Archives Hub User Survey 2018: Summary and Analysis

Archives Hub user survey 2018 Summary of findings 20/03/2025 1

Background and method 20/03/2025 2 Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Slide > Footer > Apply to all)

Background and objectives Background The Archives Hub brings together descriptions of thousands of the UK s archive collections. Representing over 330 institutions across the country, the service is an effective way to discover unique and often little-known sources to support research. Overall Objective To inform ongoing developments of the Archives Hub. Core Research Objectives Understand the profile of users of the service and any difference in experience by user group Explore frequency of use of the service and rationale for use Understand overall service satisfaction Understand what is working well about the service and what could be improved The last user survey for the Archives Hub was conducted in 2015, and therefore a new survey was needed to review current satisfaction and needs for the service. 20/03/2025 3

Method and sample Unlike the previous survey, where two different sets of questions were asked of users and non-users, just one survey was run this year. The majority of responses (64%) came from first time users, with the highest numbers (34%) from first-time users who would expect to use the Archives Hub rarely/occasionally. This is congruent with the nature of the service, as users may find what they need from only one visit. However, any differences in response between previous/fist-time users will be highlighted throughout the report. 10 minute online survey... Frequency of use % of total responses Once a week or more often 11% 83 responses Once or twice a month 10% Every 2-3 months 11% 2-3 times a year or less often 5% This is my first use (I expect to use it rarely/occasionally) 34% Survey In Field: 5th Mar 15thJun 18 This is my first use (I expect to use it regularly) 30% 20/03/2025 4 Q4. On average, how often do you use the Archives Hub?

Sample characteristics 20/03/2025 5 Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Slide > Footer > Apply to all)

Sample by country The majority of responses (54%) came from the UK. 77% of regular users were UK based, which is higher than the percentage of UK-based first-time users (42%). This is broadly consistent with the results from 2015, however first-time respondents are more geographically dispersed than in 2015 and a lower proportion of this group are UK based (63% in 2015). This could be explained by search engine optimisation, with more users finding the Archives Hub through Google searches. Overall Regular users First-time users USA 7% USA 3% Other 13% Europe 10% Europe 7% Other 38% UK 42% UK 54% UK 77% Other 29% USA 9% Europe 11% 20/03/2025 6 Q1. Where are you based?

Sample by sector Overall, almost half (45%) of the responses came from users in higher education, with retired in second place (17%). There is a higher proportion of respondents from higher education (54%) and arts/cultural heritage (20%) amongst the regular users, and this is also higher than 2015, where 45% of regular users were from higher education and 17% were from arts/cultural heritage. In a similar pattern to 2015, first-time users are again more distributed across a range of backgrounds. First-time users Regular users 2% 0%3% Higher Education Higher Education 4% 3% 6% 7% Retired Retired 9% Arts/Cultural Heritage 40% Arts/Cultural Heritage 20% Other Other 13% 54% Commercial/Business Commercial/Business Further Education 7% 13% School Further Education 19% Government 20/03/2025 7 Q2. In which sector do you primarily work or study?

Primary reason for using the Archives Hub High level research is the biggest overall reason for accessing the service with 30% accessing the Hub for academic research, and a further 17% accessing for postgraduate research. There is a higher proportion of regular users accessing for academic research and for archives administration and, amongst first-time users, there is a higher proportion of respondents accessing for postgraduate research and family history. 30% Academic research 23% 17% Postgraduate research 23% 16% Family history 21% 11% Archives administration 2% Overall 7% Other Regular 11% 7% Leisure/peronal research First-time 8% 6% Undergraduate research 8% 4% Working on behalf of others 4% 2% Lecturing/teaching 2% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 20/03/2025 8 Q3. What is your primary reason for using the Archives Hub?

