untangling the legacy: the user experience of archival...

LSE Library

Untangling the legacy: the user

experience of archival research

Nadia Marks, User Experience Researcher

Fabiana Barticioti, Digital Assets Manager

Andy Jack, Web Editor

lse.ac.uk/library

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

LSE Archives

LSE Library

Aims

• Find out how CalmView is used

• Find out how CalmView is experienced

• Identify the pain points of using CalmView

• Identify and make improvements to CalmView

• Validate any improvements made to CalmView

• Develop a wish list for a new archive management system

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Document analysis

• Used existing data

• Showed behaviours

• Quantified issues

The user experience of archival research

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Interviews and focus groups

• Showed how and why they

use the catalogue

• Captured their goals

• Captured their attitudes and

experiences

• Showed their knowledge and

understanding

• Enabled broad participation

• Allowed personalised

exploration of the topic

within a framework

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Analysis

• Content analysis and

thematic analysis to both

describe and explain the

data

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Findings

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Changes

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Changes

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Changes

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Changes

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Usability testing

• Confirmed that the changes

were improvements

• Checked that users were able

to perform their tasks

• Identified new issues

• Confirmed our requirements

for a new archives

management system

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Other outcomes and next steps

• Greater understanding of users

• Improved communication with users

• Increased confidence for staff

• A case for upgrading our archive management system

• Greater understanding of our requirements for an archive

management system

The user experience of archival research

LSE Library

Nadia Marks

User Experience Researcher

LSE Library

n.m.marks@lse.ac.uk