Key Facts:

• Little or no previous experience with research or library databases
• Will take the first resource that appears on topic
• Wants/expects information to be easy to find and available now
• More focused on grade/career outcome than the research process
• Appreciates library's unique spaces and services that are not available in the dorm (group study, quiet floor, printing/scanning, technology/dvd/game checkout)

What she/he needs to do:

• Find (search, access) relevant and credible (evaluate) information (articles, websites, etc.) to cite in a paper
• Know when and where to ask for help
• Organize information for synthesis/writing
• Ethically use information in writing (summarize, paraphrase, quote, cite)

Problems/Issues

• Little or no prior knowledge of what scholarly sources are or how to find them
• Wants/expects information to be easy to find and available now - and is sometimes disappointed/stressed when it isn't
• Often unaware that librarians will help or where/how to ask
• Is overwhelmed by size and organization of the website/building
• Doesn't have access to a printer/scanner/copier
• Doesn't have a good place for quiet study or groupwork

How she/he uses the library:

     Services:

• Will ask how to find various resources in person at the reference desk after searching online, but unaware of the other means to contact a librarian 
•  Will ask for technology and printing help
• May not be aware of the extent of services and help available at the library.

     Website:

•  Comes to the library website after exhausting a Google search
•  Only uses library sources if it is a class requirement
•  Does not go beyond the home page to find resources

     Physical Space:

•  Needs place for group work
•  Utilizes quiet space for studying, away from distractions

 
Brandon is a sophomore majoring in Business Administration.  He chose UW-Stout because he grew up in the area, and wanted a major where he could find a job. He lives in the dorms and often studies there. 

Although Brandon came to the library once with his Freshman English class, he does not know what kinds of resources the library has for his field of study, and does not think that is important because all of the information he needs is available through Google.

He has come to the library a few times to work on a group projects, and once to get a book when a print source was required for a class assignment.  He asked for help finding the book and thought the people were helpful, but found the process overwhelming and would not use a book in the future, unless it was required.

    Benchmarks for Brandon:

• In person reference desk transactions stay stable
• Increase chat reference by 25%
• Inrcrease in space usage by 10%
• A rise in study room usage--to be utilized 65% of the time
• Rise in printing(15%) and scanner usage (20%)
• Increase in specialized equipment by 10%
• Increase in hits on student job application form
• Increase circulation of children's books, puppets, etc by 10%
• Increase number of EMC-related consultations to 3/semester
• Increase likes and follows on social media by 20%
• Increase leisure/personal enrichment usage of the collections (audiobooks, browsing, new comics collections, hobby books - crafts, gardening, cookbooks, etc.)
• Increase usage of the game lab and check out of video games
• Increase usage of tools and resources from our website

Key Facts:

• Full time graduate student, also working as a Graduate Assistant
  
• May have no, very little or a lot of research/library database experience
• Is doing research for classes, research for thesis, and research for professors as well
• Will pursue several avenues to get relevant materials

What she/he needs to do:

• Find (search, access) credible information for comprehensive literature review from topic or citation
• Understand, critique and use research and statistics
• Write a thesis based on research and survey data
• Cite sources in APA format

Problems/Issues

• Is overwhelmed by library website; doesn't know where to start or when she has found everything relevant
• Unaware of relevant library services and scope of resources (but would attend training)
• Needs most up-to-date information resources
• Frustrated with technical issues - remote access, anomolies connecting to full-text, outdated/slow technology in library
• Doesn't have a good place to meet for groupwork

How she uses the library:

     Services:

•  Will ask a librarian for help finding resources in person and via email
•  If they have used the library, generally have a positive impression of the interaction or service they received
• Needs to renew both local and ILL items

     Website:

•  Starts research at the library website, then moves to Google if that fails
•  Needs to request books from other libraries
•  Needs to request articles from other institutions too

     Physical Space:

•  Utilizes quiet space for studying
•  Needs area to collaborate with a group
•  Would like to see a 24 hour study area
•  Needs a plug in for phone and laptop

Rachel is a 25 year old master’s student in the M.S. in Applied Psychology program. She’s working on a thesis about student’s school attitudes when they own a pet. She has sent a survey out and is currently gathering survey data.