Archives Hub evaluation 20/03/2025 9 Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Slide > Footer > Apply to all)

Likelihood to recommend and NPS score Recommendation and NPS scores were high, with 40% of users overall indicating they would be extremely likely to recommend the service, and almost half (47%) falling in the promotors category (9-10). When calculated for regular users only, 63% would be extremely likely to recommend the service, and 70% fall into the promotors category. Overall, an NPS score of +22 is positive, and indicates the clear value of the Archives Hub to its users. 0 2 4 5 10 9 7 6 8 10= extremely likely 0= not at all likely 12% 5% 12% 2% 2% 16% 7% 40% 1% NPS score measures member advocacy, by asking them to rate how likely they are to recommend Jisc services on a scale of 0 to 10. Typically: Detractors (0-6) are unhappy and will create negative word of mouth and may eventually leave Passives (7-8) are not necessarily unhappy or dissatisfied but may use competitors Promoters (9-10) are fully engaged, willing to try new services. Likely to attract other members through recommendation +22 NPS score The NPS score is calculated by detracting the detractors from the promoters Different scale used in 2015, so not comparable 20/03/2025 10 Q10. How likely would you be to recommend Archives Hub to a peer or colleague?

Rationale for recommendation scores Rationale detractors (0-6) (12 comments) Rationale passives (7-8) (8 comments) Rationale promoters (9-10) (11 comments) The highest number of comments were from regular users, who valued the Hub s role in helping them or their students to source primary materials. Comments praised its user-friendliness and the benefit of being able to search multiple archives from one place. The majority of comments (11) were from first time users and most commented that they did not feel qualified to judge whether they would or not recommend the service. One comment from a first-time user found the menu to be a little complicated, while one comment from someone who used the site every 2-3 months suggested that it wasn t as helpful as they would like it to be. Again, the majority of comments (6) came from first-time users who were unsure how useful they would find it, although 3 were positive that it appeared to be a useful tool. The two comments from regular users felt it was useful for research, though one stated it needed to be supplemented with other sources. I have recommended the Archives Hub to graduate students and to undergraduates doing independent research. This has had excellent results for at least one PhD student's project. I recommend the archive because it's big enough to have a reasonably high chance of finding something useful; the bigger, the better. While it is valuable, I would not recommend using it without a supporting collections management system. I would recommend it to researchers, but not without recommending other services such as Discovery. I would because it exists I wouldn't because it is not as helpful as I would like it to be This site is invaluable to students and scholars alike in finding out where to begin archival work, or expand their knowledge of archives with relevant material to their research. 20/03/2025 11 Q10a. Please tell us why you would or would not recommend the Archives Hub ?

Ease of use Overall, 43% of users find the Archives Hub very easy or easy to use, however there is a large percentage (31%) who responded that they haven t used the Archives Hub yet. When calculated for regular users only, 70% find the service very easy or easy to use, which is higher than the result from 2015 (60%). Overall, 8% (6 people) find the service very difficult or difficult to use. Of this group, 4 respondents are first-time users of the service and could, therefore, be unfamiliar with the functionality. Regular users, 13% Very easy 6% Easy Regular users, 57% 37% Neither easy nor difficult Regular users, 23% 18% Difficult Regular users, 7% 4% Very difficult 4% I haven't used the Archives Hub yet 31% 20/03/2025 12 Q5. How easy or difficult do you find the Archives Hub to use?

Rationale for ease of use scores Very easy/easy (9 comments) Neither easy nor difficult (10 comments) Very difficult/difficult (5 comments) Comments expressed frustration around irrelevant search results, search options, and the inability to access (very) specific resources. Comments refered to the straightforward and easily searchable interface, with just one comment expressing frustration that they couldn t access the resource itself. Comments seem to suggest that the nature of the service means that it needs some knowledge to be able to use it, but that it is more user-friendly than alternatives. One comment notes the inconsistency in description standards. I can't find a way to search within particular archives. The filter on the left of the screen only shows the top 20 archives for which there are search results. So it isn't possible to limit the search to an archive that isn't in the top 20. And I can't find any other way to limit a search to a particular archive. It is straightforward and easy to understand with a simple interface and clear instructions. You do need to understand how physical archives work to negotiate the resource, but in terms of teaching this actually makes it really useful as a way to teach students to use a physical archive. Good interface, and useful full-text search of archive records. It is terribly unhelpful! It gives irrelevant stuff upfront, and searches for one's terms separately, not together. It is terrible! SO ANNOYING! Indexing not consistent - depends on repository. It's not really easy, but So Much Better than TNA Discovery! 20/03/2025 13 Q5a. Please tell us the reasons behind your answer?

