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Beyond the design and evaluation of library web sites: an analysis and four case studies
Beyond the Design and Evaluation of Library Web Sites: An Analysis and Four Case Studies by Sandra Shropshire
The literature offers considerable guidance on creating and evaluating library Web sites. This article identifies the salient issues in Web site direction for Web site management and reviews their practical application through examination of four case studies.
I
have served as general editor of my library’s Web site since 1999. A midsized library at a mid-sized publicly supported institution, the library had just instituted a Web site operational model that distributed content and technical responsibilities among several staff members, and named a general editor, who was responsible for oversight and general direction. Before that, the site’s working model could have been characterized as a loosely based confederacy with no individual charged with general oversight. When I began the job I turned to the professional library literature to identify the relevant issues surrounding the effective management of Web sites and to study solutions that had been successfully implemented. The literature commented only on the beginning (design) and the end (evaluation) of the process, for the most part, omitting the middle (ongoing management.) The professional literature of other fields, however, provided concepts and theories that could be used to address this deficit. Four case studies were undertaken to test these theories in a library context.
LIBRARY LITERATURE
Sandra Shropshire is General Manager, Library Web Site, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho.
Most of the articles on library Web sites within the library literature can be categorized as dealing with a site’s (1) design/ appearance and/or (2) evaluation/usability. In addressing design, the literature is comprised of interpretations of general design guidelines taken from the popular literature, and their subsequent application within a library setting. These general design guidelines consist of Web experts’ recommendations for application within certain types of specialized use, including use by such entities as corporations, art galleries, entertainment organizations, non-profit organization, and individuals. Moreover, specific information and train-
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ing for any application in the use of html editors and java scripting, and in content, font choices, and graphic design considerations, are easily found in any community education program, professional training offering, library, or bookstore. For the application of Web experts’ ideas in a library setting, in other words, usability, the literature affirms that practicing Web librarians have taught themselves. Librarians discuss how to create and evaluate Web sites: the literature includes accounts of what they’ve done and what they’ve learned from their own and from other librarians’ experiences. That such auto-didactic behavior occurs will come as no surprise to any practicing Web authors; indeed, according to a recent article by Kiernan1 appearing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, it is common for academic library sites. Kiernan cites a survey by Beth Evans2 of large (⬎7500 employees) academic libraries that reveals that the majority of librarians creating Web pages are self-taught. Searching the library literature using the search terms, “philosophy” and “issues,” in combination with “Web site,” yields little of applicable use. The results of searches constructed to include the terms, “Web site,” “management,” and “Webmaster,” reveal that, even when a given article’s title suggests that it describes the management of a Web site, the bulk of the articles retrieved will actually focus either on a sites’ design or its usability. Valuable as these topics are in relation to library Web sites, they represent only a partial view of Web site management. Some articles within the literature do examine selected aspects of Web site management, but the authors’ interpretations of what “management” is too narrow to provide real assistance to beginning Web manager. One article in
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particular had reviewed and compared Web site policies among 11 libraries contained moderately helpful information— but it had studied only ARL or special library Web sites.3 Interesting, the literature also reveals hints that librarians are finding the current views regarding library Web sites to be in need of broadening. The Kiernan article suggests that there is a vacuum, of sorts. The remarks of David G. Schwartz, editor of Internet Research, which are quoted by Kiernan: “There are fundamental changes that must take place in the training and responsibilities of librarians in order to make the transition into the Internet Age,”4 suggest that he believes that some thing is missing. He seems to be pointing to the need for more technical training, but he may also be suggesting a change in mind-set.
“His view of what’s missing is that librarians don’t yet fully understand that corporate, government and other types of Web sites are their competitors.” The need to step back and view Web sites from a broader perspective was echoed by Doty5 in a recent editorial. His [Doty’s] view of what’s missing is that librarians don’t yet fully understand that corporate, government and other types of Web sites are their competitors, and that libraries should design Web sites with an awareness of the larger context of the Web: “The challenge for librarianship is to translate institutions into the virtual and designing a ‘library school’ for hypermedia is going to take looking at the Web as a greater sphere.”6 Libraries should “. . .turn our institutional role into a design presence. Library Web pages should have a look that other types of Web pages don’t. . .”7 Schwartz and Doty each suggest that something is missing with regard to the way that librarians view the role of the library Web site. Is there anything to this suggestion? Is it to suggest, now that academic library Web sites have been around long enough for librarians to have dealt with design challenges, and for Web users to have grown sophisticated in their expectations, that Web sites remain as
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entities worthy of additional study beyond that which has already been undertaken? There are, indeed, other ways to view academic library Web sites: the library literature simply does not yet reflect this. Doty’s view that what’s lacking is a thorough examination of library Web sites, that is, the need to consider library Web sites within the context of other organizations’ Web sites, may, indeed, be one of those ways. The premises of both Schwartz and Doty, that is, that further consideration of some sort is worthwhile, and the dearth of management-specific information within the literature provide direction for another way of considering academic library Web sites. An annotated and categorized list of the sources within the library literature is included in the Appendix.
WHAT OTHER LITERATURE OFFERS Within the professional literature at large, there are a number of disciplines from whose perspectives Web sites and their qualities are being studied, namely engineering, education, business, communication, and the social sciences. The field of communication offers principles most adaptable to library use. In the communication literature, the Internet and the Web are discussed as distinct media of communication that are sufficiently different from other media as to warrant further exploration. Jones8 posits the Internet as a discrete social medium, suggesting that proper study of it calls for drawing on many fields. He notes that there are no traditional methods for studying the Internet, and that, although it is obviously a distinct type of communication medium, it is as yet unclear how the Internet operates as such. What we need to do, he proposes, is to understand the “communicative process” involved with the use of the Internet. If “communicative process” suggests the functions undertaken by both senders and receivers of information, as well as the information, itself, then understanding a Web site, that is, a component of the Internet, would require an examination of its creators and their environments, in addition to its users and content. Interpreted in this way, Jones’ idea suggests a need to study Web sites from the perspective of the organizational conditions within which they function. These conditions would have effects upon the Web sites’ structure, elements, appearance and functionality. Eighmey9 recommends examining the Web from the broad perspective
by characterizing the functions of Web sites as being for entertainment, browsing, education, work, and academic use. Understanding this informs design choices, he argues, as does recognizing that a Web site is simultaneously a mass medium and a means of interpersonal communication.
“Jones and Eighmey each suggest a useful way to examine the Web that goes beyond Web site design and evaluation, and that is as a communication medium.” Jones and Eighmey each suggest a useful way to examine the Web that goes beyond Web site design and evaluation, and that is as a communication medium. Accepting this, then, requires a determination of how such an examination could be conducted. Within the relevant communication literature, Pauly’s10 work on qualitative research is frequently cited as being a starting point for researchers within the field. Pauly describes a way of applying qualitative research to mass communication that suggests a method for approaching the further study of academic library Web sites. As communication media, Web sites could be studied— using Pauly’s terminology—in terms of their “product”, “practice,” as “commentary” or as a combination of all three. Viewing communication as a “product” is to consider it as a text, that is, as a symbolic form by which an experience is rendered and made meaningful. Web sites, then, could be studied as “products,” in terms of their content, appearance and effects upon users. Pauly also suggests that studying communication as a “practice” would be to look at the cultural processes that are occurring and how economic, bureaucratic and professional constraints shape the cultural form of the communication medium. This approach, as applied to Web sites would entail understanding how “offline” decisions are made about the character of the “online” product. Lastly, approaching communication as a “commentary” offers a way to take into account the shape, character, and direction of society itself. We reveal certain assumptions, Pauly suggests, when we
discourse about the Internet as a realization of the “global village,” or about “Internet addiction,” or about the segregation of Internet communications. In this vein, Web site studies could explore the creators’ vision of who their audiences are, what the audience’s intellectual and/or technical capabilities are, and so forth Existing studies of academic library Web sites’ design and evaluation fit into Pauly’s “product” model. The current library literature, however, reveals little investigative work that could correspond with Pauly’s “process” or “commentary” models. Rice’s ideas suggest another useful way of studying academic library Web sites through communication theory.11 He argues that the major distinction between categories of research goals as applied to research in computer-mediated communication systems is whether the research is “formative” or “summative.” Formative research, according to Rice, is performed to acquire information that is useful in designing and improving project components and provides feedback for use during the design, implementation and use processes. So defined, formative research seems to fit the design and use studies of academic library Web sites that dominate the library literature to this point. Summative research, as Rice describes it, tends to occur after formative research has been conducted and is applied to more mature systems. Summative research addresses ways in which the system has affected those involved with it, and studies the system’s wider social context, including the intended and unintended effects, and to what extent the system’s goals have been achieved. If summative research as Rice describes it has been conducted with regard to academic library Web sites, then it has yet to make a significant appearance within the literature.
