Archives house items of various material formats within their collections. While many archives are converting physical items into digital formats, there are few studies that focus upon how user experience is impacted when transitions in format occur. Though more archival holdings are being digitized, there are still individuals who visit physical locations to work with archival records. Even though digitization is occurring, it is worth examining how this impacts physical objects that either have or have not yet been digitized and how this may affect user experience. Based upon Otto's theory of the numinous, this study continues Latham's research regarding numinous experiences with museum objects in the context of a physical archival setting and the decisions made by users conducting research in physical archives. This study employs a qualitative methodology in order to examine user experience in relation to material format, examining whether or not there is a difference in user experience when material formats are changed. Experienced physical archive users from Midwestern physical archives will be studied via semi-structured interviews at a metropolitan historical society, university archive, and special collection archive, in order to explore questions surrounding the relationship between user experience, materiality, accessibility, and the numinous experience. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]