UW Libraries  Personas Development

• Get a good grade on the project  
• Find adequate materials as quickly as possible

• Too many choices!

• Always on Facebook and MyUW
• Uses library computers because laptop is too heavy to carry around

Research Goals

• Use what worked before, even if it's not the best resource
• Looking for information is not interesting
• want answer to immediate question -- not more*
• will take first thing that satisfies requirements
• prefer quick and easy resource over useful
• want only online resources, info. (articles)**
• Library used for research and fun
• using library because have to
• Large % will not be scholars - may not care about scholarly info
• very course-oriented, focused on grades
• "which one resource should I use to find an article presenting information that supports the paper I am writing?"
• Finding basic materials for class assignments -- not too scholarly, but not a simple encyclopedia entry - getting this just right can be a challenge*
• want find not search

• students begin by entering a few search terms into whatever resource brought them 'luck' before [3]
• "I think (the library website) is easy because I tend to use the same resources over and over again, and the format hasn't changed or anything, so it's pretty consistent." [7]
• students in our discussion groups considered course–related research “barely a tolerable task.” [12]
  
• "The other thing is that I use the library mainly for studying and I almost always use online resources because I'm not sure where to find books here. I'm not sure what I'm suggesting for that, I'm sure staff here would help me, but I often rather use a crappy article that "kinda works" from online than go to the hassle of finding a book in the library." [6]
• frustrated when find the citation but can't find the full text article [3]
• Another student, who liked to look for journal articles online, indicated that he did not know what to do if the article was not online. Also, this student mentioned that “it would be nice to have the electronic version.” [8]
• Many students were challenged by research tasks, especially selecting and evaluating information and figuring out professors’ expectations for quality research.[12]
• students struggle to find the right search terms [3]
• use a combination of google, free article databases (eg Findarticle) and bookmarking tools rather than the library [21]
• Most students consulted aggregated research resources — many of which had been identified for their scholarly quality by professors, librarians, or library databases.[12]

 Getting Started/Wikipedia

• unsure where to start research
• undergrads & grad students want help thinking through their topic before starting with resources
• user wants advice on how to structure their research
• wants to start searching right away

• "It was too broad of a research assignment to the point of where if I picked anything, sure, I could write about it, but I wouldn't know if that was the right thing to write about, or the wrong thing, I just didn't know where to begin." [3] 
• have trouble beginning assignments, trouble choosing/defining/limiting topics [3]
• "The longest part of research is getting to the question to ask" [3]
• 59% of students described an inability to narrow down topics and make them manageable [12]
• They liked wikipedia because it provided a good overview and references, and because it was ranked highly in google results.[8]
• More likely to start on the open internet (like Wikipedia) than in the library [1]
• students don't understand the technical jargon in articles; wikipedia helps with this as a 'presearch' tool [3]
• wikipedia often includes timelines and charts which help with visual learning [3]
• 8 out of 11 students started with wikipedia [3]
• "I just go online, to Wikipedia, then branch out like crazy. I follow the links at the bottom and keep going on from there." [7]
• Three-quarters (75%) of students have used email to get additional information and clarification about an assignment. No matter their collegiate standing, students are equally enthusiastic about using email for the purpose of assignment clarification. [16]
• study of upper division humanities/social science students found "A majority of students began their research by consulting course readings or the library’s Web site for online access to scholarly journals. To a lesser extent, students used Yahoo!, Google, and Wikipedia as first steps." [12]
• Seek Big Picture Context, Language Context, Situational Context, Information Gathering Context [3]
• wikipedia is a one stop shop for big picture and language context [3]
• wikipedia 'can point you in the right direction, "helps when I have no idea what to do for a research paper," "I go to wikipedia just to get an understanding of the topic...some citations...a stepping stone to get deeper into the issue I've chosen." [3]
• No students brought up any other enclyopedias as starting points [3]
• even if they were weren't allowed to used wikipedia, most students did it anyway and just didn't include it on the works cited list [3]
• students felt they could evaluate the quality of information on wikipedia based on wikipedia's editorial comments and a 'gut feeling' [3]
• Nowadays, the Internet has changed the way students use the library. Students tend to use the Internet prior to going to the library to find information [16]
• 85% felt they did not have enough information from professors to begin assignments [12]