ANALYSIS
AND
APPLICATION
So, the library literature offers much in the area of designing and testing the usability of library Web sites, even specifically academic ones. It is based on general Web site design literature and reflects library-specific application by offering ideas on the content to include, how it might be presented, and how this entire side of the Web site’s operation might be evaluated.
“The literature of communication studies, by contrast, provides insight and possible alternative methods that can be applied toward the further study of academic library Web sites.”
The literature of communication studies, by contrast, provides insight and possible alternative methods that can be applied toward the further study of academic library Web sites. Viewed as means of communication, Web sites can be studied within their contexts, within their operational environments, relative to other types of Web sites, and/or as processes or commentary. In the library environment these general concerns can translate into useful specific questions. Examples include how the site’s management is staffed, what the organizational structure of both the site and of the sponsoring institution are, how decisions are made, what constraints are faced by the management structure, how site maintenance is conducted, and others. A study that would address these questions within the context of an academic library to determine what can be learned and what patterns can be detected would be useful to others operating academic library Web sites. And there is a special need to address the problems of mediumsized academic library Web sites—libraries that been offered very little by way of models for Web site management in the library literature. So far, this report has served this end by surveying the existing literature and applying theories drawn from other disciplines that could be of potential use. Clearly, the next step should be to examine Web sites in operation. To view how these specific management concerns are being addressed in a real world environment, a case study seemed most appropriate. The information required is not the sort that is obtainable from a Web site, alone, nor can it be acquired effectively from a survey of Web site managers. The questions that need to be posed are open-ended, and are likely to elicit follow-up questions. Even phone calls would fall short of gleaning necessary information from staff. Furthermore, there would be value in seeing the
situations faced by other Web site contributors—in experiencing their working environments firsthand. So, I traveled to three non-ARL university libraries to interview the staff involved with the production of academic library Web sites. I studied the Web sites of these three, as well as my own library’s, over the fall and winter of 2001/ 2002. I began by contacting staff members at each library, who agreed to participate in the process and arranged for a series of interviews between me and any staff who were involved in the library’s Web effort. I studied the Web sites in advance of each visit, noting identifying characteristics and specific questions I’d ask. I prepared a list of issues I wished to address and made that available to relevant staff in advance of my visit, leaving open the possibility for extended comments and unanticipated directions of inquiry/discussion. When I arrived on site, I interviewed individual staff, or groups of staff, as well as the library director and took notes on their responses. In addition, I exchanged numerous follow-up e-mail messages with my interviewees to clarify my notes.
DISCUSSION The sites were at public universities serving campus communities ranging between 10,000-16,000 students. Their Carnegie Classifications were as follows: Masters’ College and Universities I— one; Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive—two; and Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive— one. None had hired new staff for Web site support and all were managed using a committee structure. Page authorship was dispersed throughout the staff. None had implemented a use study, although development of such a study was in process at two of the sites. Detailed fact tables for each site studied can be found at www.isu.edu/⬃shrosand/librarywebsites.htm. Going into the study, I made no assumptions about which of the issues that I would be addressing would be minor, and which would be common to all sites and therefore of greater potential interest. The evidence showed that there were more similarities than differences among the issues that arose, and that anomalies were infrequent. The common issues are addressed below.
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“The libraries studied could make the best use of new staff in the form of mid-level systems and/or clerical support.” Staffing New The libraries studied could make the best use of new staff in the form of midlevel systems and/or clerical support. Coding support and regularized maintenance work is that which seemed to be most needed. Bringing in someone new to head the Web site management effort may be a mistake, and should be carefully considered. One library I visited had tried hiring a Webmaster and had been disappointed with the experiment. The individual was brought in to perform a major overhaul of the Web site. The site was redesigned, but the effort was considered by many to have been a failure, as the design was viewed by staff as reflecting only that individual’s taste. The individual, it seems, was not able to maneuver successfully among the various constituencies to achieve consensus, and therefore support, for the effort. Existing Content expertise among existing staff is in ready supply. Those staff who are involved with operating library services and with describing the collections are those with the most tappable resources. For some of the staff, working on the Web site has developed as an extension of their primary duties. These staff tend to be those who are custodians of collections that have been traditionally among the last to be cataloged, or cataloged in machine-readable form, such as government documents, maps, and special collections. Facing the lack of catalog records for their collections, these staff had turned to developing electronic lists of collections as an easy way to inform patrons of their existence. When Web sites became popular, these lists were easily convertible to html, and staff who did so had an edge, as well as a built-in motivation to continue their efforts within a Web site environment. For other staff who could provide content, Web work can be perceived as adding no benefit to the fulfillment of their primary job duties and can thus, tend to be
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viewed as an additional burden. Motivation for staff to increase their workload voluntarily in this way and to commit the necessary time for maintenance work then becomes an issue for Web management. Managers can motivate staff by asserting the value of the Web effort. They can incorporate the staff member’s time into his/her performance appraisal, tie the responsibilities into the staff member’s other responsibilities, and acknowledge duties that can be reassigned, or eliminated. An aspect of utilizing existing staff to perform Web work that should not be overlooked is the use of classified, or paraprofessional staff. These staff can be valuable resources for such work and are often highly motivated. Medium sized academic libraries may therefore, do themselves and their Web sites a disservice by limiting Web involvement to professional librarians. No Trespassing At the same time, utilizing the talents of existing staff may create its own set of problems, because professional rivalries translate readily into a Web environment. When asked why he had volunteered for his library’s Web committee, “to protect my turf,” was the response of one page author. Professional rivalries can also manifest themselves in activities such as vying for home page presence and demanding server-posting privileges. Of course, it should be noted that professional rivalries could also insert a healthy element of competition into the process. The successful Web manager can balance these two aspects by providing a clear mission statement, a commitment to adhere to it, and some common sense.
