Designing a Special Library's Intranet for an Engineering Audience

ABSTRACT

Designing a successful library Web site for an engineering audience means researching how engineers find and use information. It also requires the special librarian to conduct usability tests to determine what is and isn't working on the site. The special librarian is more than simply a librarian, he or she must be able to take the research and the test results and either build the Web site or make sure the site is built by a team. The librarian must be able to play several roles: researcher, tester, project leader, and Web manager. The more successful the librarian is at involving users in site design, the more used and usable the site will be. This article describes one librarian's experience with designing a special library Intranet. It also includes an extensive bibliography of related articles.     

Web Site Design Resources for the Librarian

ABSTRACT

A selective, annotated bibliography of books, journal articles, and electronic resources relating to Web site design aimed specifically at beginning library Web Managers.     

A Review of “Reference Sources for Small and Medium-sized Libraries”

SUMMARY

In the summer of 1999, the libraries at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) embarked on a Web redesign project. Essential to the new Web site were the development of a database of resources, Sage, and the creation of various in-house tools, which are used to enter and edit database resources. Tools were also created which assist in the creation and maintenance of various Web sites. With the completion of the project, UCSD students, faculty and staff can easily locate the resources and library information they need and library staff have more tools for Web site management.     

The Web Designer's Guide to Color Research

ABSTRACT

Color plays an integral role in the success or failure of a Web site. Unfortunately, many Web designers misuse this vital element by making color design decisions based solely on personal opinions, rather than on scientific evidence. This evidence shows that color affects the viewers' experiences of the Web site in terms of how the viewers learn information, how they perceive the site's readability and download speed, and how satisfied they are with the Web site overall. This article (1) discusses the basic elements of color: hue, saturation, and luminance, (2) investigates the physiological, psychological, and cultural research on color perception, and (3) provides recommendations for Web designers based on this research.     

Metasearching

ABSTRACT

This is a selective annotated bibliography of journal articles and electronic resources relating to metasearching and metasearch tools. This bibliography is intended as a guide to the resources available to assist librarians and other information professionals interested in implementing or enhancing their metasearch projects. In addition to reviewing the major topics addressed in the publications, each annotation summarizes the important conclusions reached by the authors of the works. doi:10.1300/J136v12n03_11     

Interface design and emotions experienced on B2C Web sites: Empirical testing of a research model

This paper examines the impact of four Web site interface features on the cognitive process that trigger online shoppers’ emotions, operationalized as mental states of readiness that arise from appraisal of events and considered as direct antecedents to approach or avoidance behaviors. A research model was tested with data collected from 215 Web shopping episodes for low-touch merchandise. Results show that shoppers experienced all six emotions posited in the model. The emotions of liking and joy were experienced intensively by a substantial number of shoppers. The results also demonstrate that interface features – key components of the usability of a Web site – influenced the three cognitive appraisals illustrated in the research model. Moreover, the cognitive appraisals of situational state and control potential impacted the six emotions examined. This paper also highlights several theoretical contributions and managerial implications that should help managers and Web site managers improve the interface design of their Web sites in order to facilitate information gathering and better support online shopping processes.     

Applying Learning Style Theory to Web Page Design

ABSTRACT

Library Web sites can be instructional tools, especially for those patrons who utilize library resources from their homes. Many libraries are developing online tutorials, but there is an opportunity for Web instruction on another level. The organization and design of a Web site can act as an instructional tool in itself. This paper is a call to library Web designers to assess their work in terms of learning style preferences. Learning style theory is based on how people process information and learn new material. Applying these ideas to Web page design can make library resources more accessible and improve the patron's comprehension of how the library works.     

Building Custom Metasearch Interfaces and Services Using the MetaLib X-Server

ABSTRACT

This article introduces the MetaLib X-Server, an application programming interface to the MetaLib metasearch system, and the Xerxes project begun at Cal State San Marcos, which utilizes the X-Server to create a custom metasearch interface. The author describes several usability problems with metasearch systems, as well as the challenges inherent in customizing any commercial library system. The article then shows how the X-Server can overcome these problems, as well as serve as an example of a larger Web services model for all library systems. doi:10.1300/J136v12n03_06     

An Examination of Library World Wide Web Sites at Medium-Sized Universities

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of a study of World Wide Web (Web) Sites for 133 academic libraries serving medium-sized universities. Each library Web site was examined, and all of the features were recorded. The study identified 31 core components which were present in over 50 percent of the libraries surveyed. The study indicated that: the navigational and design aspects of library Web sites should be improved; materials should be placed on the sites only if they will be accessed and utilized by the user community; and libraries could profit by making greater use of online tutorials and virtual tours to supplement regular bibliographic instruction.     