Rachel used the academic libraries at her undergrad institution a little bit. However, she is confident in her research abilities feels like she knows her way around a library, but hasn't hasn’t actually had any library instruction at Stout or spent much time finding out everything that’s available here.

To complete the master’s degree, Rachel needs to do original research so she needs to find out what has already been published. She focuses on electronic databases because that’s where the important work in her area is published. She uses RefWorks to save a list of all the articles she finds.

Her faculty advisor refers Rachel to specific authors and articles, and from those she often discovers other resources to try. She feels pretty confident in her ability to find these things on her own.

Sometimes Rachel works from her apartment, but also uses the library as a study space if she needs to focus. She also stops in when needing to pick up books she has ordered from other libraries.

Rachel has written many papers, but would really like some help putting together her literature review, and also suspects she will need assistance editing and citing her thesis.

   Benchmarks for Rachel:

• Reference desk transactions stay stable
• Increase chat reference by 25%
• Increase space including quiet floor usage by 10%
• A rise in study room usage to be used 65% of the time
• Rise in printing and scanner usage
  
• Increase likes and follows on social media by 20%
• Increase awareness of electronic resources (ebooks, streaming video)
• Increase usage of tools and resources from our website
• Increase leisure/personal enrichment usage of the collections (audiobooks, browsing, new comics collections, hobby books - crafts, gardening, cookbooks, etc.)

 Key Facts:

• Experienced researcher/library user in their field of study
• Willing to pursue several avenues of research to accomplish goals
• Goals of research can be varied: grant-writing, scholarship, publication or pedagogical
• May not be aware of extent of library services available

What she/he needs to do:

• Gather scholarly and other relevant/credible resources on a well-defined topic from a variety of places
• Find materials by citation
• Request materias using ILL
• Plan curriculum
• Identify possible grants, partnerships or publication avenues

Problems/Issues

• Library does not have access to specific journals/databases needed
• Difficulty navigating website to find known tools or resources
• Website and database interfaces change too rapidly

How she/he uses the library:

     Services:

•  Work with a librarian often on my research in person, via email, phone, but not very often using chat.
• Need assistance selecting databases, finding and requesting resources
• May not know that library instruction is available for his classes.

     Website:

•  Start my research at the library website and find resources on my own during my library visits
•  Wants to be able to access information quickly and seamlessly
•  Wants resources to be available now, but will use Interlibrary Loan.

     Physical Space:

•  Not likely to use physical space 

Steven is a 45 year-old professor in the Food and Nutrition department.  He has a Ph.D. from a research I university, and considers himself an experienced researcher.  In the time since he achieved tenure, his research focus has shifted to the education of food and nutrition students, and he presents at 1-2 conferences a year.  He also seves as a thesis advisor for graduate students in Food and Nutritional Sciences.

Steven has very high expectations of the kinds of resources and services that should be offered at the library. When graduate students come to him for help with thesis research or APA citations questions, he sends them to the library and expects them to be able to answer these questions.  He feels the library should have more databases and electronic journals available in his field, and is a frequent user of the Interlibrary Loan services.

Steven assigns research papers to his classes, and expects his students to know how to find and use scholarly sources.

   Benchmarks for Steven:

• Reference desk transactions stay stable
• Increase chat reference by 25%
• Increase distance librarian services (embedding, tutorials)
• Increase in Faculty specific services (proxy patron, FetchItForMe, Open Reservers and Video Booking) by 10%
• Increase in the use of copyright services
• Increase use of F2F library instruction by 10 classes in Fall/5 classes in Spring
• Increase use of research assignment design consultation by 2 each semester
• Increase awareness of electronic resources (ebooks, streaming video), and how to incorporate electronic resources into their courses.
• Increase usage of tools and resources from our website
  
  

 Key Facts:

• May be a returning student or an instructor who is already working full-time in their professional field
• Research experience is limited to a few professional tools and practical applications; little or no experience with library databases or academic research
• Often a Graduate and/or Distance student
• Very little time on campus; most research is done remotely