“Soliciting volunteers, despite obvious benefits, may not be the best method for establishing a Web governing structure.” Governing Structure Soliciting volunteers, despite obvious benefits, may not be the best method for establishing a Web governing structure. Enthusiasm tends to wane, the effort may not be taken seriously, and prioritizing time may become a problem. Moreover,
to the extent that the Web site governance structure differs from the library’s administrative structure, Web site managers may find themselves in a position of having responsibility, but no authority. This phenomenon is not uncommon within libraries and the solutions used in similar situations, such as incorporating Web responsibilities into job descriptions and acknowledging them in performance evaluations, are likely to work as effectively for those involved with Web work. The committee model seems to function well in Web work situations, undoubtedly because this is a familiar mode within academe, although not always so on a volunteer basis. Committee composition is a significant variable in this equation. First of all, committee members should be those who can function within the mores of committee work, that is, the give and take, the reliance upon self-initiated follow-through, and so forth Also, members of the committee must be able to function independently of the organizational structure of the library. Finally, making committee assignments with job responsibilities in mind and in coordination with supervisors is an important way to ensure the success of the Web effort. The committee should be able to foster and demonstrate a broad perspective. Allowing parochialism to flourish in the minds of Web authors runs counter to the service function that academic library Web sites purport to fulfill, and fails to take advantage of one of the most useful features of this medium— hyperlinks. Instead, Web managers should encourage authors to increase their familiarity with other parts of the site, to enable the formation of the mental framework necessary to connect— both intellectually and literally—the parts of the site. This point was made quite clear to me as I was interviewing a particular page author. I pointed out a relationship between parts of her page and another page on the site, and asked if she’d considered providing a link to the other page. She hadn’t been aware of the other page, and although she acknowledged some content commonality, remarked only that the author of the other page was free to provide a link to her page. Usability Studies Good idea, but who has time? While many staff recognize the potential value of a user study, they are simply too stretched to commit the perceived significant amount of time that they believe is
needed to design, administer and analyze one properly. At the same time, staff realizes that this may be the only effective way to get feedback on the site. All of the libraries had e-mail feedback mechanisms on their sites, but none of them reported having received comments— either positive or negative. Staff Tool or Public Resource? Where on the Web site does the sign up sheet for the staff Christmas party go? What are the guidelines regarding appropriate Web site content and content that would be better placed elsewhere? Managers should be prepared to address the tension among the various potential uses of the Web site. In house Web sites and/or intranets have been used by some libraries to differentiate between internal and external user groups. Others include this information on the library Web site, but assign it a low profile by providing access to it through a URL that is known to staff only. Server Support and Posting Rights The extent to which server support is provided by staff who fall under the administrative umbrella of the library is a factor to be considered by prospective Web site managers. If control of the server is retained by a non-library unit, the level of support and server posting turnaround time will directly affect both authors’ willingness and incentive to provide relevant and timely content. The mix of authoring responsibilities and coding skills within the libraries I visited was such that the retention of all server-posting rights by System staff for Web publishing would have been infeasible. Because of this, there was always at least one non-Systems staff who also had server rights. Systems staff who are reluctant to share posting rights need to be willing to commit to rapid turnaround time.
beast, because maintenance is not part of the problem—it is the problem. Degrees of staff commitment to the effort will be revealed not during the design or even redesign phase, but in subsequent months and years. Maintenance efforts that include the systems support staff mentioned above, and easy access to server posting will increase the chances of a successfully maintained Web site.
“It is essential that there be adequate respect for the dynamic nature of this beast, because maintenance is not part of the problem—it is the problem.”
What about the Folks at Headquarters?
Maintenance It is essential that there be adequate respect for the dynamic nature of this
Who’s in Charge? The best Web administrator may not be the one with the most technological savvy. Although the value of some degree of such savvy is obvious, the determining factors in successful administration lie in the Web manager’s sense of the big picture, his or her clear vision for the Web site, and in the support the Web site operation enjoys from library administration. This will be called upon in a spectrum of ways—from interpreting the Web site’s mission as a tool in settling “turf” wars, to an appreciation of the ways in which various pages within the site are related to each other, to establishing a working maintenance schedule. Redesign? All of the sites I visited had recently participated in, or were in the midst of, a major redesign project. The changes, to varying degrees, reflected moves from less to more uniformity and from a collection of discrete pages to a single, cohesive entity. In most cases, the OPACs had recently become Web accessible, and the redesign reflected efforts to establish a consistent appearance and functionality between the two. The efforts, however, required considerable amounts of staff and planning. In the future, changes may be more incremental than fundamental, as staff resources become increasingly stretched. Managers must factor in the resources needed to alter the site periodically to address changes in service and in technology.
In a, to me, heartening acknowledgment of the integral role that the library Web site plays on the university Web site, the library Web site management teams at all the libraries I visited had a presence on the University Web site management team. Although the universities in question had stopped short of making appearance demands upon their divisions’ Web sites by merely making suggestions, some
Web managers foresaw such demands becoming a development in the near future and were preparing to deal with that eventuality. About the OPAC What is the relationship between the Web site and the OPAC, in terms of both their appearance and their functionality? Libraries with Web-based integrated library systems have to determine to what extent their Web site will resemble the OPAC. Should there be a visual distinction between the two? Should patrons be offered the use of both, or should they be given no option but to enter the OPAC via the Web site? Two of the libraries I visited had recently implemented a Webbased OPAC and had taken the interrelationships between the OPAC and the Web site into account when making design decisions for both. Such considerations included both the appearance, as well as the functionality of each resource. OPAC Alternative. . .? A question that Web site managers, technical services heads and library directors, alike should address is to what extent the Web site should duplicate the access to library materials that is provided by the OPAC. As staffing is increasingly an issue, is it efficient to duplicate—to any extent—the effort that is involved in maintaining these two separate resources? An important variation of this issue is the extent of the comparative collection coverage between the OPAC and the Web site. This question arises when libraries have any materials not cataloged into machine-readable form. These materials need to be given special consideration, as Web visibility for them may be the only electronic access provided. Examples might include archival materials that exist in an independent database, government documents to which only non-electronic bibliographic access is provided, electronic lists of CD-ROM’s, and so forth
“The Web site staff at libraries I visited viewed the Web site as an embodiment of the service offerings of the library.” Or Service Arm. . .? In varying ways, the Web site staff at libraries I visited viewed the Web site as
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an embodiment of the service offerings of the library. One director articulated his view that the Web site has become the “sine qua non of our service package.” This statement seemed to suggest that, for this director, the library had moved beyond the phase of publishing a Web site to keep up with other libraries to the point of exploiting the Web’s potential by establishing the library’s Web site as an integral means of accomplishing this library function. Staff comments bore out this remark, as staff described emphases such as distance education and the utilization of the site as a mechanism to facilitate this, and the philosophy that the Web site should serve as a tool for instruction. Achieving the mix of resources and philosophical approach for among the various components of the Web site— especially resource lists and service offerings—that is right for a particular library looms as a central task for the Web site management unit.
CONCLUSION By drawing on the communication literature and the examples at libraries, a model of a functioning medium-sized academic library Web site can be drawn. Such an entity should have the strong backing of library administration and should be able to divest itself of any (library) departmental loyalties to cultivate a broad perspective that reflects in an understanding of how parts of the site interrelate. The management individual/committee would need to balance any library commitment to design unity with enabling a sense of ownership on the part of page authors by tolerating individual creativity and posting rights. Concomitant with this need would be an ability to get staff from different areas and viewpoints to work together. Medium-sized academic libraries are not of sufficient size to be able to eliminate from Web page authorship non-faculty members of the staff. It’s not at all clear that they’d want to do so, anyway. In addition, no Web management entity can ignore the reality that the Web site serves as the primary tool in the delivery of services to distance education students, and should acknowledge the prominent role that this function plays in the course of managing the Web site. The phenomenon of Web site work within a library is paradoxically both similar to and unlike any other work I have engaged in during a 15-year library career. It is structured, as in committee
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work, except that meetings and face-toface collaboration are much more infrequent. It results in a publicly consumable product, as in cataloging, but it is much less limited by content or technological considerations. It provides a service, but often results in little, if any feedback from those served. Further, it often requires choosing quickly among the least objectionable of alternatives, as does administration, but can also exist quietly for weeks without strife. The model described, applied with these complexities in mind, is a useful beginning in our understanding of how library Web sites function. Acknowledgments: Many thanks are due to the library directors and Web site staffs at the cooperating sites: Boise State University’s Albertson’s Library, the University of Idaho Library, Idaho State University’s Eli M. Oboler Library, and The University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, for their willingness to share their time and their observations.
APPENDIX Library Web Site Design Agingu, Beatrice O. “Library Web Sites at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” College & Research Libraries (Jan. 2000): 30-37. A comparison of characteristics of library Web sites of black colleges and universities with peer institutions within region. List of criterion used to judge among sites is useful.
