My name is Olivier U. Bahizi, and I’m excited to share some insights from my recent Summer Fellowship in User Experience (UX) with the U-M Library’s Finding Aids and Digital Collections. As a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Information (UMSI), where I specialized in Digital Curation, this summer fellowship was more than just a program—it was the crucial bridge that connected my academic knowledge with the real-world challenges of managing information in today’s digital landscape.
My path to information science has been somewhat unconventional. Before returning to academia, I spent several years working in media content production—first as a journalist and reporter in Rwanda, and later as a video director and producer in Belgium. After moving to the U.S.A., I earned an associate degree in Digital Video Production from Washtenaw Community College.
My perspective on the media field changed significantly when I had the opportunity to collaborate with Professors Matthew Solomon and Vincent Longo on film research projects, including their work on Orson Welles' Heart of Darkness. Through these experiences, I gained a deep appreciation for the critical role that archives play as primary sources, and I saw firsthand how libraries are essential for creating new knowledge and deepening our understanding of history. Much of our research relied on digitized materials from around the world, made accessible through the interconnection of libraries and archives.
This experience made me realize that, in an era of unprecedented digital information creation, the ability to preserve and provide access to these resources for future generations is more important than ever. This realization inspired me to pursue the Digital Curation pathway for my master’s program at UMSI.
My Fellowship Journey: Understanding User Needs
This fellowship provided the immersive practical experience with archival and digital collections that I had been hoping for. It allowed me to step beyond theoretical models and directly engage with users to understand their challenges when navigating the U-M Library's archival and digital collections. My study employed a qualitative methodology, conducting semi-structured interviews with nine participants—a diverse group including librarians, archivists, curators, IT experts, professors, and a graduate student. Through these conversations, several key themes emerged, highlighting significant gaps between user expectations and current system capabilities.
Our findings revealed critical pain points in three main areas:
#1 - Discovery and Access
Participants frequently noted difficulties in discovering and accessing materials. Many users, accustomed to the intuitive search experience of modern platforms like Google, found the library’s search systems unintuitive. A key challenge emerged from the mismatch between user expectations for “recall” (retrieving a broad set of results) and the library systems’ emphasis on “precision” (returning exact matches).
Users also reported trouble returning to previously found items, getting lost when navigating different websites or collections, and feeling confused about what counted as “digital collections” versus other digital holdings, such as HathiTrust digitized books.
Participants also expressed frustration over the fragmented, siloed nature of library search systems, which can lead to disconnected user experiences and challenges in discovery. The “Explore” menu, available on the Library website and shown below, lists many of the library’s websites and search options.
The "Explore" Menu
#2 - Metadata Limitations
A significant source of frustration was the current search systems and the metadata standards they rely on, such as MARC used for catalog records and EAD used for finding aids. While these metadata formats are effective for library operations, they can be confusing for general users. Many users are unaware they are interacting with finding aids or descriptive metadata, not the digitized “full text” content itself—sometimes because the item has not yet been digitized or requires a different request process to access.
One common disappointment for novices using Finding Aids is only finding information about an item rather than immediately accessing a digital object, as the required next step is making a request to view physical materials in a reading room. This confusion highlights a broader need for clearer indications of digital availability and physical materials within search results.
#3 - User Engagement, Education, and Outreach Gaps
Our study noted a critical need for improved outreach and more effective educational and help resources to address a gap in library literacy around digital and archival collections. Existing help materials are often hard to find or underused; for example, our Finding Aids site offers a link for “How to use this site” in the footer (see image below), but few users seek this information. This suggests that, even where education materials are available, they are often overlooked and underutilized by users. More effective documentation can raise awareness of the wealth of digitized resources available and how to find them, while also setting realistic expectations that not everything is, or can be, digitized.
A portion of the Finding Aids footer, including a link for "how to use this site."
Most librarians stressed that direct human assistance is crucial for addressing complex questions. However, several participants pointed out that user education is currently unsystematic, with most guidance happening on an ad-hoc basis.
Librarians and curators suggested that structured training materials or synchronous orientation sessions (for students and new faculty) would help users navigate the U-M Library more effectively and discover available research resources. Additionally, many participants expressed a desire for librarians and archivists to engage more proactively with the community, not only by responding to questions, but by actively promoting the unique value of rare collections and digitized materials that they take care of.
Looking Ahead: Potential Next Steps for Digital Collections
Based on my findings there are various suggestions which emerged from discussions with our participants addressed to U-M Library to enhance their approach to developing systems for finding aids and digital collections and user experience:
- Invest in Unified Search Technology: Many participants wish for a unified search and integrated systems. This includes exploring linked data and integration across archival, catalog, and digital collections to overcome fragmentation and improve discovery.
- Prioritize User-Friendly Design: Participants would like to see more user-friendly system evolution. According to our interviewees, this means addressing frustrations related to search features and improving navigation through different websites and collections.
- Develop Strategic Outreach and Education: Move beyond ad-hoc support to create targeted, interactive educational resources. This could include media-rich tutorials, active promotion of digital collections through social media or other channels, and partnerships within the university and community to raise awareness and integrate digital resources into teaching and research activities. I’ve been asked to stay on as an intern to develop much-needed tutorial resources based on this fellowship research.
Acknowledgments
This fellowship has been an invaluable experience, allowing me to see firsthand how libraries and archives function as technologies in the real world. It has served as a vital bridge between the theoretical knowledge from my classes and the practical, user-centered work of digital curation. The study allowed me to see the impact systems design and information organization in general have on the users of archival and digital collection. I am deeply thankful for the support that made this experience possible, and I am excited to carry these insights forward in my career.