Building a Better Website
By Linda W. Braun -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1998
Want to attract readers to your site? Interactive services designed for students will do it.
When browsing library Web sites it's pretty obvious that interactivity is not the forte of most librarians. On the other hand, it's also obvious that librarians are devoted to connecting people, via links, to information. But are lists of links to high-quality Internet resources the best we can do? For the most part, library sites are simply mimicking what is available in the physical library. That ignores what's unique about an online environment.Even worse, if you look at enough library Websites, you'll notice that libraries take their policies and procedures very seriously. In fact, many libraries make sure, right on the main page, that everyone knows how long books circulate and whether overdue fines are 5 cents a day, or 10, or a quarter.
Frankly, librarians who stop at links and policies miss significant opportunities the Web presents for education and recreation.
- Amazon.com's high-tech user interface for supplying book recommendations and e-mail update services did not come cheaply. The online bookstore spent large sums of money developing the hardware and software that power its site. This does not mean, however, that librarians shouldn't look at Amazon.com as a model. Librarians can at least investigate instituting a low-tech version (similar to the Amherst Public Library's satellite service described below). They might also choose to link to Amazon.com on their Internet-based catalog, providing customers with access to recommendations and reviews on Amazon's site. Check out the Tacoma Public Library, www.tpl.lib.wa.us/topcat/, to see how this is being accomplished.
- Each week Seth Rothberg, the creator of an unofficial e-mail update service for users of the Jones Library (unofficial since it is his own project and not the library's), receives a file from the technical services department that lists new materials after they're cataloged. Rothberg, the Assistant Circulation Supervisor, takes the list and processes it through a program he created that dumps the information into one of two databases: one for titles and one for the list of people who get e-mail updates. So, if a student wants to know when new biographies come in, a database record is created for that student and "biography" is input into the interest field. Then, whenever a new biography is added, an e-mail message is sent to the student, announcing that the title is available. To reproduce what Rothberg is doing, you need to know Perl, HTML (Hypertext Mark-Up Language), or CGI (Common Gateway Interface), or you can do it more simply by using HTML editing software. It's also possible to use an e-mail package, e.g. NetMailer (www.alphasoftware.com/netmailer/index.html). This software allows users to distribute specialized messages to targeted groups. Now that the process is in place, Rothberg says it takes 20 minutes per week to run.
- Arlene McDace, Librarian at Pine Crest, says that a tech-savvy parent helped her set up the technology and the process needed to run the school's interactive Web site. When a student finishes a review, it goes into a queue of materials waiting for McDace to review. At the same time, she receives an e-mail message alerting her that the review is ready. After checking the reviews daily for appropriate content, she posts them to the Website. She estimates that it takes her five minutes per review, which she hopes to reduce. Updating other parts of the site takes her between two to three hours each week.
- Like Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com has put a large amount of money into its software and Web technology in order to provide valuable services. However, there are free or low-cost shareware products that allow you to develop low-tech versions of BarnesandNoble's "Online Communities." ICQ (said as "I Seek You") is one of these. Sometimes referred to as "buddy software," ICQ (www.mirabilis.com/) provides a simple interface you can use to develop a variety of Web-based chat groups around a particular topic or theme.
- The California State University Information Literacy Tutorials can be replicated without high-end programming skills. Exercises at the end of each module use CGI scripts so students can submit answers to questions for each of the tutorials. These can be reproduced using basic HTML.
- The PBS Kids techknow site uses basic HTML and some simple CGI scripts in order to make the site's interactivity work. Libraries of CGI scripts to use for simple interactivity are readily available on the Web. Try the LibraryLand Scripting/Programming Web Page at www.rcls.org/libland/inter/program.htm. Or check to see if the company hosting your Web site has scripts available.
- The K.I.D.S. Report is another example of how basic HTML can be used to create both an attractive and content-rich site. This resource would be fairly easy to replicate in your school or public library because it requires simple HTML instead of CGI or Java. The real work comes before you put the pages up -- meaning the time you spend working with students on how to select, evaluate, and write Web site reviews.
Get Your New Books Here
Are we are up to the challenge of fully developed Web services? I have my doubts. The idea of customers taking advantage of library services without setting foot in a library makes many librarians nervous about getting too involved with the Web. It may be one of the reasons we stick with providing links to Web resources. Providing links is comfortable because we've always built collections of resources and materials. But it's also comfortable because it means people still need to come in for our other services, like readers' advisory, programming, reference, art shows, and exhibits.
- Spend time at the Web-based bookstore Amazon.com, and you may begin to wonder, "Why aren't libraries doing this?" Not only does Amazon.com provide great service when you want to find or purchase a book, it also is one of the best reader's advisers around. Librarians should definitely pay attention
Here's what's so good. Visitors to the site can register to be notified by e-mail when new books in a category, by a particular author, or with a particular word in the title have been added to Amazon's virtual shelves. Isn't this just like when your regulars -- students, parents, or teachers whose likes and interests you know -- come into your library and you match them with just the right book? Now you can do that for even more people by using Internet technology.
- A Website created for the Jones Library in Amherst, Massachusetts, has initiated its own version of this service. Customers sign up, via the library's Website, to receive weekly e-mail messages announcing books recently added to the collection. The simple personal-preferences form at the site allows readers to choose from a list of Dewey decimal numbers and fiction categories in order to personalize their weekly e-mail message. After submitting this form, a profile is created and messages on titles that match your profile come to your e-mail box on a regular basis.