What she/he needs to do:

• Find authoritative articles on relevant topics, ranging from business briefs and legal information to scholarly articles for her thesis
• Cite sources in an appropriate format

Problems/Issues

• Is overwhelmed by library website; doesn't know where to start or when she has found everything relevant
• Unaware of relevant library services (asking for help, ILL)
• Needs most up-to-date information resources
• Frustrated with technical issues - remote access, anomolies connecting to full-text
• Limited time for schoolwork, primarily outside of business hours

How she/he uses the library:

     Services:

•  Distance reference services
•  Interlibrary Loan
• Online tutorials - short and focused

     Website:

• Starts research on Google; moves to the library website only if aware of library resources
•  Needs obvious method of getting help at a distance, troubleshooting technical issues, and online tutorials

     Physical Space:

• Does not visit campus unless necessary
• If visits campus, may need securable private space to spread out and tackle school work while keeping up with work communications

Paula is a 38 year old student in the Training and Human Resource Development Master's program.

She works full-time at a large company in Cincinatti, Ohio as a manager.  She would like to implement a strategic training program for her team and eventually pursue promotion to design and oversee training for the entire company.

Paula is very familiar with practical training implementations and industry jargon, but is less familiar with theories or assessement.  She hasn't done academic research in a long time and feels frustrated and overwhelmed with the library jargon and navigating the website.  She is highly motivated to learn the course material, but is stressed by innefficient systems, technical malfunctions or extra "hoops" to jump through. 

Paula has limited time to complete school work, particulary during business hours.  She does, however, have constant access to email and online tools via her smartphone.

   Benchmarks for Paula:

• Reference desk transactions stay stable
• Increase chat reference by 25%
• Increase space usage including quiet floor by 10%
• Increase awareness of electronic resources (ebooks, streaming video)
• Increase usage of tools and resources from our website

 Key Facts:

• May be a traditional or returning student, graduate or undergraduate
• May have no, very little or a lot of research/library database experience
• Often works full time while taking online classes
• Very self motivated and researches independently

What she/he needs to do:

• Find scholarly resources that are available online
• Request books and articles using ILL
• Cite sources in APA format

Problems/Issues

• Is overwhelmed by library website; doesn't know where to start
• Unaware of relevant library services (asking for help, ILL)
• Needs more electronic items available
• Frustrated with technical issues - remote access, anomolies connecting to full-text

How she/he uses the library:

     Services:

• Interlibrary loan to request articles and books
• Will ask a reference librarian for help when Google has been exhausted and technical issues appear.
• Accesses online articles and books through main search

     Website:

•  Uses the basic search box to complete research
•  Clicks on the Ask a Librarian link when trouble arises

     Physical Space:

•  Never visits the physical library

 Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Diane is a 35 year old undergraduate in the online B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies degree completion program. She is returning to school after 15 years working in a nursing home.

Diane completed her associates degree at a Technical College and did very little library research. She has been away from education for some time and all of the electronic resources gets confusing.

While working full time, Diane completes her coursework  in the evenings. She will be required to write a few research papers in her classes, but nothing major.

   Benchmarks for Diane:

• Increase chat reference by 25%
• Increase distance librarian services (embedding, tutorials)
• Increase awareness of electronic resources (ebooks, streaming video)
• Increase usage of tools and resources from our website

Key Facts:

• Generally a secretary or administrative assistant
• Often researching on behalf of a supervisor or committee

What she/he needs to do:

• Locate specific information about an event, person, or department on campus
• Generally needs scans or copies to give to another individual or entity

Problems/Issues

• May be personally unfamiliar with goal, scope or likely resources of research
• Often needs the information yesterday and expects immediate turnaround
• Requires multiple communications to explain, verify and obtain information needed

How she/he uses the Archives:

     Services:

• Usually contacts Heather or Robin directly via email or telephone
• Doesn’t want to come to the Archives in person.

