Applying Web Analytics to Online Finding Aids: Page Views, Pathways, and Learning about Users

Online finding aids, Internet search tools, and increased access to the World Wide Web have greatly changed how patrons find archival collections. Through analyzing eighteen months of access data collected via Web analytics tools, this article examines how patrons discover archival materials. Contrasts are drawn between access from library catalogs and from online search engines, with the latter outweighing the former by an overwhelming margin, and argues whether archival description practices should change accordingly.