Asking for Help

• Don't like to ask for help
• info/help at point of need
• can be too intimidated to ask for help*
• don't always know how to ask for what they need
• won't ask - will flounder around till find something that helps
• are comfortable asking for help online
• prefer email or chat for questions
• like using chat service, but won't use it for more complex, time-consuming questions
• need point of need help (virtual)
  
• need us in their space
• expectation of immediate, online help (how other sites operate)

• only 6% were at the library for help (as opposed to 10% grad and 20% faculty)[5]
• "I don't think I've ever really talked to a librarian." [7]
• it's hard to remember the content of library training classes later on, when you're actually trying to do research [3]
• "I tend to get frustrated pretty quickly when I'm looking for books and materials and would go to a librarian sooner rather than later. The library does have a lot books and materials. I get really lost and give up pretty fast and go to a librarian. The other day, I was looking for journal publications (like book journals); they were the ones you can't take out of the library. I didn't know how to access them, how to find them, labeled in a strange way and had to ask someone to help me find it. I prefer to have items delivered to a library close by. I prefer to not go look for books on my own; the codes (call numbers) are confusing."[8]
• starts research by going to the library and talking to a librarian [17]
• Although we did not mention the campus Web portal, several participants indicated their satisfaction with having a librarian assigned to them (typically, the librarian serving as liaison to their major department) and having contact information for their librarian displayed on their personalized Web portal home page. [26]
• The most frequent users of chat reference are undergraduate students, (One librarian commented that “undergrads use it most, but they are also our most numerous group of users.”) Perhaps these are the patrons observed using chat reference at computers in 69% of the responding Libraries, instead of using traditional reference desk service. Graduate students are the next largest category of users followed distantly by the world at large. Faculty has used the service at only three libraries [27]
  

 No Jargon

• Don't know/understand library jargon**
• what's a/the catalog?
• trouble distinguishing journal from database
• don't understand (and don't care about) our definition/group of databases or reference tools

• The other day, I was looking for journal publications (like book journals); they were the ones you can't take out of the library. I didn't know how to access them, how to find them, labeled in a strange way and had to ask someone to help me find it. I prefer to have items delivered to a library close by. I prefer to not go look for books on my own; the codes (call numbers) are confusing."[8]
• "I usually go onto the libraries homepage, I research the databases. Sometimes look for books but I use more online sources. And I also do some google searches. [Did you use the library catalog or go straight to databases?] Straight to databases. I found out about them my freshman year, in one of those classes with information about the library." [7]

Information Overload

• confused & overwhelmed by resources***
• need easier ways to broaden out / narrow down
• Wikipedia is easy
• Google everything
• need simplicity
• "why do I have to search in so many different places to find what I want?"
• don't like or understand "departments" or "disciplines" are interdisciplinary
• intimidated by staff and by choices
  
• need explanations of how things work
• Sometimes, no library experience
• May never have encountered scholarly information before
• can get overwhelmed by a methodical approach to working on a problem, especially if pressed for time

