Sizing Up a Real Web Site
By Ann K. Symons -- School Library Journal, 4/1/1997
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For this article, I chose to evaluate the Diego Rivera Web Museum which I found at a program last year at the Colorado Library Association/Colorado School Library Association Conference called "WWW con Salsa." It was perfect for our Spanish teacher, who assigns his kids reports about Mexico and its people, places, and culture.
After running the site through my criteria (below), I'd definitely call it a keeper, although I have a major concern: the lack of information about the author or the affiliated institution. Despite that, I would still recommend it to our Spanish teacher.
The Diego Rivera Web Museum (http://www.diegorivera.com:80/diego _home_eng.html)
Accessibility: Excellent. Each time I went to the site, it was accessible without waiting and the address stayed the same.
Accuracy: Excellent. I checked the information against the World Book Encyclopedia. The two sources concurred.
Affiliation: It's unclear with whom this museum is affiliated.
Appropriateness of links: Mixed. There are links to other good Rivera sites (and some for his wife, the artist Frida Kahlo). I did my own search on Rivera and found few sites that were not linked.
Attention from reviewers: Lots. Mundo Latino named it "Cool Page of the Week," Hispanic Magazine named it "Top Latino Web site," and it received a four-star rating from Magellan.
Audience: While there is no mention of intended audience, the information is definitely useful to high school students. Its text is in English and Spanish, making it appealing to students studying Spanish and art.
Authority: Problematic. There is no information about the author, except his name, Javier A. Rivera, and an e-mail address.
Clarity/Readability: The information is clearly presented and easy to use.
Content: Excellent. This site, rich in graphic material, compiles information about Rivera and includes a nice selection of paintings and murals. It also includes articles written by Rivera in the '30s, film clips using ViewMovie, and a visit to a virtual museum using VRML. The link labeled "Biography" leads the users to a chronology of Rivera's life.
Cost: Free.
Currency: The page was created 8/30/95 and updated, strangely enough, on 3/12/97 when I checked in February.
Curriculum support: A valuable site in terms of what we teach in our school. I would definitely give the URL to both the art and Spanish teachers.
Depth/Breadth: Not comprehensive, but level of treatment is just about right for our purposes.
Design: Attractive. A simple click switches the text from English to Spanish and vice versa. Most pages fit in a single window and the graphics (lots of them) load quickly. I did not try the movies or the VRML visit because I would have had to download the software. Skipping these features did not detract from the site.
Diversity of viewpoint: n/a
Duplication: Not as comprehensive as the print materials in our library. The information is sufficient for a project, but not an in-depth research paper.
Interaction: n/a
Navigation: Well-organized. The page is titled and icons act as a table of contents. The only way to get back to the main page, however, is to hit "page back." Links are annotated.
Performance: Good, but there is no option for text-only use.
Purpose: Not stated.
Searchability: No searching capability. None is needed.
Uniqueness: A unique site, but not unique information.
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