- study of user studies –
sources consulted
2 May 2009
draft
See also Beth Yakel’s magisterial bibliography on user and usability testing:
ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Task Force on Core Competencies for Special Collections Professionals, “RBMS Competencies for Special Collections Professionals,” College and Research Libraries News, 69 no. 10 (November 2008): 622-629.
Altman, Burt and John R. Nemmers, “The Usability of On-line Archival Resources: The Polaris Project Finding Aid,” American Archivist 64 (spring/summer): 121-131.
Archer, Joanne, Ann M. Hanlon and Jennie Levine, “Investigating Primary Source Literacy,” forthcoming in Journal of Academic Librarianship35, no. 5 (September 2009).
Arcolio, Arnold and Felicia Poe, WorldCat Local at the University of California: Usability Testing, Round One, Spring 2008.Published online at:
AX-Net, Bibliography. Published online at:
Calhoun, Karen, et al., Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want,Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 2009. Published online at:
California Digital Library, OAC Usability Test Summary, October 2001. Published online at:
Chisnell, Dana, ArchiveGrid Rapid Iterative Testing Report, Usability Works, 28 February 2006.
______, Report: RLG Archival Resources Service Redesign Focus Groups, Usability Works, 2 December 2004.
Cox, Elizabeth and Leslie Czechowski, “Subject Access Points in the MARC Record and Archival Finding Aid: Enough or Too Many?” Journal of Archival Organization 5, no. 4 (2007): 51-59.
Cox, Richard J., “Access in the Digital Information Age and the Archival Mission: the United States,” Journal of the Society ofArchivists 19, no.1 (April 1998): 25-40.
Cox, Richard, “Researching Archival Reference as an Information Function: Observations on Needs and Opportunities,” RQ 31, no.3 (spring 1992): 387-397.
Cox, Richard J., “Revisiting the Archival Finding Aid,” Journal of Archival Organization5, no. 4 (2007): 5-32.
De Rosa, Cathy, et. al., Perceptions of Library and Information Resources,Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research, 2005. Published online at:
De Rosa, Cathy, et al., College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 2006. Published online at:
Dempsey, Lorcan, “The Library Catalogue in the New Discovery Environment: Some Thoughts,” Ariadne 48 (July 2006). Published online at:
DeRidder, Jody L., “Googlizing a Digital Library,” The Code4Lib Journal 2 (March 24, 2008). Published online at:
Dowell, Erika, “Web Site Usability for Rare Book and Manuscript Libraries,” RBM 9, no. 2 (fall 2008): 168-181.
Dowler, Lawrence, “The Role of Use in Defining Archival Practice and Principles,” American Archivist 51 (winter/spring 1988): 74-95.
Dooley, Jackie M., “Subject Indexing in Context,” American Archivist 55 (spring 1992): 344-354.
Dryden, Jean, “Do We Care What Users Want? Evaluating User Satisfaction and the LibQUAL+™ Experience,” Journal of Archival Organization4, no. 4 (2004): 83-88.
Duff, Wendy et al., “Archivists’Views of User-based Evaluation: Benefits, Barriers, and Requirements,” American Archivist 71, no. 1 (spring/summer 2008): 144-166.
Duff, Wendy M. and Johnson, Catherine A., "Accidentally Found on Purpose: Information-Seeking Behavior of Historians in Archives," Library Quarterly 72, no. 4 (2002): 472-496.
Duff, Wendy and Stoyanova, Penka, “Transforming the Crazy Quilt: Archival Displays from the Users Point of View,” Archivaria 45 (spring 1998): 44-78.
Freeman, Elsie T., “In the Eye of the Beholder: Archives Administration from the User’s Point of View,” American Archivist 47, no. 2 (spring 1984): 111-123.
Ericson, Timothy L., “Preoccupied with Our Own Gardens: Outreach and Archives,” Archivaria 31 (winter 1990-1991): 114-122.
Feeney, Kathleen, "Retrieval of Archival Finding Aids Using World-Wide-WebSearch Engines,"American Archivist 62:2 (1999): 206-228.
Gagnon-Arguin, Louise, “Les questions de recherché comme matériau d’études des usagers en vue du traitement des archives,”Archivaria 46 (winter 1998): 86-102.
Greene, Mark A. and Dennis Meissner, “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing,” American Archivist 68, no. 2 (fall/winter 2005): 208-263.
Greene, Mark, “[Draft Grant Report to NHPRC:] Basic Processing User Survey Overview,” (2008).
Groot, Tamara, Peter Horsman and Rob Mildren, “OSARIS: Functional Requirements for Archival Description and Retrieval Software,” Paris: International Council on Archives (2003). Published online at:
Hamburger, Susan, “How Researchers Search for Manuscript and Archival Collections,” Journal of Archival Organization 2, no. 1/2 (2004): 79-102.
Hamel, Michel Hamel, "Enquête sur l'utilisation du web pour la diffusion des archives," Archives, 30/2 (1998-1999):43-82.
Housewright, Ross and Roger Schoenfeld, Ithaka’s 2006 Studies of Key Stakeholders in the Digital Transformation in Higher Education, August 2008.Published online at:
Imhof, Andres, “Using International Standards to Develop a Union Catalogue for Archives in Germany,” D-Lib 14, no. 9/10 (September/October 2008).
Jones, Barbara M. “Hidden Collections, Scholarly Barriers” (June 6, 2003). Published online at:
Joyce, William J., “Archivists and Research Use,” American Archivist 48 (spring 1984): 124-133.
Kim, Jihyun, “EAD Encoding and Display: A Content Analysis,” Journal of Archival Organization 2, no. 3 (2004): 41-55.
