Managing your librarys_online_presence
description
Transcript of Managing your librarys_online_presence
Managing Your Library’s Online Presence
SuHui Ho (Pronounced Sue-Way Ho) Digital Services Librarian,
Science & Engineering LibraryUniversity of California, San Diego
Outline
• Brick & mortar library v.s. e-Library• Definition of e-Library• What it takes to create an e-Library that has
real impact• New roles and skills
Once upon a time there was
Now there is
Once upon a time there was
Now there is
Once upon a time, there was
Now there is
.com
• Brick & Mortar Business – Physical presence – Face to face consumer experiences
• E-Commerce– Buy and sell products or services online– Some entirely online– Transportation of physical items– Combination
- Wikipedia
We Have Moved Online
• Collections
• Services
•Catalog, databases, interlibrary loan, renew materials
Self Help
•Email, Chat, Text
Reference
•Online guides/LibGuides
•Camtasia videos
Instruction
Outreach
B&M Library Coexists with the e-Library
Current State of the Library
• B&M Library– InfoCommon/Learning Common– Warehouse of books
• E-Library - information access– Searching tools -catalog, databases, Google– Collection: ejournals, ebooks– Services
• University of Chicago’s underground storage facility – stores 3.5 million copies
Image from http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/05/robot-powered-mansueto-library/
The web has fundamentally changed the way library conducts its business.
Library website - front door and busiest service point.
Library’s Online Presence
Web Library
Digital Branch
Library WebsiteVirtual Library
Online Library
Library in the cloud
e-Library
e-Library Definition– Library’s online presence – Library’s collections and services delivered online– Co-exists with the brick-and-mortar library– Many components:
• Library’s website• Library’s mobile site• Library’s catalog and databases• e-Collection• Library’s Twitter • Library’s Facebook• Library’s blog• LibGuides• e-Services • And more
It is not the traditional library website.
• A brochureware• Inform • Direct users to physical library• Complementary• Secondary
How well does the library staff this e-Library?
• No full time web staff• No knowledge of new roles and function
“Many library spaces and services revolve around the book stacks”
– Dr. Robert Schwarzwalder, Associate Univ. Librarian, Stanford
e-Library Management Roles and Functions
• e-Services
• Website Management – container/building– Website interface design– Information architecture– Usability study– Content life cycle management– Metrics– Search engine optimization– IT: Programming, database & sever administration
Interface Design
– Professionalism and trust– Roles: graphic artists, animators, multimedia designers– House – Interior design
Information Architecture
Goal: Help users complete simple, common tasks in a fast, efficient manner.
Context-sensitive design
Usability Study
• Easy to use or learn?• Goal: – How users interact with product?– Where to improve?
• Usability test – a technique• Role – usability analyst
Information Technology
• Programming• Content management system• Database & sever administration
Building the e-Library
• Library website = Library building • Interface design = Interior design • Information architecture = Space planning• IT = foundation
Yet, many libraries stop here.
= leave after building is completed, furniture arrives, and books are on shelf.
Let the building run by itself or ask your director to run it by him/herself.
Website Management
Building
• Information architecture
• Interface design• Usability study• IT
Managing
• Content life cycle management
• Metrics• Search engine
optimization• New technologies• Usability study• IT
Content
– Librarians become authors – Locally-authored digital content• Web pages• Mobile site pages• Blogs • Online instruction • Videos• Content in social media
Content Life Cycle Management
• Strategize – audience, voice, relevancy• Create – writing for the web• Review• Update• Delete• Archive
Dirty Data
The Problem of Dirty Data
United Airlines
Lost $1 billion in value
Cause: a six-year-old story in Google News
Each page has an owner.
Website MetricsGoal:
Understand user
behaviors in your website
Search Engine Optimization
Goal:Top ranking in Google
search
Brick & Mortar Library e-Library
Space planning Web interface design Information architectureUsability study
IT: desktop support IT: web programming, database & server administration
No equivalent Content life cycle management
Gate counts Website metrics, e-resources statistics, catalog search statistics, online instruction statistics
No equivalent Search engine optimization
Goal: help people find information Goal: help people find information
New Spaces, New Challenges & Opportunities
e-Services
Brick & Mortar Library e-LibraryCirculation - get the resources Access the resources - navigation to e-
books, e-journalse-problem troubleshootingRemote access
Reference – reference desk e-Reference: chat, email, IM, textInstruction – classes in the library Context-sensitive guides, tutorials,
podcasts, LibGuides
Outreach – exhibits in the library Videos, multimedia, slideshows, Facebook, Flickr, Tweeter, Youtube
Collection Buying e-content, e-resources statistics,Subject portals
Staffing Model?
It takes a village to build, staff, and manage
an e-Library.
“The greatest impact of the Internet is likely to come over the next decade as it starts to reshape the traditional management processes and structures that are used to run large-scale institutions.”
Gary Hamel, “REINVENTING MANAGEMENT FOR A NETWORKED WORLD
“Educause, Oct. 13, 2010
e-Library Strategy
• An e-Library strategy aligned with the library’s overall business strategy.
• e-Library to be an equally important, if not more important, part of the library.
• Recognize new roles• Budget and staff for this space
7 Habits of a Successful e-Library
1. Has an e-Library strategy that is aligned with the library’s overall business strategy.
2. Professionally managed from the most senior level down and staffed by not only web staff but also most public and technical services staff.
3. Has a website content life cycle management plan.4. Adheres to information architecture, user experience and
web design principles.5. Attention to metrics and usage pattern analysis.6. Attention to search engine optimization.7. e-Services actively managed.
Resources “The Discipline of Content Strategy” by Kristina Halvorson
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedisciplinofcontentstrategy/
“Using Google Analytics for Improving Library Website Content and Design: A Case Study”- by Wei Fang, Digital Services Librarian, Rutgers-Newark Law Library for the Center of Law and Justice http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/fang.htm