Anderson, Steven L., Charles P. Campbell, Nancy Hindle, Jonathan Price, and Randall Scasny. “Editing a Web Site: Extending the Levels of Edit.” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 41.1 (March 1998): 47-57 Intended for a wide audience, and written in terms of general Web site implementation, this article provides many useful ideas for preparing and improving texts for Web sites. It proposes three levels of editing: (1) content and structure, (2) style techniques to enhance clarity, cohesion, and (3) style guides, consistency with organizational policy, and gives practical guidance on design decisions, implementation decisions. Many of the concepts can be applied to library Web sites.
Cohen, Laura B. and Julie M. Still. “A Comparison of Research University and Two-Year College Library Web Sites: Content, Functionality and Form.” Col-
lege & Research Libraries (May 1999): 275-289. This article categorizes Web sites by purpose: informational, reference, research, instructional; by internal functionality (search engine, interactive forms); and structural complexity. It makes comparisons between two groups of academic libraries: ARL and two-year colleges. This was useful in that it provides context for a Web site’s content, standard characteristics and structure.
D’Angelo, John and Sherry K. Little. “Successful Web Pages: What Are They and Do They Exist?” Information Technology and Libraries (June 1998): 71-81. This offers guidelines for appearance of library Web sites. It addresses areas such as color use, navigational considerations, images, content.
Dewey, Barbara I. “In Search of Services: Analyzing the Findability of Links on CIC University Libraries’ Web Pages.” Information Technology and Libraries (December 1999): 210-213. A study of the treatment of information about library services within 13 members of a consortium. Although its scope is limited, the study identifies library services easily incorporated into Web site and suggests value of incorporating library service information into Web site.
Long, Chris Evin. “Web Site Design Resources for the Librarian: A Selective Annotated Bibliography.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 5.2 (2000): 31-40. Good bibliography of guides on Web site design. Arranged by topic.
King, David L. “Library Home Page Design: A Comparison of Page Layout for Front-ends to ARL Library Web Sites.” College & Research Libraries (September 1998): 458-465. Reports on survey findings of characteristics of ARL library Web sites as they relate to the sites’ structural complexity, content, graphics, and color use.
Marmion, Dan. “Library Web Page Design: Are We Doing It Right?” Information Technology and Libraries (March 2001): 2-3. The author suggests the value of organizing a library Web site according to a subjectdriven arrangement. He argues that “We let our library training and our traditional library experience exert too much influence on our Web site design. We think just because we know how to organize the stuff in our physical libraries we can bring the same approach to organizing our library Web sites.” (p. 2).
Rich, Linda A. & Julie L. Rabine. “How Libraries Are Providing Access to Electronic Serials: A Survey of Academic Library Web Sites.” Serials Review 25.2 (1999): 35-46.
The results of a use study of an academic Web site. Participants were asked to perform six tasks using the Web site and to answer questions related to their experience. Results are discussed in terms of recommended design considerations.
The authors conducted a survey of 114 academic library Web sites and how they are providing access to electronic journals. The treatment of e-journals within a Web setting is too limited an approach for designers of an entire Web site.
McMullen, Susan. “Usability testing in a library Web site redesign project.” Reference Services Review 29.1 (2001): 7-22.
Rosenfeld, Louis & Peter Morville. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Cambridge: O’Reilly, 1998. The authors work as information architecture consultants for large corporate clients. They offer Web design and usability advice that is applicable to a broad range of Web site types.
Stover, Mark & Steven D. Zink “World Wide Web Home Page Design: Patterns and Anomalies of Higher Education Library Home Pages.” Reference Services Review (Fall 1996): 7-20. Studies 40 randomly selected higher education library Web sites and readily available Web design guidelines. Then compares the study subjects against these guidelines. The article concludes that most are poorly designed.
Tolppanen, Bradley P., Joan Miller, & Martha H. Wooden. “An Examination of Library World Wide Web Sites at Medium-Sized Universities.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 5.2 (2000): 5-17. This is a study of library Web sites of medium-sized universities. Thirty-one core components of the examined sites are identified and a site’s relationship to its university Web site is examined.
Welch, Jeanie M. “Chaos or Control Freaks: Academic Library Web Site evaluation and management.” In IOLS 2000: Proceedings of the Fifteenth National Conference on Integrated Online Library Systems, 167-180. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2000. A study of the business Web pages of academic libraries, applying criteria within the categories of design and content and establishing benchmarks for use in studying other types of Web pages.
Library Web Site Evaluation McGillis, Louise & Elaine G. Toms. “Usability of the Academic Library Web Site: Implications for Design.” College & Research Libraries (July 2001): 356-367
An examination of the process used in redesigning an academic library Web site. The primary component of the redesign was to conduct a use study. The author presents the results and their implications for content, layout, and functionality of a Web site.
Nielsen, Jakob. Designing Web Usability. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing, 2000. Web usability expert, Nielsen, propones the concept of user-centered design. He gives advice for creators of all types of Web sites that includes principles that are adaptable to library Web sites.
Norlin, Elaina & CM! Winters. Usability Testing for Library Web Sites (Chicago: American Library Association, 2002). The authors draw on popular Web design literature to form practical advice on testing library Web sites: they cite the value of testing, its method, sample forms, and suggestions for drawing testing groups.
Spool, Jared et al. Web Site Usability: a Designer’s Guide (San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1999). The author has explored eight corporate Web sites and offers criticism on their usability, comparing the merits of techniques such as text links, “white” space, and site maps.
Library Web Site Management (Limited Applicability) Lingle, Virginia A. & Eric P. Delozier. “Policy Aspects of Web Page Development.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 3.2 (1998): 33-48. The authors have retrieved existing Web site policies from library Web sites and compiled them into a list of ideal elements that should be present in a Web site policy. While identifying and collating these policy elements is valuable, the study is limited: of the 11n sites they cite as having visited, 9 are at ARL libraries and 2 are at special libraries.
Van Der Walt, Pieter W. “The Webmaster: a New Player in the Information Center’s Online Team.” The Electronic Library 15.6 (December 1997): 447-454. Somewhat useful description of the duties of an information center Webmaster. Staff
management principles do not seem to be applicable within an academic library.
Van Der Walt, Pieter & Pieter Van Brakel. “Task Analysis of the Webmaster: results of an empirical study.” ASLIB Proceedings. 52.1 (January 2000): 20-33. Examines roles performed by corporate Webmaster—whether the position is held by one or more than one individual. Some aspects of the role study may be applicable to library Web sites.
Yaping, Peter Liu. Web Page Development and Management, Spec Kit 246. Washington, D.C.: Association of Research Libraries, 1999. Results of a 1998 survey of ARL libraries that asks basic questions about content, use, hardware/software support. Useful to a point, but does not reveal practices at medium sized academic libraries.
NOTES
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REFERENCES
1. Vincent Kiernan, “Few College Libraries Provide Training for Web-Site Designers” Chronicle of Higher Education XLVI.18 (January 2000): A58. 2. Beth Evans, “The Authors of Academic Library Homepages: Their Identity, Training and Dissemination of Web Construction Skills,” Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy 9 4 (1999): 309 –319. 3. Lingle, Virginia A. & Eric P. Delozier, “Policy Aspects of Web Page Development.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 3.2 (1998): 33– 48. 4. Kiernan, “Few College Libraries,” A58. 5. Paul Doty, “Mistakes: An Essay on Librarianship, the Web, and Design.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 5.3 (2001): 1– 4. 6. Ibid., p. 3. 7. Ibid., p. 4. 8. Steve Jones, “Studying the Net: Intricacies and Issues”, in Doing Internet Research: Critical Issues and Methods for Examining the Net, edited by Steve Jones (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1999), p. 1–27. 9. John Eighmey, “Adding Value in the Information Age: Uses and Gratifications of Sites on the World Wide Web. Journal of Business Research 41 (1998): 187–194. 10. John Pauly, A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Qualitative Research in Mass Communication (Columbia, SC: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 1991). 11. Ronald E. Rice, “Issues and Concepts in Research on Computer-Mediated Communication Systems,” in Communication Yearbook/12, edited by James A. Anderson (Newbury Park: Sage, 1989), pp. 436 – 476.