Krause, Magia Ghetu and Elizabeth Yakel, “Interaction in Virtual Archives: The Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections Next Generation Finding Aid, American Archivist 70, no. 2 (fall/winter 2007): 282-314.
Lee, Jane, Calisphere UI Testing Findings and Recommendations, Oakland: California Digital Library, 25 October 2005.
Lee, Jane, OAC First round Usability Test Findings,Oakland: California Digital Library, OAC Redesign Project, 11 September 2008.
Light, Michelle, “The Endangerment of Trees,” EAD @ 10, (August 31, 2008).Published online at:
Lytle, Richard, “Intellectual Access to Archives: I. Provenance and Content Indexing Methods of Subject Retrieval,” American Archivist 43 (winter 1980): 64-75.
Maher, William J., “Use of User Studies,” Midwestern Archivist 11 (1986):15-26.
Mander, David, ed., Standard for Access to Archives, National Council on Archives [UK]: Public Services Quality Group(1st ed. 1999, 2nd ed. 2003, 3rd ed. 2008).
Markey, Karen, “Twenty-Five Years of End-User Searching, Part 1: Research Findings,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58 no. 8 (2007): 1071-1081.
______, “Twenty-Five Years of End-User Searching, Part 2: Future Research Directions,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58 no. 8 (2007): 1123-1130.
Mercer, Prue and Kate Irvine, “A Provocation Paper,” Re-imagining Library Services Workshop, 10 December 2007, National & State Libraries Australasia.
Michelson, Avra, “Description and Reference in the Age of Automation,” American Archivist 50 (spring 1987): 192-208.
Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA), “Executive Summary: Usability Testing Round 4,” March 12, 2008. Published online at:
______,“Executive Summary: Usability Test #5,” November 6, 2008.Published online at:
Palmer, Carole L.,Lauren C. Teffeau and Carrie M. Pirmann, Scholarly Information Practices in the Online Environment: Themes from the Literature and Implications for Library Service Development, Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research, 2009. Published online at:
Panitch, Judith M., Special Collections in ARL Libraries,WashingtonDC: Association of Research Libraries, 2001. Published online at:
Proffitt, Merrilee, “How and Why of User Studies: RLG’s RedLightGreen as a Case Study,” Journal of Archival Organization 4, no. 1-2 (2006): 87-110.
Prom, Christopher, “User Interactions with Electronic Finding Aids in a Controlled Setting,” American Archivist 67, no. 2, (fall/winter 2004): 234-268.
Pugh, Mary Jo, “The Illusion of Omniscience: Subject Access and the Reference Archivist,” American Archivist 45, no. 1 (winter 1982): 33-44.
Ranger, Joshua, “Mass Digitization of Archival Manuscripts,” (2008). Published online at:
Research Information Network, Discovering Physical Objects: Meeting Researchers’ Needs.London, October 2008. Published online at:
Rosenbusch, Andrea, “Are Our Users Being Served? A Report on Online Archival Databases,” Archives andManuscripts 29, no. 1 (2001): 44-61.
Sabre, Jeannette and Susan Hamburger, “A Case for Item-level Indexing: The Kenneth Burke Papers at The Pennsylvania State University,” Journal of Archival Organization 5, no. 4 (2007): 24 – 46.
Shatford, Sara, “Analyzing the Subject of a Picture: a Theoretical Approach,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 6 (1986): 39-62.
Smiraglia, Richard P., “Subject Access to Archival Materials Using LCSH,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 11, no. 3/4 (1990): 63-90.
Snyder, Sara, et al., [Archives of American Art] Web Usability Study Report: Round 1, Subject Experts, (April 2008).
Society of American Archivists Reference, Access, and Outreach Section, “MPLP Task Force Report,” 2008. Published online at:
Southwell, Kristina, "How Researchers Learn of Manuscript Resources in Western History Collections," Archival Issues 26, no. 2 (2002):91-109.
Spindler, Robert P. and Richard Pearce-Moses, “Does AMC Mean ‘Archives Made Confusing? Patron Understanding of USMARC AMC Catalog Records,” American Archivist 56 (spring 1993): 330-341.
Stevenson, Jane, “’What Happens If I Click on This?’: Experiences of the Archives Hub,” Ariadne 57 (October 2008).Published online at:
Taoka, Wes and Bruce Washburn, “ArchiveGrid Issues Document,” draft October 2008.
Tibbo, Helen and LokmanI. Meho, “Finding Finding Aids on the World Wide Web,”American Archivist 64, no. 1 (spring/summer): 61-77.
2004 Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers, Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 2004. Published online at:
University of California Special Collections and Archivists Task Force, “Challenges of Meeting Users Needs,” September 18, 2007. Published online at:
Walton, Donnelly Lancaster, Manuscript Collections on the Web: ARL SPEC Kit 307. WashingtonDC: ARL, 2008.
Ward, Jennifer, Pam Mojfeld, and Steve Shadle, WorldCat Local at the University of Washington Libraries,Library Technology Reports44, no. 6 (August /September 2008).Published online at:
Yakel, Elizabeth, “Listening to Users,” Archival Issues 26:2 (2002): 111-127.
Yakel, Elizabeth, “Encoded Archival Description: Are Finding Aids Boundary Spanners or Barriers for Users?” Journal of Archival Organization 2, no. 1/2 (2004): 63-77.
Yakel, Elizabeth et al., “Creating the Next Generation of Archival Finding Aids,” D-Lib 13, no. 5/6 (May/June 2007). Published online at:
Yakel, Elizabeth, Archival Metrics:Promoting a Culture of Assessment in Archives and Special Collections. Published online at:
Yeo, Geoffrey, “Understanding Users and Use: A Market Segmentation Approach,” Journal of the Society of Archivists 26, no. 1 (April 2005): 25-53.
1