• 60% describd a tendency to become overwhelmed by the plethora of available resources .[12]
• too much irrelevant information, information overload, overwhelmed by all the choices [3]
• students need to narrow down a topic and find common knowledge before looking for scholarly materials to use in a paper [3]
• There are millions of search results provided by Google, while none of the participants have ever complained about information overload. Therefore, this problem is not just about the amount of search results, but about the interface complexity. [8]
• "For biology we have to use the website, I haven't done it yet because I sort of don't like using websites. But we just have to pick a topic and research on it. Like what allows penguins to dive deep into the ocean. We have to use a published article. I haven't really gotten around to it yet. Our TA has to approve our topic first, our TA gave us like step by step directions on how to use the website, but I haven't started yet. If I wasn't required to use the website, honestly I would probably google it. It's really user friendly. The way they list all the search results, the way the topic is bolded. I have used the library before but honestly it's really confusing, so I avoid it. Even though I know there's help in the library, you just ask someone. But I just google it.  At the library, I just look at it, and everything looks the same, I don't know where things are. I have searched things before but the way it lists it, I just don't like the look of it. Like Google, it gives you little snippets of the article, and you can just briefly read. But here you have to click each one, and it says like call number, and all of that." [7]
• All focus group participants reported using Google and Google Scholar for class research and 7/9 used wikipedia. Only 1 or 2 students reported using the course reserves, UW libraries, news websites, or other library sites. Students preferred Google because they saw it as clean and easy, and usually helped them find things. They liked wikipedia because it provided a good overview and references, and because it was ranked highly in google results.[8]
• "I tried the interlibrary loan, but I got confused and I just gave up. Like Summit, it was last year and it was something from another state. and I was trying to figure out how to get it over here, but I got so confused I just gave up, I was like, forget it." [7]
• students felt they 'lacked a necessary orientation to find things' [3]
• "I always have trouble finding what I am looking for" both online and in the library [3]
• Databases as a starting point for research are 'too much too soon,' filled with scientific jargon which students don't understand [3]
• students value the library home page and use it from off campus as a gateway to research databases [3]
• Suggestions made by undergraduates regarding the libraries homepage were focused on "Simplicity."  They hoped to reduce the unnecessary / redundant links [8]
• "With WCL...the amount of stuff that comes back is overwhelming" [8]
• Most students were confused by what college–level research entails.[12]
  
  

Reserves

• "How do I find my class reserves?"
• Reserves!
• What are "reserves"?
• Need help finding class website / reserves
• Need help navigating course reserves and options
• "My instructor said my course materials are at the library - where?"
  

• Students were more likely to select “access and review course material” as an important goal than faculty or TAs were to select “ensure student access to course materials.” [4]
• Students may comb through course materials, looking for ideas for their papers [3]
• the majority of students in our survey (40 percent) reported the first step they took during the research process was consulting a course textbook or other readings from class. [12]
• "Where are the class Reserves...[Is that something else that you use frequently?] Yes. [scrolls around]. Is that here somewhere? Oh I like this one [points at "Reserving a Room", scrolls over all the links in "Using the Libraries"] Oh here it is. [Do you call them class reserves?] Yeah...I know they call them course reserves. That's just what I call them." [7]

Time

• Operate under a continual 10-week time crunch
• procrastinate***
• goal: get info write paper  N.O.W. (I'm late)
• work late at night and into the wee hours, 11 pm+
• efficient use of their limited time
  
• want quick answers*
• want materials immediately***
• "Can't I limit to only what's not checked out?"
• procrastinate and then panic if they experience problems

• 8/10 students are self-described procrastinators [3]
• students at research institutions are most likely to procrastinate because they know they can find something even at the last minute [3]
• Most students surveyed spent one to five hours of time on research tasks (77 percent), often just days before a drop–dead due date. [12]
• many students have a wide variety of activities throughout the day -- classes, jobs, clubs, and excercise -- and often do not begin homework until late in the evening (10 pm - 2 am) [2]
• Students faced a variety of obstacles working against them, including their own procrastination with getting started on assignments (73 percent)[12]
• "Procrastination, for me, is about the adrenaline rush. I'll write a response paper in less than an hour before it's due. It's always just like a race. Can I find some quotes to pull them out and put them together?" [3]
• 87% of students said they had sufficient time to finish their papers. "It was assigned at the beginning of the semester so if rushed it is my own fault" [2]
• students may use a variety of methods, sometimes more than one, to track class assignments, including notebooks, computer scheduling software, planners, sticky notes, and PDAs [2]