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The literature offers considerable guidance on creating and evaluating library Web sites. This article identifies the salient issues in Web site direction for Web site management and reviews their practical application through examination of four case studies.
I
have served as general editor of my library’s Web site since 1999. A midsized library at a mid-sized publicly supported institution, the library had just instituted a Web site operational model that distributed content and technical responsibilities among several staff members, and named a general editor, who was responsible for oversight and general direction. Before that, the site’s working model could have been characterized as a loosely based confederacy with no individual charged with general oversight. When I began the job I turned to the professional library literature to identify the relevant issues surrounding the effective management of Web sites and to study solutions that had been successfully implemented. The literature commented only on the beginning (design) and the end (evaluation) of the process, for the most part, omitting the middle (ongoing management.) The professional literature of other fields, however, provided concepts and theories that could be used to address this deficit. Four case studies were undertaken to test these theories in a library context.
LIBRARY LITERATURE
Sandra Shropshire is General Manager, Library Web Site, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho.
Most of the articles on library Web sites within the library literature can be categorized as dealing with a site’s (1) design/ appearance and/or (2) evaluation/usability. In addressing design, the literature is comprised of interpretations of general design guidelines taken from the popular literature, and their subsequent application within a library setting. These general design guidelines consist of Web experts’ recommendations for application within certain types of specialized use, including use by such entities as corporations, art galleries, entertainment organizations, non-profit organization, and individuals. Moreover, specific information and train-
The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 29, Number 2, pages 95–101
ing for any application in the use of html editors and java scripting, and in content, font choices, and graphic design considerations, are easily found in any community education program, professional training offering, library, or bookstore. For the application of Web experts’ ideas in a library setting, in other words, usability, the literature affirms that practicing Web librarians have taught themselves. Librarians discuss how to create and evaluate Web sites: the literature includes accounts of what they’ve done and what they’ve learned from their own and from other librarians’ experiences. That such auto-didactic behavior occurs will come as no surprise to any practicing Web authors; indeed, according to a recent article by Kiernan1 appearing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, it is common for academic library sites. Kiernan cites a survey by Beth Evans2 of large (⬎7500 employees) academic libraries that reveals that the majority of librarians creating Web pages are self-taught. Searching the library literature using the search terms, “philosophy” and “issues,” in combination with “Web site,” yields little of applicable use. The results of searches constructed to include the terms, “Web site,” “management,” and “Webmaster,” reveal that, even when a given article’s title suggests that it describes the management of a Web site, the bulk of the articles retrieved will actually focus either on a sites’ design or its usability. Valuable as these topics are in relation to library Web sites, they represent only a partial view of Web site management. Some articles within the literature do examine selected aspects of Web site management, but the authors’ interpretations of what “management” is too narrow to provide real assistance to beginning Web manager. One article in
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particular had reviewed and compared Web site policies among 11 libraries contained moderately helpful information— but it had studied only ARL or special library Web sites.3 Interesting, the literature also reveals hints that librarians are finding the current views regarding library Web sites to be in need of broadening. The Kiernan article suggests that there is a vacuum, of sorts. The remarks of David G. Schwartz, editor of Internet Research, which are quoted by Kiernan: “There are fundamental changes that must take place in the training and responsibilities of librarians in order to make the transition into the Internet Age,”4 suggest that he believes that some thing is missing. He seems to be pointing to the need for more technical training, but he may also be suggesting a change in mind-set.
“His view of what’s missing is that librarians don’t yet fully understand that corporate, government and other types of Web sites are their competitors.” The need to step back and view Web sites from a broader perspective was echoed by Doty5 in a recent editorial. His [Doty’s] view of what’s missing is that librarians don’t yet fully understand that corporate, government and other types of Web sites are their competitors, and that libraries should design Web sites with an awareness of the larger context of the Web: “The challenge for librarianship is to translate institutions into the virtual and designing a ‘library school’ for hypermedia is going to take looking at the Web as a greater sphere.”6 Libraries should “. . .turn our institutional role into a design presence. Library Web pages should have a look that other types of Web pages don’t. . .”7 Schwartz and Doty each suggest that something is missing with regard to the way that librarians view the role of the library Web site. Is there anything to this suggestion? Is it to suggest, now that academic library Web sites have been around long enough for librarians to have dealt with design challenges, and for Web users to have grown sophisticated in their expectations, that Web sites remain as
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entities worthy of additional study beyond that which has already been undertaken? There are, indeed, other ways to view academic library Web sites: the library literature simply does not yet reflect this. Doty’s view that what’s lacking is a thorough examination of library Web sites, that is, the need to consider library Web sites within the context of other organizations’ Web sites, may, indeed, be one of those ways. The premises of both Schwartz and Doty, that is, that further consideration of some sort is worthwhile, and the dearth of management-specific information within the literature provide direction for another way of considering academic library Web sites. An annotated and categorized list of the sources within the library literature is included in the Appendix.
WHAT OTHER LITERATURE OFFERS Within the professional literature at large, there are a number of disciplines from whose perspectives Web sites and their qualities are being studied, namely engineering, education, business, communication, and the social sciences. The field of communication offers principles most adaptable to library use. In the communication literature, the Internet and the Web are discussed as distinct media of communication that are sufficiently different from other media as to warrant further exploration. Jones8 posits the Internet as a discrete social medium, suggesting that proper study of it calls for drawing on many fields. He notes that there are no traditional methods for studying the Internet, and that, although it is obviously a distinct type of communication medium, it is as yet unclear how the Internet operates as such. What we need to do, he proposes, is to understand the “communicative process” involved with the use of the Internet. If “communicative process” suggests the functions undertaken by both senders and receivers of information, as well as the information, itself, then understanding a Web site, that is, a component of the Internet, would require an examination of its creators and their environments, in addition to its users and content. Interpreted in this way, Jones’ idea suggests a need to study Web sites from the perspective of the organizational conditions within which they function. These conditions would have effects upon the Web sites’ structure, elements, appearance and functionality. Eighmey9 recommends examining the Web from the broad perspective
by characterizing the functions of Web sites as being for entertainment, browsing, education, work, and academic use. Understanding this informs design choices, he argues, as does recognizing that a Web site is simultaneously a mass medium and a means of interpersonal communication.
“Jones and Eighmey each suggest a useful way to examine the Web that goes beyond Web site design and evaluation, and that is as a communication medium.” Jones and Eighmey each suggest a useful way to examine the Web that goes beyond Web site design and evaluation, and that is as a communication medium. Accepting this, then, requires a determination of how such an examination could be conducted. Within the relevant communication literature, Pauly’s10 work on qualitative research is frequently cited as being a starting point for researchers within the field. Pauly describes a way of applying qualitative research to mass communication that suggests a method for approaching the further study of academic library Web sites. As communication media, Web sites could be studied— using Pauly’s terminology—in terms of their “product”, “practice,” as “commentary” or as a combination of all three. Viewing communication as a “product” is to consider it as a text, that is, as a symbolic form by which an experience is rendered and made meaningful. Web sites, then, could be studied as “products,” in terms of their content, appearance and effects upon users. Pauly also suggests that studying communication as a “practice” would be to look at the cultural processes that are occurring and how economic, bureaucratic and professional constraints shape the cultural form of the communication medium. This approach, as applied to Web sites would entail understanding how “offline” decisions are made about the character of the “online” product. Lastly, approaching communication as a “commentary” offers a way to take into account the shape, character, and direction of society itself. We reveal certain assumptions, Pauly suggests, when we
discourse about the Internet as a realization of the “global village,” or about “Internet addiction,” or about the segregation of Internet communications. In this vein, Web site studies could explore the creators’ vision of who their audiences are, what the audience’s intellectual and/or technical capabilities are, and so forth Existing studies of academic library Web sites’ design and evaluation fit into Pauly’s “product” model. The current library literature, however, reveals little investigative work that could correspond with Pauly’s “process” or “commentary” models. Rice’s ideas suggest another useful way of studying academic library Web sites through communication theory.11 He argues that the major distinction between categories of research goals as applied to research in computer-mediated communication systems is whether the research is “formative” or “summative.” Formative research, according to Rice, is performed to acquire information that is useful in designing and improving project components and provides feedback for use during the design, implementation and use processes. So defined, formative research seems to fit the design and use studies of academic library Web sites that dominate the library literature to this point. Summative research, as Rice describes it, tends to occur after formative research has been conducted and is applied to more mature systems. Summative research addresses ways in which the system has affected those involved with it, and studies the system’s wider social context, including the intended and unintended effects, and to what extent the system’s goals have been achieved. If summative research as Rice describes it has been conducted with regard to academic library Web sites, then it has yet to make a significant appearance within the literature.