Think about the positive impact this could have on your service. Lois Duncan fans would get an e-mail notice when you add her newest book to your shelves. Parents getting their child ready to go to school for the first time could find out about new books you have on the topic. Teachers who assign regular projects would discover new materials to help students do the assignment.
But you don't have to stop there. The next step is to include a link to the library's Internet-based catalog in the e-mail message. Customers can then click on the link to access catalog records, take a look at book reviews -- locally produced or available elsewhere on the Web -- and then put items on reserve. All without leaving their home or classroom.
The Library News Wire
E-mail, however, shouldn't be limited to notifying people about new materials. Many commercial Web sites use e-mail to make sure that visitors know what's new on the site. If you sign up at Yahoo, you'll get an e-mail message every week that lets you know about the best new sites in the Yahoo database. Sign up at the Annenberg/CPB Project Online Exhibits, where I am one of the content coordinators, and you'll find out about new interactive exhibits on the site.
Libraries should also allow people to register, via their Web sites, for library news via e-mail. You can use these messages to inform teachers, students, and parents about services, such as:
- programs for children
- classroom projects involving the school library
- library skills instruction opportunities
- exhibits.
If you send e-mail messages on a regular basis, customers won't be able to forget that the library is an active and vital member of your school or community.
Let's Talk
- Other libraries are going beyond links. The Pine Crest Lower School in Ft. Lauderdale has created an interactive site where teachers, students, and parents read and submit book reviews, search the reviews database, and take part in "Library Talk," an online discussion forum with contests, school and library news, and student conversation. The library's site serves as the school's Website, so it's the place to find out what's happening in classrooms throughout the Lower School. It's the virtual hub for the entire Pine Crest community.
Book discussions online could be the next step in interactivity for a site like Pine Crest's, offering conversations between readers and librarians and between readers and authors.
- Barnes & Noble furnishes a useful example of how this is done. Visit one of BarnesandNoble.com's "Online Communities" and you'll find discussions on topics from YA thrillers to using a thematic approach for teaching children in the primary grades. Live chats with authors are another component of "Online Communities" that libraries should begin to consider. What if, instead of inviting an author to visit your school or library to talk with a large group of kids, you hosted a live chat with the author? Students could take part in their classrooms, the library, or at home. The author would chat while in the comfort of his or her own home, office, or studio.
Hosting book discussions and author chats on the Web brings libraries into people's homes and classrooms in a way never before possible, especially when scheduling conflicts keep a student from getting to the library. Even if that child can't get to the library at a specific time for a program, he or she might be able to get to a computer to take part in an online book discussion group.
Allowing young people the option of accessing information and programs on their own schedule is an aspect of the Web that makes it extremely valuable for libraries.
There's even more you can provide via the Web. Why not help teachers and students learn information literacy skills by creating interactive Web-based tutorials? Academic libraries and corporate institutions have, so far, taken the lead in bringing learning and interactivity together on the Web. California State University's "Information Literacy Tutorials" and the PBS Kids techknow Website provide good examples.
- Cal State's Information Literacy Tutorials take students through the research process, step by step. The site's learning modules include discussions on defining a research topic and evaluating and synthesizing information. Each of these sections includes a series of interactive exercises that give students a chance to put into practice what they have read about in the modules.
- PBS's techknow site teaches information literacy and information safety skills in a highly interactive environment. "You the Judge," the section on evaluating Web sites, asks kids to use a search tool to find sites on a particular topic. After finding a site, kids go through a step-by-step evaluation process, which includes a look at content, design, and navigation. It's the perfect opportunity for kids to use technology to learn technology.These two examples show how simple interactive components, such as basic point-and-click CGI (Common Gateway Interface) or plain HTML (Hypertext Mark-Up Language) can bring learning to the Web. The next step is to have students create a Web-based product that demonstrates that learning has taken place.
- The K.I.D.S. Report, published by the National Science Foundation's Internet Scout Project, does just that. Students evaluate Websites on a particular theme. They then write reviews that highlight the pros and cons of each site, including whether or not the site offers information the student needs for a particular assignment. The reviews, with links to the evaluated sites, are posted on the K.I.D.S. Report Website for all to read. As librarians teach students about the Internet, how it works, how to use it, and how to evaluate sites, they should provide outlets for processing information. The K.I.D.S. Report shows how it can be done.
What's Worthy of Your Time?
The K.I.D.S. Report brings us back to the topic of lists of links. Don't get me wrong: links are a good thing. They lead people to tested sources of information and they enhance library print and nonprint collections.
But here's a question: Why are so many libraries reinventing the wheel by creating their own lists of links? Many high-quality sites do this already. These include the Librarians' Index to the Internet, Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators, and the Internet Public Library.
Instead of repeating what these sites have already done, our job should be to simply lead young people to them. Then we can concentrate on creating smaller lists of links to meet the specific needs of our customers, such those needed for a student assignment or a favorite book of local teens.In this new interactive world, we must be flexible enough to offer an ever-changing list of links. It's time to leave behind what feels comfortable and safe, and instead, think creatively and try something new. It also means providing service to people no matter where they are, including those who never pass through our doors. The library has just gotten a lot larger. Let's make use of all the space we can.
Interactive Web Sites to Visit:
Amazon.com
Unofficial Web Site of the Jones Library, Amherst, MA
Yahoo
Annenberg/CPB Project Online Exhibits
Pine Crest Lower School
BarnesandNoble.com
California State University Information Literacy Tutorials
PBS techknow
The K.I.D.S. Report
Librarians' Index to the Internet
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
Internet Public Library
