User Categories for Digital Cultural Heritage

Increasingly information systems and services are being tailored to the needs of individuals and groups through the use of user-centred design techniques. In this paper we consider the ways in which the users of digital cultural heritage have been previously characterised and grouped. Despite recognising the importance of adopting user-centred techniques, there appears to be little prior work that has compared user groupings across user studies. Through a preliminary review of previous literature we compare ways in which users have been categorised and provide points for open discussion. The dimensions of domain knowledge, technical experience and motivation provide a way of distinguishing previously identified groups. We believe discussions about user categories and models is warranted and will help in the future design of digital cultural heritage services.