ANALYSIS
AND
APPLICATION
So, the library literature offers much in the area of designing and testing the usability of library Web sites, even specifically academic ones. It is based on general Web site design literature and reflects library-specific application by offering ideas on the content to include, how it might be presented, and how this entire side of the Web site’s operation might be evaluated.
“The literature of communication studies, by contrast, provides insight and possible alternative methods that can be applied toward the further study of academic library Web sites.”
The literature of communication studies, by contrast, provides insight and possible alternative methods that can be applied toward the further study of academic library Web sites. Viewed as means of communication, Web sites can be studied within their contexts, within their operational environments, relative to other types of Web sites, and/or as processes or commentary. In the library environment these general concerns can translate into useful specific questions. Examples include how the site’s management is staffed, what the organizational structure of both the site and of the sponsoring institution are, how decisions are made, what constraints are faced by the management structure, how site maintenance is conducted, and others. A study that would address these questions within the context of an academic library to determine what can be learned and what patterns can be detected would be useful to others operating academic library Web sites. And there is a special need to address the problems of mediumsized academic library Web sites—libraries that been offered very little by way of models for Web site management in the library literature. So far, this report has served this end by surveying the existing literature and applying theories drawn from other disciplines that could be of potential use. Clearly, the next step should be to examine Web sites in operation. To view how these specific management concerns are being addressed in a real world environment, a case study seemed most appropriate. The information required is not the sort that is obtainable from a Web site, alone, nor can it be acquired effectively from a survey of Web site managers. The questions that need to be posed are open-ended, and are likely to elicit follow-up questions. Even phone calls would fall short of gleaning necessary information from staff. Furthermore, there would be value in seeing the
situations faced by other Web site contributors—in experiencing their working environments firsthand. So, I traveled to three non-ARL university libraries to interview the staff involved with the production of academic library Web sites. I studied the Web sites of these three, as well as my own library’s, over the fall and winter of 2001/ 2002. I began by contacting staff members at each library, who agreed to participate in the process and arranged for a series of interviews between me and any staff who were involved in the library’s Web effort. I studied the Web sites in advance of each visit, noting identifying characteristics and specific questions I’d ask. I prepared a list of issues I wished to address and made that available to relevant staff in advance of my visit, leaving open the possibility for extended comments and unanticipated directions of inquiry/discussion. When I arrived on site, I interviewed individual staff, or groups of staff, as well as the library director and took notes on their responses. In addition, I exchanged numerous follow-up e-mail messages with my interviewees to clarify my notes.
DISCUSSION The sites were at public universities serving campus communities ranging between 10,000-16,000 students. Their Carnegie Classifications were as follows: Masters’ College and Universities I— one; Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive—two; and Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive— one. None had hired new staff for Web site support and all were managed using a committee structure. Page authorship was dispersed throughout the staff. None had implemented a use study, although development of such a study was in process at two of the sites. Detailed fact tables for each site studied can be found at www.isu.edu/⬃shrosand/librarywebsites.htm. Going into the study, I made no assumptions about which of the issues that I would be addressing would be minor, and which would be common to all sites and therefore of greater potential interest. The evidence showed that there were more similarities than differences among the issues that arose, and that anomalies were infrequent. The common issues are addressed below.
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“The libraries studied could make the best use of new staff in the form of mid-level systems and/or clerical support.” Staffing New The libraries studied could make the best use of new staff in the form of midlevel systems and/or clerical support. Coding support and regularized maintenance work is that which seemed to be most needed. Bringing in someone new to head the Web site management effort may be a mistake, and should be carefully considered. One library I visited had tried hiring a Webmaster and had been disappointed with the experiment. The individual was brought in to perform a major overhaul of the Web site. The site was redesigned, but the effort was considered by many to have been a failure, as the design was viewed by staff as reflecting only that individual’s taste. The individual, it seems, was not able to maneuver successfully among the various constituencies to achieve consensus, and therefore support, for the effort. Existing Content expertise among existing staff is in ready supply. Those staff who are involved with operating library services and with describing the collections are those with the most tappable resources. For some of the staff, working on the Web site has developed as an extension of their primary duties. These staff tend to be those who are custodians of collections that have been traditionally among the last to be cataloged, or cataloged in machine-readable form, such as government documents, maps, and special collections. Facing the lack of catalog records for their collections, these staff had turned to developing electronic lists of collections as an easy way to inform patrons of their existence. When Web sites became popular, these lists were easily convertible to html, and staff who did so had an edge, as well as a built-in motivation to continue their efforts within a Web site environment. For other staff who could provide content, Web work can be perceived as adding no benefit to the fulfillment of their primary job duties and can thus, tend to be
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viewed as an additional burden. Motivation for staff to increase their workload voluntarily in this way and to commit the necessary time for maintenance work then becomes an issue for Web management. Managers can motivate staff by asserting the value of the Web effort. They can incorporate the staff member’s time into his/her performance appraisal, tie the responsibilities into the staff member’s other responsibilities, and acknowledge duties that can be reassigned, or eliminated. An aspect of utilizing existing staff to perform Web work that should not be overlooked is the use of classified, or paraprofessional staff. These staff can be valuable resources for such work and are often highly motivated. Medium sized academic libraries may therefore, do themselves and their Web sites a disservice by limiting Web involvement to professional librarians. No Trespassing At the same time, utilizing the talents of existing staff may create its own set of problems, because professional rivalries translate readily into a Web environment. When asked why he had volunteered for his library’s Web committee, “to protect my turf,” was the response of one page author. Professional rivalries can also manifest themselves in activities such as vying for home page presence and demanding server-posting privileges. Of course, it should be noted that professional rivalries could also insert a healthy element of competition into the process. The successful Web manager can balance these two aspects by providing a clear mission statement, a commitment to adhere to it, and some common sense.
