturally significant, their engagement models have not kept pace with user expectations shaped by platforms like social media, streaming, and on-demand services.

The project investigates how digital augmentation + social interaction layers can reposition libraries as relevant, inclusive, and desirable third spaces. While libraries successfully operate as free, community-driven spaces for children and families, they fail to deliver equivalent value for adult users—resulting in under-engagement from a key demographic.

Role
Product Designer (End-to-End UX Research + Design)

Timeline
2 months

Team
Solo Project

Tools
Figma, FigJam

Interactive Prototype

What I did…

  • Led end-to-end UX research and product design

  • Conducted mixed-method research (qual + observational + secondary)

  • Synthesized insights into personas, journeys, and opportunity spaces

  • Defined product strategy and feature set

  • Designed low → mid → high fidelity prototypes

  • Built a scalable design system

Problem Statement

Design Challenge

Despite strong infrastructure and cultural relevance, modern libraries face:

  • Declining engagement among teen and adult users

  • Perception as outdated or functionally limited

  • Lack of integration between physical and digital experiences

  • Underutilization as social/community environments

How might we reimagine libraries as digitally enhanced, socially engaging ecosystems that align with modern user behaviors and expectations?

Guiding Framework

To initiate the research process, I formulated four guiding questions to identify design opportunities.

Research Approach

    • Analysis of Yelp, Google, App Store reviews

    • Review of QPL website and media coverage

    • Competitive benchmarking (Fable, Vinylly, Book of the Month)

    Goal: Understand perception gaps and digital experience benchmarks

    • Conducted in-situ at Queens Public Library, Hunter’s Point

    • Observed:

      • Space usage patterns

      • Navigation behaviors

      • Social vs functional usage

    Key Finding:
    Users often occupy the library for ambient presence (reading, relaxing, socializing) rather than structured tasks.

    • 15+ years experience, children’s section

    Key Pain Points Identified:

    • Spatial constraints vs high footfall

    • Accessibility gaps

    • Poor crowd segmentation

    • Limited infrastructure for group/social activity

  • Key behavioral insights:

    • Libraries used for:

      • Leisure

      • Printing/utilitarian tasks

      • Quiet downtime

    • App seen as functional but underdeveloped

    • Lack of work-friendly or flexible spaces for adults

A multi-layered research framework combining attitudinal + behavioral insights:

Field Research

Queens Public Library, Hunter’s Point

QPL served as the foundation for our research, laying the groundwork for our project. We utilized various methods to analyze the experience at the Hunter's Point location given its trendy location and modern architecture built to attract younger generations.

Desk Research

For secondary research, I reviewed Yelp, Google, and App Store reviews, as well as various reports, articles, and analyzed the QPL website.

A library, while still a place to get and read books, is a community hub.

Competitive benchmarking

Conducted competitive analysis across direct, indirect, and adjacent ecosystems to understand how reading, community, and social discovery are currently facilitated—and where libraries are excluded from that landscape. This included platforms such as Fable, Book of the Month, BookTok, Bookstagram, and adjacent community-driven products like Vinylly.

Landscape Framing & Ecosystem Analysis

  • 1. Structured Reading Platforms (Utility + Community)

    Examples: Fable, Book of the Month

    - Provide curated discovery, book clubs, and asynchronous discussion

    - Enable lightweight community interaction, but primarily within a content-first experience

    - Social layer exists, but is secondary to consumption

    Gap Identified:
    These platforms successfully digitize reading communities but do not translate into real-world engagement or spatial interaction (e.g., libraries, meetups).

  • 2. Social Content Ecosystems (Discovery + Influence)

    Examples: BookTok, Bookstagram

    - Highly effective for:

    ‍ ‍ - Trend amplification

    ‍ ‍- Discovery and virality

    - Community is creator-led, not system-led

    - Engagement is:

    - High in visibility

    - Low in depth and reciprocity

    Refined Insight:
    While influencers drive large-scale engagement, interactions are often broadcast-based and parasocial, limiting meaningful peer-to-peer connection.

  • 3. Adjacent Interest-Based Social Platforms

    Examples: Vinylly (music-based matching), niche community apps

    - Focus on identity-based matching (taste, interests, culture)

    - Successfully create:

    - Conversation starters

    - Social entry points

    - Translate shared interests → real-world interaction

    Opportunity Signal:
    Reading lacks a strong equivalent of this interest-to-connection bridge despite being inherently identity-driven.Focus on identity-based matching (taste, interests, culture)

Behavioral Insights Across Ecosystem

  • Users engage with reading platforms primarily as solo, screen-based experiences, even when labeled as “community.”

    • Avid readers and researchers consistently value:

      • Quiet, distraction-free settings

      • Intimate book clubs

      • “Cozy” and controlled environments

      This does not contradict social needs—it reflects a preference for intentional, low-noise interaction over performative socialization.

    • Informal or independent reading groups often avoid libraries

    • Perception issues include:

      • Institutional rigidity

      • Lack of flexible/social infrastructure

      • Misalignment with modern community formats

  • Even in active communities:

    • Connection requires high individual effort and consistency

    • Interactions are:

      • Fragmented

      • Episodic

      • Platform-dependent

    Key Insight:
    Digital connection ≠ social belonging

    • Platforms like BookTok solve “what to read”

    • Platforms like Fable partially solve “who to read with”

    • No platform effectively solves:
      → “Where do I go to experience this together?”

Synthesis

Strategic Opportunity

The competitive landscape reveals a clear structural gap:

  • Content ecosystems → Drive discovery

  • Utility platforms → Enable reading

  • Social platforms → Enable connection

But no system integrates all three within a physical + digital hybrid environment

Position libraries as:

The missing layer between digital discovery and real-world connection

Lybrary leverages this gap by:

  • Translating online reading identity → offline interaction

  • Embedding social infrastructure into physical spaces

  • Converting libraries from passive venues → active community platforms

Observational Research

  • Conducted in-situ at Queens Public Library, Hunter’s Point

  • Observed:

    • Space usage patterns

    • Navigation behaviors

    • Social vs functional usage

Key Finding:
Users often occupy the library for ambient presence (reading, relaxing, socializing) rather than structured tasks.

SME Interview (Librarian)

Key Pain Points Identified:

  • Spatial constraints vs high footfall

  • Accessibility gaps

  • Poor crowd segmentation

  • Limited infrastructure for group/social activityHere, creativity meets opportunity.

“The building design creates accessibility challenges, which impacts inclusivity.”

— Mary Blieka, Librarian at QPL

Interviews

  • "Communication was top-notch and the final outcome was even better than we imagined."

  • “A professional team that delivers on their promises.”

  • “Their attention to detail and commitment to quality truly stood out.”

  • “Every detail was thoughtfully executed. We're thrilled with the outcome.”