The following personas seem to group together under the category of "hobbyist" or "personal interest" – please consolidate into one or two personas with very specific stories.
Is not affiliated with the institution, and is limited in what he can access
Can’t see certain records due to non-affiliation, and can’t get certain information due to privacy laws
Must drive a far distance to campus, so wants the most out of his visits
Not technology savvy; no e-mail and doesn’t like using computers
Wants to work with library staff, either in person or on the phone
Wants physical materials over digital, including print outs of digital representations
Interested in genealogical research, but no clear idea of what to do
What Chris would need…
Something intuitive, even for someone who is not tech-savvy
Clear interface and less terminology
Archive/Institution information: hours and telephone number. He will need staff help In clarifying his search and then executing it
Clarity over what he can and can’t access – he doesn’t want to waste time searching in collections and requesting materials he can’t ever have
Clarity over what THIS archive has; Chris is making the drive here and doesn’t want to come all this way for things that belong to a different institution or archive!
Physical locations, so if there are physical materials he can use it is easy to look up and have someone retrieve
Persona 2: Archive-Specific Researcher “Tech Savvy and Quick”
Leonard, age 42
A bit about Leonard…
Independent scholar looking to apply for a fellowship at the Special Collection library
Writing up a list of resources he wants to use with regards to his project on early English ballads for his fellowship application
Comfortable with technology; knows how to use internet searching and uses complex Boolean searches
Knows what he is looking for, and doesn’t need as much help from library staff
Interested in digital items or items that he could easy get a digital copy of
What Leonard would need…
A system that allows for the complex Boolean searching he wants to do, since he is looking for specific items from specific dates
A way to search only through digitized materials or to easily identify what is digitized
A way to ‘bookmark’ sources and export a list when he’s done to use with his application
A clear and easy way to tell what is and is not available to unaffiliated members; this will bolster his case for why he needs that fellowship!
Persona 3: Academic “Experienced User”
Kathleen, age 45
A bit about Kathleen…
Kathleen is a writer who regularly uses the archives for material and images for her local history books
She is familiar with the archive’s previous system, so has her way of doing things
She knows which collections she wants to search
Is comfortable with online searching and digital materials, but likes physical as well
What Kathleen would need…
She needs to ability to search like she did under the previous system; she may have relearn navigation, but she doesn’t want to lose features
Wants to search collections only, not get a list of all archival objects
Finds some of the term changes from the old system to the new confusing (“collections” vs “finding aids” etc.)
Wants easy browsing
Would find it useful to search across all repositories that the Archive owns (Kathleen doesn’t care if it’s part of repository a or b, if they have it she wants it!)
Original Personas
Local Researcher
Chris, age 70
Drives 45 minutes to visit library, and wants to maximize time on campus
Unaffiliated with institution, so access is limited to some collections, databases, and holdings
Does not like using computers and does not use e-mail
Primarily communicates with library staff in person or via telephone
Would like to do genealogical research on several different ancestors, but does not have any idea where to start
Prefers using physical, original materials over digital objects and microfilm. Chris will be frustrated to learn upon arrival at the repository that the originals cannot be accessed (due to their having been digitized or microfilmed).
Is not cognizant of restrictions surrounding the institution's student records and alumni files, and needs to be clearly informed of any such restrictions up-front.
Will be confused if opening several different tabs and/or windows is necessary to request one item. Would have an easier time with a simple, fluid experience that encompasses searching for collections, identifying specific folders of interest, and requesting materials.
Academic Library/Special Collections Personas (added by Matt).
D.J., general public, sports enthusiast, 50 years old.
Wants to locate specific items he already has in mind.
Is frustrated by too much information/too many search results.
Would prefer for staff to perform searches/locate materials on his behalf.
University Archives/ Special Collections Personas (added by scott)
George, professional musician and amateur historian, 56 years old. Working on an article on Sousa's relationship with the University of Illinois between 1908 and 2008 to be published American School Band Journal.
Needs to execute keyword searches simultaneously across multiple repositories' content for all arrangements and recordings of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes March" created and/or performed at the University of Illinois.
Needs to have all relevant content from each repository displayed alphabetically under that repository's holdings by the title of the archival collection, and with the specific box and folder locations for that collection's content.
Would like to also have access to any relevant digital content (i.e., photographic imagery and sound recordings) as part of his search results, with the descriptive information for each digital object listed first with a link directly to that digital content.
Tends to get short when he attempts to setup a research appointment to look at specific archival content that he believes is in that repository, only to discover that it is actually in another repository on the other side of campus.
Academic Research Library/Special Collections and Archives (Dara)
Kathleen, historian/writer
Regularly researches in archives for material and images related to her books on local history
Would like to be able to use the advanced search to limit results to collections only, not archival objects
Finds the navigation terms confusing; would prefer natural language terms
Historical Society (Added by Linda)
Bob, History enthusiast, 62 years old
Collects information about random historical events that he hopes to someday write about and publish
Spends a lot of time in archives
Wants photocopies of everything
Will use online tools, but expects them to look like traditional paper finding aids
Octavia Rosecliff, Historical Fiction writer, 49
Writing a bodice ripper based in Litchfield during the early republic
Doesn’t want to look anything up herself
Would like information about things like bathing in the 1800s to provide historical context for various scenes
Needs to be able to search the collection by date
Gertie, Author and Public Speaker, 65
Researching her ancestor, an enslaved African-American, for a project
Would like access to archives and artifacts (cataloged in CollectionSpace)
Would like digital images available
Shares contextual information and research the repository can use to enhance the finding aid
Beulah, 72, Genealogist
She doesn’t have an e-mail address and is not happy at the idea of conducting her own search online
She wants to find vital records
She’s hoping to join the DAR and needs to have verification of her ancestor’s service
Special Collections Personas (added by Susan)
Leonard Doe, 42, is an independent scholar looking to apply for a month-long fellowship at Special Collections library. He needs to include a list of resources he will be using in his research application, which is on early English ballads.
Needs to be able to do complicated boolean searching, limited by a date range.
Wants to know what is digitized easily.
Wants to be able to add everything he is interested in using to a set, then download all the metadata into an excel spreadsheet.