Personas
Public libraries
Persona #1:
Name: Maria Rojas
Age: 36
Occupation: Housekeeper
Education: High school diploma from Mexico
Quote: “I need to improve my English, and the library helps me do that for free.”
Goals:
 Improve English language skills (reading, writing, speaking)
 Pass citizenship
 Obtain a better job
 Keep up with her children’s use of English
Public library usage:
 Checks out basic children’s books in English that she is able to read to her children
 Utilizes the English Exchange classes, a free program once a week for ESOL adults to
practice conversing in English. She attends the evening class after she gets off work.
 Basic public computer use for email, job searching and Facebook, but is not super
technologically savvy
 Has asked librarians for help finding citizenship study materials
 Seeks a librarian bilingual in Spanish whenever possible
 Checks out several movies per week in English to improve listening comprehension
Persona #2
Name: Bob Slansky
Age: 42
Occupation: Unemployed
Education: 11th grade
Quote: “The library is where I go for peace and quiet and a roof over my head.”
Goals
 Obtain shelter somewhere that is accepting of him and his homeless situation
 Stay up to date with current events
 Use free internet to look for job opportunities
Public library usage
 Often waits outside of the library until it opens in the morning
 Reads the newspaper every morning in the same chair at the front of the library
 Tries to use the computer for job-searching but does not know where to start
 Seen taking naps in the same chair he reads his newspaper
 Knows most of the library staff by name
Academic Libraries
Persona #1
Name: Dr. Richard Braxton
Age: 51
Occupation: Faculty member in the physiology department
Quote: “I know how to find the information I need but I just don’t have enough time to do it
myself.”
Goals:
 Get course materials for classes
 Set up course materials like podcasts, class articles and grades on D2L-like website
 Publish scholarly papers on research from his lab
Academic library usage:
 Use academic librarians to retrieve requested information like statistics, specific
articles or books
 Uses academic databases through the library’s website, but remotely from his office
 Uses academic librarians to double-check specific facts during academic paper
writing process
 Retrieves materials that aren’t available in digital form
 Communicates with librarians about using technology in the classroom
Persona #2
Name: Vanessa Meuir
Age: 25
Occupation: Graduate student in the public health department
Quote: “I rarely ask for assistance at the library because I only really use it for a quiet space
to study.”
Goals
 Escape the distractions at home or in coffee shops to study in peace and quiet
 Use databases to write papers for class
 Graduate on time
Academic Library Usage:
 Utilizes the libraries databases for research papers, both at the library and remotely
from home
 Checks out a study room for herself
 Takes her laptop with her and uses the library’s free wi-fi
 Uses the express computers when she needs to print something
 Listens to recorded podcasts of lectures provided through the library
 Rarely asks librarians for help, but when she does it is usually technical issues with
databases
For the public library personas I used my own experience at public libraries as a
reference point. The first persona, Maria, is a blend of several of my English Exchange
students that I see every week. Most of their situations are similar to hers, where they are
educated enough to obtain a job but they just don’t have a strong enough grasp of the
language to land one. Many of them are parents, too, and they want to be able to do things
for their children in English. Since most have a lower socioeconomic status they use many
of the library’s free resources like classes, books and Internet.
The second persona is someone that everyone sees at public libraries. The homeless
populations at the public libraries I frequent are usually on the computer or reading the
newspaper, which is why I incorporated those library usage characteristics. I also
frequently see them sleeping in the comfy chairs near the magazines and newspapers. At
my hometown’s public library I would always see the same patrons there, which is why I
would imagine they are familiar with the library staff, and vice versa.
I had to stretch a bit more for the first persona for academic libraries. I have never
been a professor, but I have worked in several research labs for them and, obviously, been
taught by professors. I could only speculate on general goals and tasks they would use the
library for. As far as the grad school student persona, I used my experience as an
undergraduate when I went to a traditional program where I had to be there physically.
These were my goals and activities. I could never study in my dorm or elsewhere because
they were too distracting of places. I mostly used databases remotely, and whenever I’d
miss class or be reviewing for exams I used the podcasts of lectures to catch up or review.