“Soliciting volunteers, despite obvious benefits, may not be the best method for establishing a Web governing structure.” Governing Structure Soliciting volunteers, despite obvious benefits, may not be the best method for establishing a Web governing structure. Enthusiasm tends to wane, the effort may not be taken seriously, and prioritizing time may become a problem. Moreover,
to the extent that the Web site governance structure differs from the library’s administrative structure, Web site managers may find themselves in a position of having responsibility, but no authority. This phenomenon is not uncommon within libraries and the solutions used in similar situations, such as incorporating Web responsibilities into job descriptions and acknowledging them in performance evaluations, are likely to work as effectively for those involved with Web work. The committee model seems to function well in Web work situations, undoubtedly because this is a familiar mode within academe, although not always so on a volunteer basis. Committee composition is a significant variable in this equation. First of all, committee members should be those who can function within the mores of committee work, that is, the give and take, the reliance upon self-initiated follow-through, and so forth Also, members of the committee must be able to function independently of the organizational structure of the library. Finally, making committee assignments with job responsibilities in mind and in coordination with supervisors is an important way to ensure the success of the Web effort. The committee should be able to foster and demonstrate a broad perspective. Allowing parochialism to flourish in the minds of Web authors runs counter to the service function that academic library Web sites purport to fulfill, and fails to take advantage of one of the most useful features of this medium— hyperlinks. Instead, Web managers should encourage authors to increase their familiarity with other parts of the site, to enable the formation of the mental framework necessary to connect— both intellectually and literally—the parts of the site. This point was made quite clear to me as I was interviewing a particular page author. I pointed out a relationship between parts of her page and another page on the site, and asked if she’d considered providing a link to the other page. She hadn’t been aware of the other page, and although she acknowledged some content commonality, remarked only that the author of the other page was free to provide a link to her page. Usability Studies Good idea, but who has time? While many staff recognize the potential value of a user study, they are simply too stretched to commit the perceived significant amount of time that they believe is
needed to design, administer and analyze one properly. At the same time, staff realizes that this may be the only effective way to get feedback on the site. All of the libraries had e-mail feedback mechanisms on their sites, but none of them reported having received comments— either positive or negative. Staff Tool or Public Resource? Where on the Web site does the sign up sheet for the staff Christmas party go? What are the guidelines regarding appropriate Web site content and content that would be better placed elsewhere? Managers should be prepared to address the tension among the various potential uses of the Web site. In house Web sites and/or intranets have been used by some libraries to differentiate between internal and external user groups. Others include this information on the library Web site, but assign it a low profile by providing access to it through a URL that is known to staff only. Server Support and Posting Rights The extent to which server support is provided by staff who fall under the administrative umbrella of the library is a factor to be considered by prospective Web site managers. If control of the server is retained by a non-library unit, the level of support and server posting turnaround time will directly affect both authors’ willingness and incentive to provide relevant and timely content. The mix of authoring responsibilities and coding skills within the libraries I visited was such that the retention of all server-posting rights by System staff for Web publishing would have been infeasible. Because of this, there was always at least one non-Systems staff who also had server rights. Systems staff who are reluctant to share posting rights need to be willing to commit to rapid turnaround time.
beast, because maintenance is not part of the problem—it is the problem. Degrees of staff commitment to the effort will be revealed not during the design or even redesign phase, but in subsequent months and years. Maintenance efforts that include the systems support staff mentioned above, and easy access to server posting will increase the chances of a successfully maintained Web site.
“It is essential that there be adequate respect for the dynamic nature of this beast, because maintenance is not part of the problem—it is the problem.”
What about the Folks at Headquarters?
Maintenance It is essential that there be adequate respect for the dynamic nature of this
Who’s in Charge? The best Web administrator may not be the one with the most technological savvy. Although the value of some degree of such savvy is obvious, the determining factors in successful administration lie in the Web manager’s sense of the big picture, his or her clear vision for the Web site, and in the support the Web site operation enjoys from library administration. This will be called upon in a spectrum of ways—from interpreting the Web site’s mission as a tool in settling “turf” wars, to an appreciation of the ways in which various pages within the site are related to each other, to establishing a working maintenance schedule. Redesign? All of the sites I visited had recently participated in, or were in the midst of, a major redesign project. The changes, to varying degrees, reflected moves from less to more uniformity and from a collection of discrete pages to a single, cohesive entity. In most cases, the OPACs had recently become Web accessible, and the redesign reflected efforts to establish a consistent appearance and functionality between the two. The efforts, however, required considerable amounts of staff and planning. In the future, changes may be more incremental than fundamental, as staff resources become increasingly stretched. Managers must factor in the resources needed to alter the site periodically to address changes in service and in technology.
In a, to me, heartening acknowledgment of the integral role that the library Web site plays on the university Web site, the library Web site management teams at all the libraries I visited had a presence on the University Web site management team. Although the universities in question had stopped short of making appearance demands upon their divisions’ Web sites by merely making suggestions, some
Web managers foresaw such demands becoming a development in the near future and were preparing to deal with that eventuality. About the OPAC What is the relationship between the Web site and the OPAC, in terms of both their appearance and their functionality? Libraries with Web-based integrated library systems have to determine to what extent their Web site will resemble the OPAC. Should there be a visual distinction between the two? Should patrons be offered the use of both, or should they be given no option but to enter the OPAC via the Web site? Two of the libraries I visited had recently implemented a Webbased OPAC and had taken the interrelationships between the OPAC and the Web site into account when making design decisions for both. Such considerations included both the appearance, as well as the functionality of each resource. OPAC Alternative. . .? A question that Web site managers, technical services heads and library directors, alike should address is to what extent the Web site should duplicate the access to library materials that is provided by the OPAC. As staffing is increasingly an issue, is it efficient to duplicate—to any extent—the effort that is involved in maintaining these two separate resources? An important variation of this issue is the extent of the comparative collection coverage between the OPAC and the Web site. This question arises when libraries have any materials not cataloged into machine-readable form. These materials need to be given special consideration, as Web visibility for them may be the only electronic access provided. Examples might include archival materials that exist in an independent database, government documents to which only non-electronic bibliographic access is provided, electronic lists of CD-ROM’s, and so forth
“The Web site staff at libraries I visited viewed the Web site as an embodiment of the service offerings of the library.” Or Service Arm. . .? In varying ways, the Web site staff at libraries I visited viewed the Web site as
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an embodiment of the service offerings of the library. One director articulated his view that the Web site has become the “sine qua non of our service package.” This statement seemed to suggest that, for this director, the library had moved beyond the phase of publishing a Web site to keep up with other libraries to the point of exploiting the Web’s potential by establishing the library’s Web site as an integral means of accomplishing this library function. Staff comments bore out this remark, as staff described emphases such as distance education and the utilization of the site as a mechanism to facilitate this, and the philosophy that the Web site should serve as a tool for instruction. Achieving the mix of resources and philosophical approach for among the various components of the Web site— especially resource lists and service offerings—that is right for a particular library looms as a central task for the Web site management unit.
CONCLUSION By drawing on the communication literature and the examples at libraries, a model of a functioning medium-sized academic library Web site can be drawn. Such an entity should have the strong backing of library administration and should be able to divest itself of any (library) departmental loyalties to cultivate a broad perspective that reflects in an understanding of how parts of the site interrelate. The management individual/committee would need to balance any library commitment to design unity with enabling a sense of ownership on the part of page authors by tolerating individual creativity and posting rights. Concomitant with this need would be an ability to get staff from different areas and viewpoints to work together. Medium-sized academic libraries are not of sufficient size to be able to eliminate from Web page authorship non-faculty members of the staff. It’s not at all clear that they’d want to do so, anyway. In addition, no Web management entity can ignore the reality that the Web site serves as the primary tool in the delivery of services to distance education students, and should acknowledge the prominent role that this function plays in the course of managing the Web site. The phenomenon of Web site work within a library is paradoxically both similar to and unlike any other work I have engaged in during a 15-year library career. It is structured, as in committee
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work, except that meetings and face-toface collaboration are much more infrequent. It results in a publicly consumable product, as in cataloging, but it is much less limited by content or technological considerations. It provides a service, but often results in little, if any feedback from those served. Further, it often requires choosing quickly among the least objectionable of alternatives, as does administration, but can also exist quietly for weeks without strife. The model described, applied with these complexities in mind, is a useful beginning in our understanding of how library Web sites function. Acknowledgments: Many thanks are due to the library directors and Web site staffs at the cooperating sites: Boise State University’s Albertson’s Library, the University of Idaho Library, Idaho State University’s Eli M. Oboler Library, and The University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, for their willingness to share their time and their observations.
APPENDIX Library Web Site Design Agingu, Beatrice O. “Library Web Sites at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” College & Research Libraries (Jan. 2000): 30-37. A comparison of characteristics of library Web sites of black colleges and universities with peer institutions within region. List of criterion used to judge among sites is useful.
