Library Website Redesign Process

Jack, Gordon

Becker, D., & Yannotta, L. (2013). Modeling a Library Website Redesign Process: Developing a User-Centered Website Through Usability Testing. Information Technology & Libraries, 32(1), 6-22.  Retrieved from: http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofm&AN=89093592&site=ehost-live

Summary

Most library users begin their information search using search engines rather than library websites.  In an attempt to drive more users to their Hunter College Library site, Becker and Yannotta redesigned their website with the following goals in mind:  

1. Users should be able to locate high-level information within three clicks

2. Eliminate library jargon from navigational system using concise language

3. Improve readability of site

4. Design a visually appealing site

5. Create a site that was easily changeable and expandable

6. Market the libraries services and resources through the site

The authors describe their redesign process and place emphasis on the importance of small, iterative user focus groups to provide feedback.  In the study, the authors observed users “thinking aloud” as they performed the following tasks on their site:

1. Find a book using online library catalog

2. Find library hours

3. Get help from a librarian using QuestionPoint

4. Find a journal article

5. Find a reference article

6. Find journals by title

7. Find circulation policies

8. Find books on reserve

9. Find magazines by title

10.           Find the library staff contact information

11.           Find contact information for the branch libraries

By following user feedback, the authors were able to redesign the library website to increase users ability to successfully complete in all areas listed above.

Evaluation

I found this article helpful in describing a process for library website redesign.  As we try to make our sites adhere to the Virtual Learning Commons template, it is important to beta test these changes with our users to ensure they help them find the information they need.  Simplicity, both in language and in design, seems critical here.  Excessive graphics, while visually appealing, may slow down page download times.  Library terminology (e.g. “LibGuides” instead of “Research Guides”) also seem to make it harder for users to find information quickly and easily. 

Steps to Create a Virtual Learning Space

Anna Taylor
Buerkett, R. (2014). Where to Start? CREATING VIRTUAL LIBRARY SPACES. Knowledge Quest, 42(4), E23-E27.

We now know having a virtual space within the library is a key component in communication, information, and collaboration. But what is the best way to get one up an rolling? Rebecca Buerkett, an elementary school librarian in New York, has provided 6 Steps to make this dream a reality.

STEP 1: Choose a Virtual Platform
Will you be using your school's existing platform? It may be easier since you do not have to create one from scratch. Just make sure the website is able to handle web enhancements like Widgets.
If you choose your own, make sure it is included within the school's website.

STEP 2: Decide What Resources to Include
Take a look at other school virtual learning commons and find what works and what doesn't.
What learning platforms are you going to include? Edmodo? Dropbox? A blog?
Create an appealing look and easy access to important links and pages.
Add Widgets like Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads.

STEP 3: ASSESS
Get a survey around and ask for feedback from students and teachers. Encourage feedback through incentives- for both groups!

STEP 4: Tweak Constantly
Update to mobile capability. Add and delete information as needed. Decide if pages and widgets are being used and replace them with tools that will. Test the whole website to make sure all links and widgets are properly functioning.

STEP 5: Jump In!
Get students involved through tweaking, collaboration, and upkeep. 
Remember: this is a tool for technology and is always a work in progress.

Governor signs bills to expand broadband in California

By Rachelle Chong posted on October 4, 2013 in Digital Divide, Legislation, News 

Posted by Rene Hohls

This article on the recent bills signed into law in California expanding broadband service is a reminder to us all that we may be moving towards a digital world and digital services in libraries, but the virtual world is not accessible to everyone. Not yet anyway. No matter where you stand in politics or your views on government involvement with access to information in our society and our schools, it is impossible to ignore the fact that in many states, even tech-savvy California, there are still millions of people who cannot access information on the Internet.

This article mentions students specifically as the beneficiaries of the newly expanded broadband services and potential grant-funded digital access, but much of what is available to students will depend on the school they attend and the district funding decisions made by the local school board. The distance between the ideal learning commons we discuss in this class and the actual learning environment in which millions of students across the country operate is vast.

It is important for us as the gatekeepers of information, and in most cases the technological access to that information, to recognize where students and teachers are coming from and try to always meet them where they are. And if they are in Mendocino County, it will be a physical learning commons - not a virtual one. Not yet anyway. 

Six Big Tech Trends in Education to Follow

Duncan, Laura

Schwartz, Katrina. (2013, June 5).  Six big tech trends to follow in education.  [Web log comment].
Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/six-big-trends-in-education-to-follow/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

This article summarizes the NMC Horizon Report of 2013, K-12 edition.  Schwartz explains the big take-aways follows:  First, due to the ever-increasing presence of the internet in students' lives, there are more opportunities for blended and online learning classroom models.  Further, print and digital textbooks are suffering as open-source content becomes better-known and utilized.  The increase of the internet's presence has also decreased teacher isolation and increased collaboration and discussion thanks to social media.
Second, these changes are making some educators feel uncomfortable, as they struggle to keep up with technology's evolution and broadening role in education.  Some teachers are resistant to adapting and professional development has had trouble keeping up with the vast changes.
Next, the report predicts that in the next year, the demand for cloud-based computing in schools will increase and mobile learning may move to foreground, as the market for educational apps continues to grow exponentially.
Learning analytics (using real-time data from digital learning platforms to inform teaching approaches) will also increase, according to the report.  More high-quality open content will also become readily available over the next few years. Lastly, the report predicts that 3-d printing will eventually become part of the educational movement, as these printing devices become less expensive.

In all, this article was fascinating and useful.  Technology's integration into the classroom is moving at an increasingly rapid speed, and it's essential that we prepare and inform ourselves so that we can stay ahead of the curve in our work and keep our school libraries on top of the trends.  This is a great article for a brief summary of what's to come.