 Technology

• Always on, always connected
• used to: email, youtube, facebook, google
  
• like personalized and customized services/info./tech.
• FASTER! (if something doesn't appear on website in less that 2 seconds, it's not worth my time)
• not internet savvy
• tech-savvy*
• flexible, willing to try new things
• search website
• "VHS -- what's that?"
• like to "mash-up" technologies/areas of study/cultures/etc.
• cell phone reception?
• use mobile device**
• would like to text reference questions

• College students are heavy users of the Internet compared to the general population. Use of the Internet is a part of college students’ daily routine, in part because they have grown up with computers. It is as ordinary as the telephone or television. They check email daily, 85% have their own computer, 2/3 use at least 2 email addresses, they are 2x as likely to have downloaded music and use IM as the average Internet user. They use it to communicate with professors and classmates, do research, and access library materials [16]
• students used email, IM, facebook or myspace [2]
• Pervasively used technologies: email, course web pages, word processing, powerpoint [4]
• Top 10 Websites Google, Yahoo, Youtube, Facebook, Windows live, MSN, Wikipedia, Blogger.com, Myspace, Baidu.com [10]
• not many undergraduates own PDAs or similar devices [9]

• Web design focus groups indicated a strong preference for customized content (e.g. my favorites, my classes links, my professors, options to add and remove links to subject librarians [2]
• Users value convenience very highly. They evaluate and use sites based on resemblance to the top search engines and ability to provide fast results, order by relevance, provide evidence and context (e.g. snippets), and a similar layout (e.g. results in one column) [11]
• Conventional wisdom suggests that students have greater technological expertise than faculty and that the expertise gap is most extreme between younger students and older faculty members. However, our data show that faculty, TAs, and students have strikingly similar levels of self-reported technical expertise, when measured against defined technical skills. (Beginner =use a mouse and keyboard, create documents, use email, access Web pages;  Intermediate= format documents using styles or templates, use spreadsheets for custom calculations and charts, and/or use graphics/Web publishing software; Expert= use macros, configure operating system features, create programs using a programming language, develop a database [4]
  

• Lower-division students actually reported the lowest expertise among students. Student technological expertise increased with class standing (Figure 9). Student expertise also increased with age. Data on student age show that students under 20 years of age reported a mean of 3.19 (n=137) on the expertise scale, compared to a mean of 3.43 for those over 25 (n=206). ... Overall, the lowest means for faculty were comparable to the lowest means for students. These data suggest that the general belief in students’ higher level of technical expertise may be largely a myth. [4 p. 17] (does this accurately reflect frequency of use and willingness to use technology?  or does this only reflect "skill"?)
• students have different levels of tech expertise and need different levels of support [4]
• Students used a greater variety of technologies than did faculty or TAs, including wikis and social networks, in learning contexts; 7.3% or fewer faculty and TA respondents used either technology. students used  wikis more in small seminar classes (23%) and social networking more for large lecture classes (18%).  The same pattern emerged in the 2005 surveys [4]
• 2/3 subscribe to at least one academic-oriented mailing list,  They use these lists to carry on email discussions about topics covered in their classes. [16]
• Students, especially those in the social sciences, check news blogs on a regular basis. [29]
  
• males rate themselves as more tech savvy than females [4]
• "I use the citation tool all the time, the style guide. I think that's the only think I would use. Well -- I use the off-campus log in. I didn't know about that, the RSS. I haven't used RSS.  I wanted to, but I don't know , it doesn't seem like it's really worth the trouble. Sometimes I get news on my cell phone, because I have internet on my cell phone, but it doesn't seem like it's worth the trouble. [Would you subscribe to a library RSS feed?] Probably not, it's just not that important to me." [7]
• 82% of students own a laptop [9]
• first learned how to use many technologies (database searching, discussion boards) for learning in their courses... At some point in their career, students began to surpass their instructors in terms of familiarity with technologies, possibly due to students’ participation in informal learning communities. In faculty focus groups participants talked extensively about getting students to learn from each other. In student focus groups, it was apparent that students were interacting and seeking this interaction, but not always in class. They reported a variety of means for getting together in self-selecting groups. Social networking software was especially important to undergraduate lowerclassmen for forming groups and getting together when they could not meet face to face. [4]
• 1/4 of students who identify themselves as 'early adopters' access the internet from handheld devices weekly or more often [9]
• less likely to dismiss the usefulness of info on small screens [9]
• computers and cell phones are the most common devices [2]
• many students do not carry laptops around with them because they are too heavy t carry around all day as they go from place to place.  they may bring a laptop with them only if they intend to go to one place and stay there for a long period of time. "I don't need my laptop, just 'cause I base everything that I -- anything that I'm going to need on campus, I'll just send to my email account so I can just access it right away. But other than that, it is easier to just keep my backpack full of my books and bindrs, and it's not too heavy" [2] 
• students use computer technology throughout the day and in multiple locations [3]
• students do not make distinctions between library facilities and other facilities in the same building such as computer labs [2]
  