Anderson, Steven L., Charles P. Campbell, Nancy Hindle, Jonathan Price, and Randall Scasny. “Editing a Web Site: Extending the Levels of Edit.” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 41.1 (March 1998): 47-57 Intended for a wide audience, and written in terms of general Web site implementation, this article provides many useful ideas for preparing and improving texts for Web sites. It proposes three levels of editing: (1) content and structure, (2) style techniques to enhance clarity, cohesion, and (3) style guides, consistency with organizational policy, and gives practical guidance on design decisions, implementation decisions. Many of the concepts can be applied to library Web sites.
Cohen, Laura B. and Julie M. Still. “A Comparison of Research University and Two-Year College Library Web Sites: Content, Functionality and Form.” Col-
lege & Research Libraries (May 1999): 275-289. This article categorizes Web sites by purpose: informational, reference, research, instructional; by internal functionality (search engine, interactive forms); and structural complexity. It makes comparisons between two groups of academic libraries: ARL and two-year colleges. This was useful in that it provides context for a Web site’s content, standard characteristics and structure.
D’Angelo, John and Sherry K. Little. “Successful Web Pages: What Are They and Do They Exist?” Information Technology and Libraries (June 1998): 71-81. This offers guidelines for appearance of library Web sites. It addresses areas such as color use, navigational considerations, images, content.
Dewey, Barbara I. “In Search of Services: Analyzing the Findability of Links on CIC University Libraries’ Web Pages.” Information Technology and Libraries (December 1999): 210-213. A study of the treatment of information about library services within 13 members of a consortium. Although its scope is limited, the study identifies library services easily incorporated into Web site and suggests value of incorporating library service information into Web site.
Long, Chris Evin. “Web Site Design Resources for the Librarian: A Selective Annotated Bibliography.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 5.2 (2000): 31-40. Good bibliography of guides on Web site design. Arranged by topic.
King, David L. “Library Home Page Design: A Comparison of Page Layout for Front-ends to ARL Library Web Sites.” College & Research Libraries (September 1998): 458-465. Reports on survey findings of characteristics of ARL library Web sites as they relate to the sites’ structural complexity, content, graphics, and color use.
Marmion, Dan. “Library Web Page Design: Are We Doing It Right?” Information Technology and Libraries (March 2001): 2-3. The author suggests the value of organizing a library Web site according to a subjectdriven arrangement. He argues that “We let our library training and our traditional library experience exert too much influence on our Web site design. We think just because we know how to organize the stuff in our physical libraries we can bring the same approach to organizing our library Web sites.” (p. 2).
Rich, Linda A. & Julie L. Rabine. “How Libraries Are Providing Access to Electronic Serials: A Survey of Academic Library Web Sites.” Serials Review 25.2 (1999): 35-46.
The results of a use study of an academic Web site. Participants were asked to perform six tasks using the Web site and to answer questions related to their experience. Results are discussed in terms of recommended design considerations.
The authors conducted a survey of 114 academic library Web sites and how they are providing access to electronic journals. The treatment of e-journals within a Web setting is too limited an approach for designers of an entire Web site.
McMullen, Susan. “Usability testing in a library Web site redesign project.” Reference Services Review 29.1 (2001): 7-22.
Rosenfeld, Louis & Peter Morville. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Cambridge: O’Reilly, 1998. The authors work as information architecture consultants for large corporate clients. They offer Web design and usability advice that is applicable to a broad range of Web site types.
Stover, Mark & Steven D. Zink “World Wide Web Home Page Design: Patterns and Anomalies of Higher Education Library Home Pages.” Reference Services Review (Fall 1996): 7-20. Studies 40 randomly selected higher education library Web sites and readily available Web design guidelines. Then compares the study subjects against these guidelines. The article concludes that most are poorly designed.
Tolppanen, Bradley P., Joan Miller, & Martha H. Wooden. “An Examination of Library World Wide Web Sites at Medium-Sized Universities.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 5.2 (2000): 5-17. This is a study of library Web sites of medium-sized universities. Thirty-one core components of the examined sites are identified and a site’s relationship to its university Web site is examined.
Welch, Jeanie M. “Chaos or Control Freaks: Academic Library Web Site evaluation and management.” In IOLS 2000: Proceedings of the Fifteenth National Conference on Integrated Online Library Systems, 167-180. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2000. A study of the business Web pages of academic libraries, applying criteria within the categories of design and content and establishing benchmarks for use in studying other types of Web pages.
Library Web Site Evaluation McGillis, Louise & Elaine G. Toms. “Usability of the Academic Library Web Site: Implications for Design.” College & Research Libraries (July 2001): 356-367
An examination of the process used in redesigning an academic library Web site. The primary component of the redesign was to conduct a use study. The author presents the results and their implications for content, layout, and functionality of a Web site.
Nielsen, Jakob. Designing Web Usability. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing, 2000. Web usability expert, Nielsen, propones the concept of user-centered design. He gives advice for creators of all types of Web sites that includes principles that are adaptable to library Web sites.
Norlin, Elaina & CM! Winters. Usability Testing for Library Web Sites (Chicago: American Library Association, 2002). The authors draw on popular Web design literature to form practical advice on testing library Web sites: they cite the value of testing, its method, sample forms, and suggestions for drawing testing groups.
Spool, Jared et al. Web Site Usability: a Designer’s Guide (San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1999). The author has explored eight corporate Web sites and offers criticism on their usability, comparing the merits of techniques such as text links, “white” space, and site maps.
Library Web Site Management (Limited Applicability) Lingle, Virginia A. & Eric P. Delozier. “Policy Aspects of Web Page Development.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 3.2 (1998): 33-48. The authors have retrieved existing Web site policies from library Web sites and compiled them into a list of ideal elements that should be present in a Web site policy. While identifying and collating these policy elements is valuable, the study is limited: of the 11n sites they cite as having visited, 9 are at ARL libraries and 2 are at special libraries.
Van Der Walt, Pieter W. “The Webmaster: a New Player in the Information Center’s Online Team.” The Electronic Library 15.6 (December 1997): 447-454. Somewhat useful description of the duties of an information center Webmaster. Staff
management principles do not seem to be applicable within an academic library.
Van Der Walt, Pieter & Pieter Van Brakel. “Task Analysis of the Webmaster: results of an empirical study.” ASLIB Proceedings. 52.1 (January 2000): 20-33. Examines roles performed by corporate Webmaster—whether the position is held by one or more than one individual. Some aspects of the role study may be applicable to library Web sites.
Yaping, Peter Liu. Web Page Development and Management, Spec Kit 246. Washington, D.C.: Association of Research Libraries, 1999. Results of a 1998 survey of ARL libraries that asks basic questions about content, use, hardware/software support. Useful to a point, but does not reveal practices at medium sized academic libraries.
NOTES
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REFERENCES
1. Vincent Kiernan, “Few College Libraries Provide Training for Web-Site Designers” Chronicle of Higher Education XLVI.18 (January 2000): A58. 2. Beth Evans, “The Authors of Academic Library Homepages: Their Identity, Training and Dissemination of Web Construction Skills,” Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy 9 4 (1999): 309 –319. 3. Lingle, Virginia A. & Eric P. Delozier, “Policy Aspects of Web Page Development.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 3.2 (1998): 33– 48. 4. Kiernan, “Few College Libraries,” A58. 5. Paul Doty, “Mistakes: An Essay on Librarianship, the Web, and Design.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 5.3 (2001): 1– 4. 6. Ibid., p. 3. 7. Ibid., p. 4. 8. Steve Jones, “Studying the Net: Intricacies and Issues”, in Doing Internet Research: Critical Issues and Methods for Examining the Net, edited by Steve Jones (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1999), p. 1–27. 9. John Eighmey, “Adding Value in the Information Age: Uses and Gratifications of Sites on the World Wide Web. Journal of Business Research 41 (1998): 187–194. 10. John Pauly, A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Qualitative Research in Mass Communication (Columbia, SC: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 1991). 11. Ronald E. Rice, “Issues and Concepts in Research on Computer-Mediated Communication Systems,” in Communication Yearbook/12, edited by James A. Anderson (Newbury Park: Sage, 1989), pp. 436 – 476.
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