While there hasn't been information on this blog about the behind-the-scenes work being done with updating the website, we've been busy! Our latest work involves the contracts and once they are signed, I will announce the information here. Sorry no text messaging capability to let you know first.....but then I'm not as high tech as the Obama campaign!
In the meantime, we hope you are liking the row of library materials across the top of the page. We added a row at the bottom of the page, too, if you scroll down. The bottom row features materials which staff have reviewed through podcast or video. Why do I point these features out? Well, it's rather a sneak peak of the concept of the new website. If you've ever visited Netflix or iTunes you can see how they use a grid pattern to display their materials. In our focus group work last year, we hear from you that it was all about getting into the catalog. What we will present with the redesign is the catalog and more of it!
So, until next week's blog, take a look at Netflix and iTunes and try to picture how a library website can look so very differently!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Next Generation.........
I feel like I'm living on the cusp of great and wonderful things. As my son heads towards his junior year of high school, my primary job is to force him....err guide him towards college choices or at least career choices. It comes to mind something I recently heard that many occupations haven't even been created yet!
Websites, too, will be forever changing as new technologies and new ideas bring new features to websites. Bandwidth may be our enemy (or maybe it will be the cost to have decent bandwidth!) but we already see changes happening that we would not have foreseen even five years ago. What - buy and sell things online? To strangers? Share the books I've read or the photos I've taken with anybody surfing the internet? Network virtually? Play games online with people from other countries?
A new term that has been added to my brain is "prosumer" - and we are all prosumers! We are producers and consumers. In the web 1.0 world, we were all consumers. Passive readers of information sought and found on the web.......until web 2.0 where people could produce information and look what happened! We can't get enough of youtube!
The new ALD website will be a prosumer-driven site. Not only will we provide the library materials but we will also provide the forum for you to produce - give us your reviews! The world is changing and we are now spending more time interacting virtually. Where do you interact virtually? Why? How big of a prosumer are you?
Websites, too, will be forever changing as new technologies and new ideas bring new features to websites. Bandwidth may be our enemy (or maybe it will be the cost to have decent bandwidth!) but we already see changes happening that we would not have foreseen even five years ago. What - buy and sell things online? To strangers? Share the books I've read or the photos I've taken with anybody surfing the internet? Network virtually? Play games online with people from other countries?
A new term that has been added to my brain is "prosumer" - and we are all prosumers! We are producers and consumers. In the web 1.0 world, we were all consumers. Passive readers of information sought and found on the web.......until web 2.0 where people could produce information and look what happened! We can't get enough of youtube!
The new ALD website will be a prosumer-driven site. Not only will we provide the library materials but we will also provide the forum for you to produce - give us your reviews! The world is changing and we are now spending more time interacting virtually. Where do you interact virtually? Why? How big of a prosumer are you?
Monday, August 4, 2008
Looking for info...in all the right places
Okay, so the title of this blog is a take off of the song "looking for love in all the wrong places" - I thought it might need explaining since my knowledge of songs is limited to those decades when i was growing up and i've been pretty much stuck there.
But the title fits, in that we're all looking for information about lots of things ~ what's the best car for gas mileage, best digital camera, finding the latest movie review or best way to get in shape. How do we go about looking? My guess (and statistics seem to prove this out) is that we're starting with a search engine and just typing in the words that make sense to us with the hopes of finding something with those words that resonate. It does not matter as much to us if the site is a .com or a .edu or a .gov; unless you're a librarian! We are ~ in the main ~ happy with our search results.
So what's the point of the blog, you ask, if you've read this far? As we redesign the website, you will no longer find lots and lots of website links like you do today. We created a large portal of information on various topics ~ all things Colorado, consumer health, business, etc. etc. But, why should we post websites when you use search engines to find them yourself? Do you see your public library as a resource for finding websites? My guess is that you use the library for finding books, computers and programs (in order of importance). This blogger wants to know if I'm wrong!
But the title fits, in that we're all looking for information about lots of things ~ what's the best car for gas mileage, best digital camera, finding the latest movie review or best way to get in shape. How do we go about looking? My guess (and statistics seem to prove this out) is that we're starting with a search engine and just typing in the words that make sense to us with the hopes of finding something with those words that resonate. It does not matter as much to us if the site is a .com or a .edu or a .gov; unless you're a librarian! We are ~ in the main ~ happy with our search results.
