ArcLight Interview Analysis

As part of the ArcLight discovery process, we conducted user interviews in spring 2015 and early summer 2016 to better understand how both archivists and end-users (referred to as both “end-users” and “researchers” in this document) work with archival collections and the challenges they face in their work. Along with other discovery methods, these interviews were intended to inform subsequent phases of the ArcLight design process.

We conducted a total of 17 interviews. Seven of the interviews were with researchers. Of the remaining ten interviews, one was a group interview with four archivists, and another was with a public service librarian who works in a university reading room with patrons doing research with archival collections. The interviews were conducted at four institutions: Stanford University, Georgia Tech, the University of Michigan, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. The first 14 interviews were conducted between March and May of 2015; the final three interviews were conducted in June, 2016.