audience description

Milestone date: 28-Jan-2009
The motivation behind this milestone is to understand something about the target audience for this visualization project. Since this project is primarily based on data from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), it made sense to start with understanding the users of this system. It is possible (and desirable) that the final deliverable from this project will have broader appeal than simply this audience; however, there will undoubtably be significant overlap with this group and therefore it is useful to have an accurate description of their needs and desires.

Methodology

discussion

Using the information sources listed above, a coherent picture of CCEL users began to emerge. While these users might vary in their goals when using the site, they share many characteristics in how the approach the documents in the collection.

demographics

The most salient characteristic of frequent users of the CCEL is that they tend to be Christian, specifically English-speaking, mainline Protestant or non-denominational. Furthermore, they are often indivduals who are very knowledgeable about their faith, its history and scriptures. As such, they have many predefined categories and structures which they use for relating to the documents in the CCEL, including a knowledge of the structure and semantics of the Protestant bible. While this group values church tradition and history, they place a higher value on direct acccess and interpretation of scripture, espescially when compared to other Christian groups like Roman Catholic (9.7% of users) or Orthodox (2.8% of users). Therefore one of their primary concerns is how the texts in the CCEL relate to their (individually nuanced) understanding of the bible.

75% of the CCEL users are from the United States, while other English-speaking countries also rank high. While other countries represent a small percentage of users, the director has expressed his appreciation of these smaller groups, explaining that 1% of users represents 6,000 people per month. Furthermore, significant access is from countries where the CCEL is accessed illegally (1.8%) or blocked entirely (1%). Such access, along with access in developing countries, is highly valued by the CCEL community members. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider cross-cultural issues when designing a visualization.

user goals

In terms of goals, these users tend to fall into one of three roughly equal-sized groups:

Of these groups, the first is usually searching for a specific text and is generally well-served by the current architecture of the CCEL. The other two groups fit more of a browse model and could benefit from a topical presentation of the library, rather than the current author/title format.

selecting and reading texts

In terms of how the users relate to the documents in the CCEL, my interviews indicated that the author is often the most important aspect considered when selecting a text. Certain authors, specifically the so-called "Church Fathers" (1st - 4th centuries) are more valued than similar works by 19th and 20th century commentators in the library. This preference is further demonstrated by the information architecture of the CCEL, which highlights texts by these authors. It is generally assumed that the works of these authors have stood the test of time and were less influenced by their historical situation. However, it is not simply historical standing that indicates authority: other more modern authors of historical importance (e.g. 16th century authors Martin Luther or John Calvin) are likely to be preferred as well.

However, even texts by these respected authors are still typically read critically, with an emphasis on reviewing the original scripture which the authors cite. A CCEL reader is likely to view all scripture as equally valuable but have their own understanding of its interpretation and relevance in a particular context. Furthermore, it is popular to seek a better understanding of the historical context of a particular text (although further research is needed to know if this is universal to all CCEL users). Therefore, a visualization which sets the context for a particular text, both in terms of how it relates to scripture and how it relates to history would be very valuable.

conclusions