Whats valued about the Archives Hub? Detailed descriptions of archives is most valued overall, followed by information about how to access a collection and extensive coverage of UK archives. This is broadly consistent with previous surveys, although comprehensive coverage was the highest priority in 2015. For regular users, extensive coverage of UK archives is the second most valued option with a higher proportion of this group (83%) rating this as high value. In the comments for this question, two respondents suggest that linking to EU archives and Europeana would also be valuable. Detailed descriptions of archives 82% 15% 4% Information about how to access a collection 76% 21% 4% Extensive coverage of UK archives 76% 16% 8% Name search 69% 24% 7% Links to digital materials 68% 28% 5% Subject search 65% 27% 8% Advice on how to discover and use archives 59% 33% 8% Place search 55% 35% 10% Searching physical and digital archives together 40% 49% 11% Information about the size of a collection 35% 53% 12% Searching physical and digital archives seperately 27% 53% 21% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% High value Medium value Low value 20/03/2025 14 Q7. Thinking about the following features of the Archives Hub, how valuable are each of these to you?

Whats valued about the Archives Hub? Regular users Results filtered to display regular users only Detailed descriptions of archives 90% 3% Extensive coverage of UK archives 83% 17% Information about how to access a collection 77% 17% 7% Name search 63% 30% 7% Searching physical and digital archives together 57% 43% 0% Links to digital materials 57% 37% 7% Subject search 57% 30% 13% Place search 53% 33% 13% Information about the size of a collection 47% 47% 7% Advice on how to discover and use archives 40% 43% 17% Searching physical and digital archives seperately 20% 60% 20% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% High value Medium value Low value 20/03/2025 15 Thinking about the following features of the Archives Hub, how valuable are each of these to you?

What is most valued about the Archives Hub? Excluding don t know type answers, 29 comments were submitted in answer to the question of what is most valuable about the Archives Hub. The majority of respondents value the useful information that the service gives them access to, and the fact they can search multiple archives from one interface. Responses also refer to the range of content, the ease of use, and the fact the Hub allows them to find materials they would otherwise be unaware of. Only one comment expressed frustration at the way the site worked. The ability to search across archives without having to use each homepage for the same search is invaluable. Also as new archives put their catalogues online, the searches return new and interesting results. Theme Number of comments Access to useful information, including location of archives 8 Ability to search across multiple archives from one place 8 Coverage and range of content 4 Ease of use 2 One stop place to search across repositories. Good starting point. One stop place to search across repositories. Good starting point. Convenience of online access 2 Serendipitous discovery of new information/archives 2 Ability to refine searches by person/subject 1 Free and open to all 1 Its quick, and often throws up ideas I've never heard of. Good concept but doesn t work well 1 20/03/2025 16 Q6. What do you most value about the Archives Hub service?

Visits to archives Overall, most respondents believe that using the Archives Hub is likely to lead to a repository visit in the future. This rises to 60% when filtered for for first-time users. 25% overall have visited an archive as a result of using the service and, for regular users, this figure rises to 50%. As in 2015, where 42% of regular users indicated they had visited an archive as a result of using the service, this result suggests that the Archives Hub is having a direct impact on the visibility of archive collections in the UK. Overall 25% 27% 48% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Yes No No, but it is likely to in the future Archives Mentioned Hampshire archives Bedford Archives University of Glasgow Women s Library IBA Archive SOAS Lancashire CC David Magarshack papers at Leeds Mildfydd Owens archive First-time users 11% 28% 60% Regular users 50% 23% 27% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Yes No No, but it is likely to in the future 20/03/2025 17 Q11. Has your use of the Archives Hub led to a visit to an archive repository?

Measures of overall value (1) When asked if they had found material using the Archives Hub that they would otherwise not have discovered, overall 59% either agreed or strongly agreed. For regular users, this rises to 76%. It is interesting to note that a large percentage (45%) of first-time users neither agree nor disagree, which is perhaps to be expected of users who have not had time to familiarise themselves with the benefits of the service. 2% Overall 37% 12% 47% 1% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree First-time users 4%2% 45% 11% 38% Regular users 23% 13% 63% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly disagree2 20/03/2025 18 Q12.1a. I have found material using the Archives Hub that I would not otherwise have discovered.