So what's the point of the blog, you ask, if you've read this far? As we redesign the website, you will no longer find lots and lots of website links like you do today. We created a large portal of information on various topics ~ all things Colorado, consumer health, business, etc. etc. But, why should we post websites when you use search engines to find them yourself? Do you see your public library as a resource for finding websites? My guess is that you use the library for finding books, computers and programs (in order of importance). This blogger wants to know if I'm wrong!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Searching and Searching Some More
I recently took some time to review search terms....... something I'm sure everyone is jumping up and down to do! What are search terms, you ask? When you go to the website and put something you're looking for in the search box, that information is captured.
Why, you might ask, is this important? Well, by reviewing one month's worth of data, we hope to come up with better ways and methods to help you find what you are looking for! (Don't worry - no personal information is captured so we have no idea who enters what terms in our site!)
A good example would be searching for "princess" and choosing "the site" to find the Disney Princess books. When I look at the search results, I don't find any......so what are my options? We hope you're asking a staff person for help, but if it's 10:00 at night then chances are you're not....... Another example are the searches for "school reading lists." We have put lots of time and effort into making these available......on the teen website.......so you would not necessarily find these by searching the adult site! Without going into technical detail, the search you perform on the http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/ does not search the teensite or the kidsite. So we need to do what we can with the websites to make them better for you!
Why, you might ask, is this important? Well, by reviewing one month's worth of data, we hope to come up with better ways and methods to help you find what you are looking for! (Don't worry - no personal information is captured so we have no idea who enters what terms in our site!)
A good example would be searching for "princess" and choosing "the site" to find the Disney Princess books. When I look at the search results, I don't find any......so what are my options? We hope you're asking a staff person for help, but if it's 10:00 at night then chances are you're not....... Another example are the searches for "school reading lists." We have put lots of time and effort into making these available......on the teen website.......so you would not necessarily find these by searching the adult site! Without going into technical detail, the search you perform on the http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/ does not search the teensite or the kidsite. So we need to do what we can with the websites to make them better for you!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Getting articles made easier!
When you are searching within the Ebsco databases, you now have a handy live link that says "Request this item through interlibrary loan." I hope this is not so library-jargon-ridden that it is beyond understanding (but please let me know if you think this is the case!). What the translation might read:
"This database does not have the full-text article you are seeking. If you would like to have the full-text then click on the link, fill out the required relevant information and click submit. Your form will be emailed to the appropriate department who will then obtain the full-text article for you. While it may take a week or two (because we may be requesting from an out-of-state library), we will try to provide this information to you at no charge."
This is just one small improvement in your website experience with http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/. If there are other features you would like/love to see or features now that you absolutely just detest, here's the place to let me know!
"This database does not have the full-text article you are seeking. If you would like to have the full-text then click on the link, fill out the required relevant information and click submit. Your form will be emailed to the appropriate department who will then obtain the full-text article for you. While it may take a week or two (because we may be requesting from an out-of-state library), we will try to provide this information to you at no charge."
This is just one small improvement in your website experience with http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/. If there are other features you would like/love to see or features now that you absolutely just detest, here's the place to let me know!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Of Library Websites
What do you like in websites? What do you particularly like or don't like when visiting library websites?
I recently found a list of renovated library websites and was pursuing them with interest - what new things do they do? How do they portray their catalog? What is different and what are new features?
If you are interested in doing the same, follow this link and then give me your input!
I recently found a list of renovated library websites and was pursuing them with interest - what new things do they do? How do they portray their catalog? What is different and what are new features?
If you are interested in doing the same, follow this link and then give me your input!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Minor Changes To Report
We've made a few tweaks to the home page:
1. the Contact Us button is now higher up for easy access. When you click here, you are taken to a page which consolidates all of the ways you can contact us - phone, email, the contact us form, etc. Hopefully this helps to cut down on the clutter in trying to find this information in different places.
2. the Homework Help button is no longer on the home page. As an electronic service, you can now search the site to find the link from this home page. More appropriately, you can easily find Homework Help in the childrens and teen sites by searching the site.
We are working diligently on our new website design and content management back end. Continue to check the blog for updates as we make progress!
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