     Website:

•  Not interested in searching our databases.
•  Uses cite to locate our contact information so we can find the information for them.

     Physical Space:

• Wants resources sent to them in their offices

Amanda is a 28 year old Administrarive Assistant to a Dean on the Stout Campus. She has worked in her position for about two years, and she is accustomed to performing footwork for her supervisor and the commitees she chairs.

Amanda has contacted the Archives on two other occassions. Once, to obtain photographs of a retiring faculty member and another time for information necessary for an accreditation.

Amanda is generally operating under short deadlines, so she is unable to visit the Library or Archives for her projects.

   Benchmarks for Amanda

• Increase usage and downloads of photos via the mediated Extensis database 20%
• Increase corporate reference requests 15%

 Key Facts:

• Generally older or retired
• Often has performed extensive research - has a binder full of information
• Usually not from the Menomonie area; must accomplish on-site research in a limited time period

What she/he needs to do:

• Locate information about particular individuals from local newspapers or county records
• Use indexes and obtain copies
• Identify other research avenues (referrals to other locations and collections)

Problems/Issues

• Some are beginners and require instruction in genealogy research basics
• Some are intimidated by microfilm equipment
• Often need advice for accomodations, parking and local food/activities

How she/he uses the Archives:

     Services:

• Generally appears without advance notice from out of town—sometimes from other countries!
• Often arrives with a list of search parameters obtained from our indexes, Ancestry.com, or other genealogical resources
• Sometimes accompanied by an uninterested companion

Website:

• Needs guidance for how to navigate our newspaper and county indexes
• Needs links to resources outside our collection (like the Wisconsin State Genealogical database)
• Needs information on procedures for requesting copies as a remote user as he/she progresses

     Physical Space:

• Needs a functioning microfilm reader or printer with a user friendly screen and interface
• Needs table space for viewing archival materials and locker space for belongings
• Needs activities for any companions.
• Needs cheap, reliable parking options (sometimes with disabled parking necessary)

Roger is a 68 year old genealogist from Edmonton, Alberta. He and his wife Cindy have been retired for over five years, and they routinely  take research trips in their motor home to Archives in North America.

Roger has completed his work on the two generations closest to his, but he is now expanding his research to relatives who immigrated to America to work in the lumber industry. Roger has specific lists of individuals he hopes to find, and he located them using our local databases and genealogical websites.

Cindy is proud of Roger's work and has a moderate tolerance for assisting him in the Research Room. She is very interested in tourist destinations and antiques, and she hopes to be active in those interests while Roger is performing his research.

   Benchmarks for Roger:

• For remote users, we want to initiate usage of our new online payment system. We would like to see 500 payments go through that system in the coming FY.
• For onsite genealogists, we would like to increase referrals to our local tourism website and would like to increase hits to 500 during the next fiscal year.

Key Facts

• Student in a UW-Stout class (generally not a history class)
• Assigned with a specific class project requiring primary resources
• Often a first-year student with little or no understanding of primary vs. secondary resources.  See also "Brandon the Beginner"

What she/he needs to do:

• Define research topics relevant to collection
• Locate verifiable primary sources for specific classroom projects—often about campus or local area
• Cite archival materials correctly in MLA or APA format

Problems/Issues

• Is generally unfamiliar with archival research
• Confused by specialized databases/indexes and require help searching
• Frustrated by limited hours/limited digital collections
• Don't carry cash to obtain copies
• Intimidated/disgusted by microfilm (old) equipment
• Frustrated by the complicated, non-summative nature of archival research

How she uses the Archives:

     Services:

• Attends an orientation session with the rest of the class
• Makes appointments to research specific collection elements
• May research either as an individual or a member of an assigned group
• Interacts with staff members to refine the topic and available resources

     Website:

•  Is all about our digital collections and frustrated by how few there are
•  Will search our indexes with LOTS of guidance

     Physical Space:

• Needs quiet table space in the Research Room for viewing collections
• Often needs area to collaborate with other members of a group
• Needs plug in for laptop
• Needs microfilm readers that can scan items or laser print items. Frustrated with poor photocopies from the existing reader/printers

Ashley was able to get great grades in high school with very little studying or research beyond search engine/wikipedia results. She is interested in working with photograph collections of fashions over the years, but  she finds the process of identifying them and accessing them intimidating . This is her first experience working with a reference staff, since she is used to performing unguided searches using her browser.

