How Can I Help You?: Becoming User-Centered in Special Collections.

This study reports the results of a 2008 survey of 148 users of the Special Collections and University Archives Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC Special Collections). Data are examined to determine if the quality of services provided by UIC Special Collections at the Richard J. Daley Library and the Library of the Health Sciences meets our users’ expectations for services, collections and comfort. Results show a high level of satisfaction with the services, collections access and comfort, but there is a desire for services to improve research productivity such as longer and more convenient reading room hours, more digitized primary sources, and faster and cheaper duplication services. The study also offers examples of new service initiatives a UIC Special Collections based on user feedback.