Measures of overall value (2) When asked whether their research would take longer without the Archives Hub, overall 67% agreed or strongly agreed. This rises slightly to 70% for regular users. This is broadly comparable to previous years, although the percentage of regular users who agree or strongly agree has slightly decreased by 7% since 2015 (75% in 2015). Only one respondent (a first-time user) strongly disagreed with this statement. Overall 45% 1% 33% 22% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree First-time users 2% 34% 21% 43% Regular users 30% 23% 47% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree 20/03/2025 19 Q12.2a. My research would take longer without the Archives Hub.

Developments and improvements 20/03/2025 20 Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Slide > Footer > Apply to all)

Value of potential developments Overall, more comprehensive coverage of UK archives, browsing by name, place or subjects, and access to more digital content are the top three options for development. The top three options remain the same for regular users, but more comprehensive coverage attracts a higher percentage (80%). As in previous surveys, this confirms the importance of increased content for service users. More comprehensive coverage of UK archives 70% 24% 6% Browse by name, place or subjects 69% 27% 5% Access to more digital content 69% 25% 6% The ability to save searches 48% 39% 13% Search based on where archives are located 40% 42% 18% A service to help you find out which new collections have 37% 48% 15% Tagging or annotating content 30% 48% 22% Guidance on citing archives and Archives Hub descriptions 29% 54% 17% 0% 10% 20% 30% Low value 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% High value Medium value 20/03/2025 21 Q9. Please rate the following potential new features according to how valuable they would be to you.

Value of potential developments Results filtered to display regular users only More comprehensive coverage of UK archives 80% 20% Browse by name, place or subjects 67% 30% 3% Access to more digital content 60% 30% 10% Search based on where archives are located 53% 30% 17% The ability to save searches 37% 40% 23% A service to help you find out which new collections have been added 30% 57% 13% Guidance on citing archives and Archives Hub descriptions 27% 53% 20% Tagging or annotating content 17% 47% 37% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% High value Medium value Low value 20/03/2025 22 Q9. Please rate the following potential new features according to how valuable they would be to you.

Summary and conclusions 20/03/2025 23 Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Slide > Footer > Apply to all)

Summary and Conclusions (1) Frequency of use and rationale for use As in previous Archives Hub surveys, the majority of responses (54%) came from the UK, and almost half of respondents were from users in higher education. The majority of responses came from first time users (64%), with the highest numbers (34%) from first-time users who would expect to use the Archives Hub rarely/occasionally. High level research is the biggest overall reason for accessing the service with 30% accessing the Archives Hub for academic research, and a further 17% accessing for postgraduate research. There is a higher proportion of regular users accessing for academic research and for archives administration and, amongst first-time users, there is a higher proportion of respondents accessing for postgraduate research and family history. Overall service satisfaction Satisfaction with the Archives Hub is fairly high overall, and very high amongst regular users. 40% of users overall indicated that they would be extremely likely to recommend the service, and when calculated for regular users only, 63% would be extremely likely to recommend the service. Comments indicate that respondents value the Hub s role in helping them or their students to source primary materials, and the benefit of being able to search multiple archives from one place. Overall, the Archives Hub adds value to the respondents of this survey with 67% agreeing that their research would take longer without the service (70% for regular users) and 59% agreeing that it had helped them find material they might otherwise not have discovered (76% for regular users). Use of the service also appears to be having a positive impact on the number of visits to archives, with 50% of regular users suggesting that use of the Archives Hub had resulted in a repository visit, and 60% of new users indicating that it would be likely to in the future. 20/03/2025 24

Conclusions and recommendations II What is working well about the service and what could be improved Overall, 43% of users find the Archives Hub very easy or easy to use, and when calculated for regular users only, 70% find the service very easy or easy to use. However there is a large percentage (31%) who responded that they haven t used the Archives Hub yet and overall 8% (6 people) find the service very difficult or difficult to use, 4 of which were first time users. It could be suggested that lower ease of use scores could be attributed to a lack of experience with the service. Detailed descriptions of archives is most valued overall, followed by information about how to access a collection and extensive coverage of UK archives. Comprehensive coverage is a recurrent theme in previous Archives Hub surveys and qualitative research, and the results of this year s survey reinforce the message that work to increase content is worthwhile. Further supporting this, more comprehensive coverage of UK archives, browsing by name, place or subjects, and access to more digital content are the top three options for development from this group. The high placement of digital content suggests that more users are finding value in digital materials, and this also validates recent findings from interviews with UK researchers. 20/03/2025 25