Ashley has made an appointment to view "pictures of fashion projects," but she does not know how she will use the information she finds in her assigned five-page paper.

 Benchmark for Ashley: 

• Increase hosted course assignments by 10% in the coming year by increasing exposure of our services to faculty on campus.

Key Facts:

• A professional writer or graduate student
• Generally very prepared with a focused topic
• Accustomed to intensive research, often with archival collections

What she/he needs to do:

• Find archival resources for general overviews or specific topics
• Use indexes and obtain copies/citations

Problems/Issues

• May have problems locating the Archives on campus
• Needs advice on parking, places to eat lunch, etc.
• Frustrated by limited hours

How she/he uses the library:

     Services:

• Contacts us in advance with research question
•  Spends many hours viewing collections at a table in the Research Room

Website:

•  Comfortable navigating our indexes 
•  Frustrated by the lack of digital collections—required to travel to view things

Physical Space:

•  Needs quiet space for a long time
•  Needs outlets for laptops
• Needs cheap, reliable parking options

Michael is a forty-two-year-old journalist who serves as the editor of a regional history magazine. He lives in Madison, and he is staying in Eau Claire while he performs research in both Eau Claire and Menomonie.

An upcoming issue will feature the history of local dairy businesses. He is at the Stout Area Research Center to view the papers we hold for a Barron County creamery. He hopes to gather copies of enough resources so that one his freelance writers (who couldn't make the trip) can write an article about the creamery in time for an upcoming deadline.

 Benchmarks for Michael:

• For remote users, we want to initiate usage of our new online payment system. We would like to see 500 payments go through that system in the coming FY.
• For onsite genealogists, we would like to increase referrals to our local tourism website and would like to increase hits to 500 during the next fiscal year.

 Key Facts:

• Generally an out-of-state family researcher 
• Often elderly

What she/he needs to do:

• Locate specific information about specific individuals
• Request copies of specific newspaper articles or county records
• Receive the copies in a streamlined way so that he/she can proceed with additional research or synthesizing sources into a family history - Note from Jessy: I don't understand this one.

Problems/Issues

• Confused by specialized indexes that are sometimes innacurate
• Confused by process/policies to request copies
• Unaware of how to request help or associated costs
• Difficulty arranging remote payments
• Sometimes too intimidated by technology to use our indexes, request help or recieve materials

How she/he uses the library:

     Services:

• Often uses our online form to request items from the index—fills it out inaccurately because it is poorly structured

•  Sometimes calls or mails paper requests—(generally researchers too intimidated by technology to use our indexes.) Leads to more general and extensive requests  about family members
• May contact us with inaccurate information from another genealogical resource (like Ancestry.com)

     Website:

•  Needs a streamlined system for discovery, request, and payment for copies of resources.

     Physical Space:

•  Needs easy access to copies we provide and an easy way to request and pay for them. 

Maggie is a 72-year-old genealogist in Texas. She has been compiling her family history for nine years, and she is well versed in locating relevant information. Maggie has located her great-grandfather's brother and his family in Dunn County in the 1880s, and she wants basic information about each family member, including birth, death, marriage, and naturalization information.

Maggie has located 45 records that might be of interest to her, but our online form only allows her to request 3 at a time. She would like to be able to request all of the records she found at once and pay for them in one session. She is willing to pay for the additional staff time to perform searches for these records, since she is unable to come to Stout in person. She routinely pays archives and historical libraries for similar services, and she is frustrated that we don't have a procedure in place for her kind of request here.

Benchmarks for Maggie:

• For remote users, we want to initiate usage of our new online payment system. We would like to see 500 payments go through that system in the coming FY.
• For onsite genealogists, we would like to increase referrals to our local tourism website and would like to increase hits to 500 during the next fiscal year.