Excellent example of the fact gathering process and raises good questions.
Includes prioirity list of Offices to be redesigned.
Matrix of Bethel Library Users, Key Information and Tasks.
Thirteen templates for the different Web spaces within Bethel's website.
Matrix of usability studies done for library websites based on published research.
Web list of resources about Library Web Design and Usability. Well-labeled and broken down into useful topic branches.
Johns Hopkins University: Website Redevelopment Task Group:
https://wiki.library.jhu.edu/display/WRTG/Home
Excellent example of the fact gathering process and raises good questions.
Home page of Elon University which is featured in "Transforming a College" by George Keller.
Includes the history of IA and how it applies to Library Science. Good overview of the main concepts involved.
Written by R.E. Wyllys in 2000
An excellent presentation of this aspect of information architecture is a book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (see Endnote 6), written by two librarians, Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville, who have built a business, Argus Associates, that specializes in the design of Websites. In their book, they emphasize that they "talk about web sites. Not web pages, not home pages. Web sites." They do so because they are concerned with the presentation of information in the whole of a Website, with how the pages within the site relate to each other, and with how the viewer is permitted and/or directed to navigate his or her way around the site.
Despite their concentration on the Web, much of Rosenfeld's and Morville's advice applies not just to Websites but to all collections of information. For example, they say that the first consideration in designing a Website should be to prepare a definition of "what the site will actually be, and how it will work" (their italics). Continuing, they declare that formulating such a definition is
the main job of the information architect, who:
- Clarifies the mission and vision for the site, balancing the needs of its sponsoring organization and the needs of its audiences.
- Determines what content and functionality the site will contain.
- Specifies how users will find information in the site by defining its organization, navigation, labeling, and searching systems.
- Maps out how the site will accommodate change and growth over time.
Library Home page for Trinity International University in Illinois and other locations.
Article discusses how user experience should be more integrated into the LIS curriculum. It can also be used to inform how libraries implement their services.
This doesn't need to be a full position but can be addressed by current staff in the library who have interest.
Step by Step process that St. Thomas used to create this list for their subject guides.
Your website is most often a prospective student's first impression of the quality of your institution. Not only does it need to be visually attractive, but it needs to have all the features they are expecting — an online application, campus visit requests, cost calculators, online catalogs, etc. — and of course you need to do this on a tight budget. Drupal to the rescue. Drupal is an open-source content management system (CMS) that is robust and flexible. In this session we will demonstrate the power of Drupal, look at some pre-built distributions built on Drupal, and provide you with a list of resources to get you started.
Group discussion page about the product created by Harvard with Drupal called Open Scholar.
OpenScholar represents a paradigm shift in how the personal academic and research web sites are created and maintained. Built on the open-source framework Drupal, OpenScholar makes it possible to create academic web sites in a matter of seconds. Each web site comes with a suite of powerful tools from which users can facilitate the creation, distribution, and preservation of knowledge faster and more efficiently than ever before.
OpenScholar allows users to create genuine, feature-rich web sites on the fly in seconds and is designed to host an unlimited number of web sites in a single installation.
Article by David Cain and Gary L. Reynolds in APPA | Facilities Manager Magazine that discusses how important Libraries are in student enrollment and retention.
Cited in the Value of Academic Libraries report and important to consider when writing content for prospective students on the Website.
Permanent link to aggregation of Library website usability studies.
The pool of potential libraries consists of those schools having Carnegie classifications at the baccalaureate or master's levels with student enrollment less than 5000. The aim is to include as many college and small university libraries as possible. Second, we will make every effort to choose libraries from different regions of the country each month, with each of the fifty states, and the District of Columbia, being represented at least once.
As each web site was carefully examined, attention was given to the following factors:
1. Ease of access -- timely connection with a relatively quick load of graphics
2. Content -- useful and relevant, containing breadth and depth, and characterized by accuracy
3. Currency -- an indication of the last update of the site
4. Design -- an eye-catching and appealing overall look, effective use of graphics related to a page's theme, and consistent layout
5. Navigation -- features such as a link back to the home page, site search capability, and site layout.
Matthew Reidsma's code and examples of User Interface code he uses on the Library Website at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
Article content is useful but also the use of the Comments field to explain the status of the version in the repository is helpful. Includes the statement that is required by Serials Review.
Digital Commons instance for Grand Valley State University.