Navigating Netscape

Abstract

Presents a bibliography of books and articles about Netscape's premier Web browser, Netscape Navigator 2. One book is described in detail and recommended.     

About the Web

ABSTRACT

This article reviews selected magazines and journals of interest to academic librarians that include information about the Web. Reviewed titles include library science titles, general educational titles, and popular titles found on newsstands. The titles reviewed are aimed towards two groups of librarians: those most involved with developing content (such as reference librarians and bibliographers), and those involved with Web design, development, and policy issues.     

Don't Cache Out: What To Do When the Server Isn't There

ABSTRACT

This article discusses methods for retrieving information from dead or unavailable Web servers. It describes using the Google search engine cache and the Wayback Machine as possible means of recovering data that would otherwise be lost after a Web server or Web site is no longer online.     

Web课程的可用性研究

提高Web课程的可用性可以增强课程的学习效果。文章提出了Web课程可用性应考虑的三个方面：课程界面设计、课程内容设计和课程站点设计，并从实际设计中分析了实现Web课程可用性的指导原则，提出了改进Web课程可用性的具体措施和方法。     

Does Anyone Need Help Out There?

SUMMARY

In order to provide online help for distance students, as well as the increasing number of on-campus students who regularly access library resources, a team of librarians from the Marshall University Libraries created an online library assistance site (HELP). This site brings together traditional print handouts, FAQs, online subject guides, course-specific guides, learning modules, and instructional videos in one central location where users can get assistance with library-related questions at their point of need. This article discusses the rationale for developing the site, the process of creating it and incorporating user input, ongoing content development, the impact upon the Libraries' Web site, and future development plans.     

Indexing Web Sites

ABSTRACT

Back-of-book style Web site indexing enhances access to specific information in Web sites. To index a Web site requires the skills of traditional print indexing, plus more. This article discusses the importance of indexes on the Web, and specifically examines the indexing of the Australian Society of Indexers' Web site using the Web site indexing program HTML Indexer. Topics include working with Webmasters, software for Web indexing, how to choose indexable matter and depth of indexing, the idea of links as page number substitutes, the use of subdivisions, index style and display, and planning for updating the index.     

Usability laboratories

Abstract

This article provides a table with summary statistics for the thirteen usability laboratories described in the papers in this special issue. It also gives an introduction to the main uses of usability laboratories in usability engineering and surveys some of the issues related to practical use of user testing and CAUSE tools for computer-aided usability engineering.     

Policy Aspects of Web Page Development

Abstract

Web page creation involves many decisions beyond Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) coding. Developers need to consider numerous factors such as identifying the person responsible for the project, maintaining content, and establishing criteria for the evaluation and selection of resources. Other areas of consideration include identifying the target audience for the project, establishing guidelines on confidentiality and copyright issues, and coordinating a backup/disaster recovery plan. These aspects and others of Web page development are discussed. Examples are included from libraries which have loaded policy statements online as part of institutional home pages. The Uniform Resource Locators (URL's) of the library policies are listed as is a selected bibliography of publications about Web page development.     

HealthLinks: A ColdFusion Web Application

SUMMARY

Libraries are beginning to use Web applications as they grapple with sites of increasing complexity, and the move of more user services to the Web. This article reviews the basic concepts of a Web application, and outlines some of the features of the HealthLinks Web application and site http://healthlinks.washington.edu at the University of Washington Health Science Libraries, and the transition from a Java-based application to ColdFusion.     

A Rewriting-based Framework for Web Sites Verification

In this paper, we develop a framework for the automated verification of Web sites which can be used to specify integrity conditions for a given Web site, and then automatically check whether these conditions are fulfilled. First, we provide a rewriting-based, formal specification language which allows us to define syntactic as well as semantic properties of the Web site. Then, we formalize a verification technique which obtains the requirements not fulfilled by the Web site, and helps to repair the errors by finding out incomplete information and/or missing pages. Our methodology is based on a novel rewriting-based technique, called partial rewriting, in which the traditional pattern matching mechanism is replaced by tree simulation, a suitable technique for recognizing patterns inside semistructured documents. The framework has been implemented in the prototype Web verification system Verdi which is publicly available.     

Usability Testing and Instruction Librarians

ABSTRACT

This study examines how librarians are experiencing usability testing and how their observations are influencing library instruction. A survey of instruction librarians illustrates how usability testing and library instruction are connected. Survey results prove that instruction librarians are involved in usability testing. Furthermore, their participation in usability studies has led instruction librarians to alter their instructional methods. An overwhelming majority changed one or more instructional tools as a result of usability testing, and many reported creating new instructional resources. The authors add their own insights as both instruction librarians and participants in usability testing.