• 3/4 of college students say that they use the internet more than the library for information searching [16]
• A significant number of college students use publicly accessible computers on campus for social purposes even when they have their own computer at their disposal: 33% find that the majority of their computer use occurs at school and outside their homes or dorm rooms. [16]

Digital Context

• videos
• like media & visual web
• access to popular items (new fiction, CDs, DVDs, etc.)
• Use multiple libraries
• use "library website" from multiple places - get different version of "library website" depending on which physical branch they're in - leads  to confusion
• Library info decontextualized - MyUW, Course webpages, etc
• "website" = anything accessible online
• "Is it on MyUW?  Why not???"
• living in a post-copyright world
• don't understand plagiarism
• "Can I burn this entire CD?"  ("And then can I post the file to my web page?"
• like visual presentation
• may not want to read a lot of text online
  

• "I don't use the website much, mostly just the media page. I just Google Odegaard Media Center, and it's the first result." [7]
• Most undergraduate students went online for Email, Facebook, chatting and homework.  4 of 9 participants chose to use the UW library website when they went for their course or class information needs. The rest of them used it other purposes including checking library accounts, looking up locations and hours of the libraries, reserving a study room and borrowing DVDs and other materials for fun. [8]Get paper ideas from popular media (eg movies, news, etc) [12]
• During direct observations of college students’ use of the Internet in a library and in campus computer labs, it was noted that the majority of students’ time was not spent using the library resources online. Rather, email use, instant messaging and Web-surfing dominated students computer activity in the library. Almost every student that was observed checked his or her email while in the computer labs, but very few were observed surfing university-based or library Web sites. Those students who were using the computer lab to do academic-related work made use of commercial search engines rather than university and library Web sites. [16]
• "Different libraries have different home pages. It would be better if everyone had the same library home page because it's too confusing; 2) Sometimes a bit confusing if I go to music or Odegaard; would get a little bit lost, could not find my way back." [8]
• Students use tuftslife.com to get to many Tufts and Tisch resources. [29]
  
• lower-division students rated priorities related to access to audio and video podcasting and visualization technologies higher than other students did, which may indicate demand for these technologies will grow over time. Upper-division students rated the item “more computer labs with collaborative spaces” higher than other did other students. [4]
• students who are effective learners in the digital environment seek peer support via informal networks of family by using email, texting, chat, and skype, 'an underworld of communication and information-sharing invisible to tutors' [9]
• "I didn't want to deal with signing a different account to login WCL, but I need the function of adding it to a list I own; has been really useful to me." [8]]

Space

• Libraries as place is important
• need space to work in - group and individual
• use hold/request/pickup - don't often go into stacks to look for stuff
• want to eat in library
• Floaters - have no permanent physical 'home' on campus

• virtual & physical users
• use library website from home
• use library website in the libraries
  
• need spaces to share group info online
  
• "are there study rooms?"
• "where do I go to reserve a study room? Can I do it myself?" The process is confusing.

