“User Interaction with Electronic Finding Aids in a Controlled Setting,” Review

• Prom, Christopher. “User Interaction with Electronic Finding Aids in a Controlled Setting,” American Archivist 67 (2004): 234-268.

This article presents the results of tests that were conducted by the archives at the University of Illinois to determine how different types of potential patrons interact with various types of electronic finding aids. Prom describes the methodology used for the tests. The tests used a variety of types of participants. Some had used archives before. Some were archival novices. Some had computer experience but no archives experience. Some had archives experience, but little computer experience. The tests had a good mix of people that probably fairly represent the types of patrons an archivist would encounter. The participants were tested to see if they could find specific information at several types of sites. Some sites used searchable EAD, but others used non searchable EAD, HTML, or PDF.

There were several points in the article in which I was particularly interested. First, Prom’s findings
regarding PDF were that most participants did not like it. Not surprisingly, they felt that it was bulky and it took a long time to search. Second, search interfaces should be fairly simple and straightforward, and they should “avoid archival terminology.” Those participants who had either computer or archival experience were most successful and used the least amount of time to find what they needed. Clear mapping and browsing functions often helped searchers find what they need more efficiently than a search box. Prom also notes that users often use browser functions like CTRL+F to find the data for which they are searching. He suggests that archivists probably should not do anything that will cause this feature not to work (ie. like dividing the finding aid up into multiple pages) , unless they have a complex search system in place that can more than make up for it.