History of the user studies - Librarians Portal

 The history of the user studies

Systematic efforts take on for obtaining information on the manner in which information is obtained and used by different categories of users are known as user studies. It is imperative to know that the information needs and behavior of users and the different ways of attain such knowledge to design and develop tailor made information systems, services and products are the typical meaning of the user studies

More than 70 years old and large numbers of research papers, PhD theses, dissertation, project reports, and conference and seminar presentations have been increasing steadily.  a pilot study on the use of scientific literature by scientists was conducted by R.R. Shaw in 1956 on behalf of National Science Foundation. Shaw’s study is considered as one of the pioneering efforts in the direction of user studies. Since then, a number of comprehensive studies have emerged on the subject. For example, Davis and Bail compiled a bibliography consisting of 438 such studies as early as 1964. It has been recorded that by 1977 more than 1000 important studies were conducted on the subject of ‘user studies’. It must be mentioned that the growth of science and technology and the importance accorded to the use of scientific information proliferated such attempts of user studies

In 1970s and 1980s trend was to write on classification indexing and information retrieval. It was also realized that the studies of user’s behavior and identification of their need for information are pre-requisites to plan and develop information systems, improve existing services and evaluate the functioning of the library from user’s perspectives.  The main purpose of any user study is to collect information that is useful in design, provision and evaluation of specific information products or services geared to exact users. It becomes necessary to have full understanding of the user characteristics.  In consideration of this, user studies represented an increasing proportion of information science research (Summers, 1984). Wilson (198l) had made this observation in the beginning of 1980s that "apart from information retrieval there is virtually no other area of information science that has occasioned as much research effort and writing as user studies." This trend was constant during 1990s. Even today many studies are being conducted on the subject but with different approach warranted by new environment of digital age.

Traditional settings of users have changed in the present environment. Users‟ behaviors over the years have been changing. Their dependence on libraries has tremendously gone down and they are satisfied whatever, they get on Internet which calls for conversion of print resources into digital which are easily available and accessible to them. Libraries have to meet such challenges to attract users to use their resources within the library or outside by modifying and reinventing services according to their preferences and choices. S. R. Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science have focused on uniting the users with their resource with the purpose to maximize the use and serving them to their highest satisfaction.  Information Needs of Current Scientific Research.’ emphasized the usefulness of these studies by stating that the guiding slogans must be speed, efficiency, and comprehensiveness. The overriding aim, in other words, is to bring information to the scientist promptly, to bring him all that is relevant, and to bring it to him with a minimum of waste motion, especially on the scientist's own part. We should not depend upon our experience, judgments and presumptions about users information needs, better ask them what they would like to read and for what purpose? This will enable libraries to serve them better.