• need social spaces**
• like Suzzallo Espresso

• Majority (60%+) visit in person at least weekly [1]
• I prefer to have items delivered to a library close by. I prefer to not go look for books on my own; the codes (call numbers) are confusing."[8]
• Top 3 service expansion priorities: 1. more quiet work and study areas, 2. more weekend hours, 3. more computers [1]
• "I use the library several times a week, I come into Odegaard and borrows textbooks to read for my classes." [17]
• many students eat on the go, and carry packaged foods with them or have snacks to eat in the library, in lab, in class, on the bus, and at work. few ate more than one 'real meal' per day [2]
• "OUGL is great for groups and killing time, but I like Suzzallo if I want to get anything done. I wish there were more computers there, and that it was open later!" [6]
• "More computers might be nice, but what is so great about Suzzallo is that it is so much quieter and less busy than Ode. More individual study areas might be nice."[6]

• "I check the site quite a bit to see when libraries are going to be open, because I'm going to be studying there." [7]
• visits the library several times a day [17]
  
• 66% were working in the library alone, only 15% working with a group, only 12% were there for materials [5]
• only 3.2% there to pick up holds as opposed to 12% grad/faculty [5]
• 17% meeting someone at the library [5]
• "It would be nice if the library was open later on Saturdays - esp. during midterms & finals weeks. Suzzallo/Allen are my favorite libraries. It's a nice place to study because it's clean, quiet, & not crowded." [6]
• "This library is so much more helpful to me than OUGL. I can always find what I need or at least find someone who knows where to find it. There are so many more quiety places to study. Also, as a history major, all the collections I need are at Suzzallo. I write all my papers here." [6]
• "For our club meetings we come to the library and we reserve study rooms, because it's a really convenient place on campus and it's something we use often." [7]
• almost half of the participants indicated that they accessed the libraries website from home.[8]
• "Need more computers in Suzzallo!" commented by 140 people (24%) [6]
• students living in dorms may use the library when they need to work on a project because the dorms have too much activity and socializing going on [2]
• 58% used library computer, only 16% used their own computer however use of their own computer doubled since 2005 [5]
• top library activities: study individually 66% , used library computer 58% [5]
• top library priorities: library computers & space for individual work. (access to online resources, on-site collections, and help rated as less important). [5]
  
  

Group Work

• do a lot of group work***

• it is common for students to gather in groups and work in a computer lab for a prolonged period of time. While in groups, students often appear to be working on academic tasks although most often one student is at a computer terminal typing while the remaining group members are socializing and contributing information when asked by the typist. Students were also observed positioning themselves at adjacent terminals in order to compare work on assignments easily. [16]
• 66% were working in the library alone, only 15% working with a group (but higher than incidence for grad students/faculty).  [5]

Demographics

• Different learning modes
• returning students
• are career focused
  
• work out of field (HSL)
• non-English speakers
• commuter
• diverse economic status
  

• 21.1% reported living in UW housing; 11.3% lived off campus (with parent/guardian); and 67.6% lived off campus (other). [4]
• Class types align closely with disciplines, e.g.:  Humanities --> small discussions, natural sciences --> large lectures [4]

More

•  some are more like grad students (e.g. CHID and SIS juniors, seniors)
• Citation Help
• "Can I print? poster? color? how much?"
• printer help
• either get too much IL or too little
• user wants to consult course catalogs
• User wants to use Northeast History Resources
• User wants Newspaper/magazine Articles for research paper
• grateful (usually)*
• grateful
• have high expectations of what UW offers (education/services etc.)
• not critical thinkers

• over two–thirds (67%) had difficulties gauging what professors wanted from one class to the next [12]
• frustrated by conducting research to meet someone else's expectations [3]
• students have little contact with professors as research coaches; professors talk about their primary research but don't help students much with learning how to perform secondary research [3]
  
•  gap between what professors define as quality research in class lectures and what resources students end up using in assignments [12]
• "I think what's frustrating [about the library website] is I know what I want but sometimes getting to what I want is really hard." [7]
• students know that resources exist but can't find them [3]
• frustrations with finding mysteries are exacerbated online [3]