Ideas for the Development of a School or Public Library Virtual Learning Commons

Fong, Kevin

Journal Article

 

Henry, K., Lagos, A., & Berndt, F. (2012). Bridging the literacy gap between boys and girls: An  opportunity for the National Year of Reading 2012. The Australian Library Journal. 61(2), 143-150.

Complete Proposal

 Berndt, F., Henry, K. & Lagos, A. (n.d.). Book Quest; a reading adventure for boys. Retrieved from http://bookquest2120.wordpress.com/contact/

 Video Trailer

Berndt, F., Henry, K. & Lagos, A. (n.d.). Book Quest; a reading adventure for boys trailer. Retrieved from http://bookquest2120.wordpress.com/book-trailers/

 

The article; Bridging the Literacy Gap between Boys and Girls presents not only an overview of  the issues of  literacy amongst boys but also a number of strategies to improve their literacy that culminates in the authors’ presentation of their suggested reading program for boys. Overall the article is too brief and does not fully express the complexities that encompass the low literacy levels of boys. With that being said; the article does accomplish its secondary purpose of providing an impetus for further thought on what needs to be done to improve the literacy levels amongst boys.

 

The authors' original program proposal; Book Quest: A Reading Adventure for Boys from which this article is based is a more appropriate expression of their research and thoughts on improving the literacy levels of boys which included  elements such as the use of technology to create book trailers, weekly gaming activities and participation in a reading advisory service for their peers that could be easily be implemented in the development of a school or public library VLC. In addition the authors produced a video trailer that both captures the imagination of the viewer and raises their curiosity about the program.

How Teens Research in the Digital Age - results from recent Pew research study

Mary Ann Scheuer, cross-posted at Research and Reflections

The Pew Research Center supports a strand of research investigating the impact that the Internet has on American families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. Their most recent study investigated high school teachers’ views on the impact that Internet and digital devices have had on teens’ research skills. My biggest takeaway from this is the critical importance of continuing to teach digital and information literacy skills to all children.

“Three-quarters of Advanced Placement (AP) and National Writing Project (NWP) teachers say that the Internet and digital search tools have had a "mostly positive" impact on their students' research habits, but 87% say these technologies are creating an ‘easily distracted generation with short attention spans’ and 64% say today's digital technologies ‘do more to distract students than to help them academically.’” (Purcell, et al., 2012)

The survey of 2,000 middle and high school teachers found that while the Internet has made information readily accessible to students, most students have come to expect easy, quick answers and are not prepared to dig deeply and think about information critically. Teachers recognize that the amount of information available to students is overwhelming to most students. There is strong support amongst teacher for including content focusing on digital literacy in every school’s curriculum.

It is interesting to dig into the meat of the study itself, beyond the front page headlines. Most notably, the study found that the Internet has changed the very nature of research itself and what it means for students to “do research.”

 “Teachers and students alike report that for today’s students, ‘research’ means ‘Googling.’  As a result, some teachers report that for their students ‘doing research’ has shifted from a relatively slow process of intellectual curiosity and discovery to a fast-paced, short-term exercise aimed at locating just enough information to complete an assignment.” (Purcell, et al., 2012) 

 It would be very interesting to take some of the survey questions that Purcell and her colleagues developed and administer a local survey of teachers’ opinions of students research skills. It seems that this would bolster the role for the library and the virtual learning center in being an integral part of students’ information seeking practices.

Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., ... Zickuhr, K. (2012). How Teens Do Research in a Digital World. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Student-Research/Summary-of-Findings.aspx

Calgary Document Discussion Forum

Add comments including quotes from the Calgary Document to participate in a class discussion in our blog.

Beauty

(post by Allyson Bogie)

This is beautiful. Exquisite, to my eyes. The polar opposite of my hideous library website.

Okay, hideous is an overstatement and my apologies to Charlotte Gonzales. It's not her fault--the site already existed before she came on board. But seriously. Beauty, personified. How do I make my site simple and functional like this?

There's plenty of information, even though it looks sparse. Each white bar pulls down (click the link above to see the actual template).

Sure wish I knew more web design...doh!

One thing Schmidt talks about in the article introducing this template is what to do about the information below the fold (ie what you would have to scroll down to see). Here are his rules on that:
1. Get ride of it.
2. Go to rule 1.

Here's the website for the Walter Read Middle School library. I think they're doing something pretty similar to the image below.

Next step: How to fix my library's VLC...stat!

Schmidt, A. (2012, September 18). Starting with simplicity. [web log post]. Retrieved from www.walkingpaper.org.  

Stanford library changes and UX

entry by Allyson Bogie

Dempsey, L. (2012). Two things prompted by a new website: Space as a service and full library discovery. Lorcan Dempsey's Weblog. Accessed from http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/002202.html.

Lorcan Dempsey writes here about the new Stanford University library website. He compliments two new features. First, the new homepage has a set of links along the top, including one that offers the actual space of the library as one of the library services. There is also a page with the library hours that will actually tell you what is open in that moment, not just a static list of branches/locations and times open. I would find this soooo helpful for my local public library systems!

Secondly, the new catalog produces results from the entire library, not just books or articles. You can enter any type of search term--author, keyword, subject, title, etc, OR something like worldcat or renew books. It's almost like Google for the library page, but the search results come up in a great "bento box" style format.

I just read about a class that will be offered in the spring by Aaron Schmidt, about User experience (UX). I am very interested in UX both in libraries and elsewhere, and I think that this article dovetails nicely with the upcoming class. Here's the link if you're interested: https://slisweb.sjsu.edu/current-students/courses/syllabi/spring2013/schmidt/287-info

What do you think about these new website features? And is anyone else excited about the field of UX? I am really fascinated by it!!