Bringing It All Together WiLSWorld Conference July 19, 2005.
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Transcript of Bringing It All Together WiLSWorld Conference July 19, 2005.
Bringing It All Together
WiLSWorld ConferenceJuly 19, 2005
Subject Guides
What are they? Starting points for finding information in
specific topic areas Current group of 28 with one in
development Topics can change or be added at any
time
Subject Guides
What’s Included? Databases Selected websites Catalog Links ebooks Classes Events RSS Feeds Librarian Notes
Subject Guide Main Page
Business & Investments Subject Guide
Business & Investments Subtopic Page
Subject Guides
Why bring it all together? One stop shopping for patrons Difficult to find subject information
located throughout the website. “Needle in the haystack”
Work smarter and reduce repetition of work
Planning and Implementation
Initial plan to merge databases with selected website grew in discussion to include all subject information
Success would require additional staff resources to implement and maintain
Proposal submitted to management to include work on the website in the professional librarian’s duties
Planning and Implementation
In 2001 Hennepin County Library began staffing their website
Web Services Department Web Administrator 1.0 Reference Services Librarian .6 Adult Services Librarian .6 Teen Services/Accessibility Librarian 1.0 Special Projects Librarian .5
Planning and Implementation
Website is a door to our public with an expected 6.5 million visits in 2005
Website is a resource for all staff and patrons
Logical to use the expertise and skills of library staff throughout the system who use the resources daily to provide content
Planning and Implementation
Proposal to administration that work on the website including content for the Subject Guides would be part of a professional librarian’s job at Hennepin County Library
Not an entirely new concept
Planning and Implementation
In 1996 Hennepin County Library began providing selected websites for the public
Work was done on a voluntary basis by library staff with various levels of success and commitment
The New Subject Guide pages needed to have formal commitment and accountability from librarians and supervisors in order to be fully developed
Formal proposal presented to Senior Management
3 points strengthened the proposal for management 24/7 success due to wide participation Online tools allow easy maintenance Training and ongoing support would be
provided
Planning and Implementation
Proposal fully supported by Hennepin County Administration
Assignment of work on the website is now part of the job duties of many HCL librarians
Supervisors matched librarians with subjects of individual interest or areas of expertise
Planning and Implementation
Half day workshop planned and developed for librarians Tools Selection and maintenance criteria for
websites Exercises developed to illustrate evaluating
websites Discussion of writing for the web and
system conventions Collection Management department
involved
Planning and Implementation
How does it work?
Currently 42 librarian selectors for Subject Guides
Staff had little ‘coding’ experience Website redesigned to allow easy
maintenance for staff and changed display for public
How does it work?
The Subject Guides are custom database driven pages using Coldfusion
Each portion of page saved in a table and all the tables are inter-related
When a page is selected they are dynamically built from the database via the Coldfusion programming
No longer using static html pages
How does it work?
Forms created by Web Services staff for librarians to input content
Additional tool created to allow librarians to provide the Librarian Note content
How does it work?
Content for sidebar/feature column added if appropriate to the subject
Not necessary to include all pieces to offer this type of display
Content modular and you can select the parts that you can support and update
Kansas City Public Library uses a similar idea for presentation of content http://www.kclibrary.org/guides/
How is it going?
Subject Guides were launched on December 15, 2004 with very positive reviews
A few Librarians took ‘coaxing’ to take ownership of their assigned subject
Coordinator sends monthly e-mail to selectors to remind them to update the Librarian notes
Includes tips, interesting websites, and some best practices information
How is it going?
How is it going?
How is it going?
Librarians no longer just concentrate on the physical location and patrons
This is a slow paradigm shift for the role of the professional librarian
Change is not restricted to Subject Guides with opportunities throughout the website for staff to provide content and apply their expertise
Future
Subject guides are only the beginning for us and are a prototype for other areas of our website
Our TeenLinks area is going through a redesign that will adopt many of the Subject Guide features and tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Subject Guide Selector Tools
Web Application Software
Provides additional functionality Draw information from databases,
web services, etc. Examples:
ColdFusion ASP PHP perl
ColdFusion Dataflow
Subject Guide Template
Database example
Website example
Database example
Catalog searches example
eBooks example
News feeds example
Classes example
Events example
Custom add-ins
Keyword Searching
Database content allows:– flexibility in search – flexibility in display– integrated results
• Additional features (e.g. spell check)
• Google SpellCheck API
Google SpellCheck API
grahicnovels --> graphic novels
IDEO --> VIDEO
habit of high effective people --> habit of highly effective people
Additional Information
LITTLE BOY BLUE GOES HIGH-TECH: PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH TOPIC-DRIVEN CONTENT
David King. Computers in Libraries. Westport: Feb 2005. Vol. 25, Iss. 2; p. 10 (3 pages)
Where Does That ELECTRONIC RESOURCE FIT on the Library Web Page?
Todd R Digby. Computers in Libraries. Westport: Jan 2004. Vol. 24, Iss. 1; p. 6
Following the Yellow Brick Road to Simplified Link Management
Nicole C Engard. Computers in Libraries. Westport: Apr 2005. Vol. 25, Iss. 4; p. 10 (6 pages)
Christine CliffordReference Services Librarian
Glenn PetersonWeb Administrator
http://www.hclib.org/extranet
