Transcript The Library Web Site in a Joint

The Library Web Site in a Joint-Use
Library: A portal for many
by Harriett MacDougall and Valentina Mayz
Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center
Nova Southeastern University
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
A LA A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e
N e w O r l e a n s ,L o u i s i a n a
J u n e 24, 2006.
Background information - Understanding the institutions in
order to understand the users
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Nova Southeastern University
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Over 26,000 students - #7 in private, not for profit, colleges and
universities
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Over 90% of the students are in graduate or professional programs
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Over 86,000 graduates since 1964
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Long term commitment to distance education and online learning
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Over 62% of students have permanent residency in Florida
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The university is located centrally in Broward County, Florida
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Background information - Understanding the institutions in
order to understand the users

Broward County, Florida and Broward County Library

Population was 1.6 million in 2000, ranking Broward 15th largest
county in the U.S.
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Based on forecast the population will be 2.55 million in 2030
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Racially and ethnically diverse, with projections of white non-Hispanic
populations down from 58% in 2000 to 33% in 2030
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Broward County Library has a $60 million budget with 37 libraries
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Flagships in the county libraries are the Main downtown library, the
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 5 regional
libraries, and the Alvin Sherman Library, a joint-use facility with the
Broward County Board of County Commissioners
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The Alvin Sherman Library - a joint-use facility with the
Broward County Board of County Commissioners
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Brief history
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1998 - discussions began on the idea of a joint-use library
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Spring 1999 - Broward County passed $140 million bond issue for
new libraries
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June 1999 - the joint-use library was approved
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Lawyers drafted 54 page, 40 year agreement
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December 1999 - Broward County Board of County Commissioners
voted unanimously in favor of this agreement
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Agreement assigns funding for construction and ongoing support,
designates NSU ownership, and defines library staff as NSU
employees
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The Alvin Sherman Library - a joint-use facility with the
Broward County Board of County Commissioners
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Construction of the joint-use library
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Began in Summer 2000
Joint-use library opened on October 8, 2001 (14 months later)
Total cost: $44 million
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Joint-use library features
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At 325,000 square feet, it is largest library building in Florida
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Joint-use library features
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Five stories high
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Joint-use library features
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Electronic compact shelving for 1.4 million volumes
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Joint-use library features
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14 e-classrooms with one devoted to youth
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Joint-use library features
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80-seat café in library
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Joint-use library features
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All wireless with laptops checked out
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Joint-use library features
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22 study rooms, conference rooms, exhibit spaces
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Joint-use library features
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Full service public library services within building
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Joint-use library features
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Seamless services to public and academic patrons with one
reference desk, one circulation desk, and services open to all
users
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Gains from the joint -use library
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Broward County gained:
 a high tech library

a research library with highly trained staff

extended library hours

access to research databases - and to knowledgeable
staff to assist in using them

library services in a central location in Broward County
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Gains from the joint -use library
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Nova Southeastern University gained:
 ability to plan a larger library

expanded services to users with a full public library

additional positions to serve users
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additional funding to expand collections and services
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Gains from the joint-use library
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Both institutions gain by being able to provide added and
improved services to their users
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They realize from their collective efforts what the County and
the University could not achieve individually
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The users
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Potentially all the students, faculty, staff of NSU - over 30,000
people
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Potentially all the residents of Broward County - over 1.5
million people
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Use studies thus far show:
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36,000 library cards have been issued to Broward County residents
52 - 54% of all circulation is by Broward County residents
The greatest increase in circulation is for DVD's/other non-print media
40% of reference queries are from Broward County residents
Reference questions continue to grow
Use of electronic resources by the public is 2 - 3% of the total use, but
total use of electronic resources is growing rapidly
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Challenges of understanding the users and serving them
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All types of library users - academic, public, distance - all ages
from infants to grand parents - many cultures - with a strong
emphasis on Hispanic users
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All library employees must study institution, library, and the
users
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Special challenges for Library Web Administrator, who must
study all of the users in order to provide entrance/portal to
many
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Before trying to design a website that represents your library...

Forget who you are – become your user.
In our case:
 NSU local students
 NSU distance students *
 NSU staff & faculty
 NSU alumni
 Broward County adults
 Broward County teens
 Broward County kids
* we try to think of all patrons as distance users.
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Before trying to design a website that represents your library...

Study the organizational culture of your institution.
In our case:
 Resistance to radical changes
 Difficult to get decisions made quickly
 Mixed feelings about joint-use library
 Collaboration challenges
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Before trying to design a website that represents your library...

Build relationships.
In our case:
 With librarians – seasoned and new; top-level and
entry-level; at all campus libraries and at Broward
County Library
 With staff – systems, circulation, student workers
 With patrons – via phone, email, and live reference
transactions (hard to cultivate with our large distance
student population)
 With university’s IT department – attending meetings,
asking questions, offering help when needed
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Before trying to design a website that represents your library...

Assess the technology, staffing, and support available.
In our case:
 Technology: Macromedia MX suite, Photoshop, FTP,
limited access to ColdFusion & Oracle
 Staffing: a part-time web librarian, some cooperation
from 3 other department representatives (oh, and
me!)
 Support: lots of it from our library director and heads
of most departments
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Before trying to design a website that represents your library...

Assess information needs of all users – both library staff and
patron groups.
In our case:
 Patrons wanted an easier site to navigate
 Web-based content for public patrons needed to be
more prominent
 Staff needed more efficient ways to update content
and inform users of important issues and events
 Everyone wanted a more attractive, functional web site
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Before trying to design a website that represents your library...

Prioritize your goals, but be realistic.
In our case:
 Without a Content Management System (CMS), portalbased content had to be created via flat pages
 A dynamic tool to provide access to electronic resources
by patron type was our primary need
 A broader but centralized navigation scheme was
imperative
 Good visual design was a critical factor for the virtual
space to reflect the physical space
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Getting things done
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Web committee dynamics
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Usability was challenging to test with such a diverse library audience, and
we needed a new Web site now!
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Server cleanup issues – old files remained unclaimed...
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Old content revisions: who did what?
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New content creation: who does what?
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Database of e-resources: a homemade CMS for one part of our site
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Graphics, database design & development, requesting site content, etc.
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Launch date constantly postponed
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Before: an outdated design and flat navigation...
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After: an updated look with a central navigation scheme
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Before: flat pages for listing e-resources to patrons...
We could only offer lists by
subject and by vendor to
NSU patrons due to labor
intensive process of
making updates
But not to public
patrons – they just
got alphabetically
ordered lists
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Before: 14 broad-subject lists for NSU patrons only
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After: 30+ narrowed subject lists for ALL patron groups…
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... with brief descriptions listed on page
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... and a homemade admin. module that makes updates a
breeze
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Other improvements: portals for NSU patrons
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Portals for Public Patrons
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Lessons learned
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We can make more sense online if patrons see the content
that only pertains to them
We need to implement dynamic, portal-based content
management
Users are more likely to send feedback if they have a
complaint – don’t take it personally
Less really is more – go for short and simple language
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Where do we go from here?
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Recruit help to conduct usability testing
Simpler design (especially for navigation)
Less graphics, more CSS and W3C standards-compliance
Pursue the CMS dream more seriously – our library needs
this!
Find ways to empower (and force) librarians to be in charge
of their content
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Closing note...
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This presentation will be available online at
www.nova.edu/library/ala
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Feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
Harriett MacDougall
Library Director
954-262-4606
[email protected]
Valentina Mayz
Web Administrator
954-262-4605
[email protected]
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Thank you!