Archives for the Month of February 2007 on Roger Zender's Blog

Library Website Redesign Focus Group Summary

Here are some preliminary results from the 4 focus groups we hosted to help us determine the direction of our website redesign. These were very enlightening meetings and I'd like to thank all who participated. I would encourage any of you to contribute to this list in the comments.

Primary Purpose of the Website: Find Books / Journals / Articles

Other Core Services:

Course Reserves
OhioLink / Inter-library Loan
Reference Services
Alumni Services

Suggested "Quick Links:"

Catalog
Electronic Journals
Course Reserves
Ohio Link
ILLiad
Freedman Center
Access to My Account
How do I find my Pin?

Requests of new site:

Prominent Federated Search box on front page (make it clear what the user is searching). Results grouped by format.
All information shown in screen, without scrolling
Show status if user is logged in or not (if not, suggest how to do so)
Access to Blackboard, and possibly other services to make the Library website home to "all things information-related"
Advertising of Library Services
- Example: University of Notre Dame Libraries
Incorporate some type of "bread crumb" trail, showing your current location in reference to the main page and should be clickable.
Updates to what materials have been acquired (Faculty)
Less library "jargon" and more casual terminology (i.e. "Find Articles" vs. "Search Database")
- Example: MIT Libraries
Menu choices should contain a summary of what they lead to
- Example: Cal State San Marcos
Keep choices to a minimum
Better representation of Freedman Center services
More details on the facilities (specs of scanners & other tech)
Map of Library (preferably interactive)
More detail on Reference staff. Photos and areas of expertise
Prominent display of RefWorks Service

Items of contention:

Organized site by type of user
- Pro: Helps to streamline information based on the type of user
- Con: Not everyone fits into those scenarios
- Suggestion: Create a "beginner" and "advanced" user instead of Student, Faculty, etc...
- Suggestion: Have area specific for people teaching a class.
- Example: University of Minnesota Libraries
Organized by Subject
- Pro: Quick access for subject-specific resources
- Con: Many subjects are interdisciplinary, could bee seen as exclusive
- Example: Cal State San Marcos Library
Widgets
- Pro: Provides access to our catalog to where our patrons are (Firefox Toolbar, Google Homepage, etc)
- Con: Additional work, disconnects people from the rest of our services (?)
- Example: Harold B. Lee Library (BYU)
Google Scholar
- Pro: Additional information resource provided
- Con: Want them to understand and use what the library has to offer first
- Example: University of Texas Libraries
Pictures on website
- Pro: Can be graphically pleasing, picture of building could serve as a point of reference for visitors or people new on campus
- Con: Bad images can be distracting, should not be cheesy
- Example: Harvard Business School Library
Icons for representation
- Pro: Alternative visual reference
- Con: Can be unappealing and distracting
- Example: Kent State University Libraries
Incorporation of current Social Web technologies
- Pro: Go where the students are (MySpace)
- Con: Is the effort worth it?
- Example: Ball State University Libraries
Expandable "Drop Down" Menus
- Pro: Puts more choices on the mail page
- Con: Not all choices are apparent when glancing the screen
- Example: UCLA Library
Multiple Languages (Yale / http://www.library.yale.edu/)
- Pro: Promotes diversity
- Con: Entire site can not be translated into another language
- Example: Yale University Library
Handheld Access
- Pro: Increased Access
- Con: Balance of effort vs. actual use (only 1 person said they surf the web on their mobile device)

Pie in the Sky / Not Directly Related:

Link directly to KSL from the "Libraries" link on Case.edu
Anticipate the users needs & suggest them
Personalized KSL homepage (similar to MyCase). Would like to only see Journals they specifically chose to see.
Better email correspondence.. what book is in? Offer direct links in emails.
Create a system-led sequence for finding materials (our catalog -> OhioLink -> ILL, etc...)
Create a self-led training for use of the Libraries services
Incorporate access to professional reviews in catalog (more important than general ones)

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Five Weeks to a Social Library

It's finally here... I'm excited to see what this online (free) conference has to offer. Anything I find "exceptional" I'll be posting here.
http://www.sociallibraries.com/course/

Five Weeks to a Social Library Location: Online

Dates: February 12 - March 17, 2006

Five Weeks to a Social Library, the first free, grassroots, completely online course devoted to teaching librarians about social software and how to use it in their libraries. The course was developed to provide a free, comprehensive, and social online learning opportunity for librarians who do not otherwise have access to conferences or continuing education and who would benefit greatly from learning about social software. The course will take place in Drupal and on a MediaWiki installation, and will also involve a variety of other popular social software tools. The course will make use of synchronous components, with one or two weekly Webcasts and many IM chat sessions being made available to students each week. The course will culminate in each student developing a proposal for implementing a specific social software tool in their library.

The course will take place between February 12 and March 17 and will be limited to forty participants. However, course content will be freely viewable to interested parties and all live Webcasts will be archived for later viewing. The course will cover the following topics: