Users’ Experience and Development Priorities for CLARIN.SI

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a user survey evaluating the services, tools, and broader functioning of the CLARIN.SI research infrastructure. The survey was designed to identify areas for improvement and to support development planning and strategic decision-making for the coming years. The questionnaire included 50 questions across eight thematic sections, covering the full range of user engagement with the infrastructure, from depositing and downloading resources to using tools and attending events. It was distributed to existing and potential users in Slovenia and abroad. Based on 228 responses, the results show that CLARIN.SI is generally highly valued by its community, especially for the reliability of its data, its support for open science, and the usefulness of its resources. The findings also point to a highly interdisciplinary user base and to a substantial group of potential users who have not yet directly engaged with the infrastructure. Although repository services and language tools are widely used and positively evaluated, respondents consistently identified challenges related to resource discovery, metadata clarity, and search functionality. More broadly, the results suggest that the future impact of CLARIN.SI will depend not only on technical development, but also on effective outreach, onboarding, and training, including the provision of concrete use cases and reusable educational materials.