Public libraries as information providers on the World Wide Web:
a practical guide to planning, creating and publishing
a public library Web site
Carol A. Barker, B.A. (Hons)
A Master's Dissertation, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the award of Master of Science degree of Loughborough University.
September I 997
Supervisor: Mr Alan Poulter, B.A., M.Sc.
Department of Information and Library Studies
© C. A. Barker, 1997 Abstract
This project attempts to establish the variety of information, and the standards of presentation and content, produced by UK public libraries that have published on the Internet. This was done by carrying out a survey over the Internet of UK public library Web sites, and a survey by post of the designers of those sites.
Using the results of this research, and by looking at guides that are available to library staff who wish to create such sites, a Web-based guide to Web publishing was created, and launched on the Internet. The Web-based guide is aimed at beginners, so that it will be possible for ordinary UK public library staff with minimal computer skills to create an informative, professional Web site for their library.
The findings show that the quality of Web sites that have been produced by UK public libraries in order to publicise their services and activities varies greatly, as does the range of information provided.
The report concludes that there is a lack of experience in the field of library Web publishing, and of guides and guidelines written specifically to help library staff to create a professional Web site. The reason for poor sites is due at least in part to the absence of appropriate information, relevant experience, and support from local and central government. There is scope for more cooperation between authorities and the professional body, so that the situation is improved for the benefit of staff and users alike. Acknowledgements
My first and greatest thanks goes to my husband and friend, Neville Barker, who constantly and tirelessly supported me- both emotionally and financially- through my darkest hours as well as my brightest ones.
Secondly, I would like to thank my Mum, Patricia Bumham, who has always been there for me, with all her love and support.
My sincere thanks go to all the Web site designers who took the time and trouble to complete and return the questionnaire, with special thanks to Robert Harden and Peter Stone of Project EARL for their evaluation of the guide that I produced, and for their permission to reproduce their correspondance.
Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my dissertation supervisor, Alan Poulter, for being the provider of so much excellent advice and constructive criticism.
ii Contents
Abstract Acknowledgements ii Contents ill List of tables vi List of appendices vi Abbreviations and acronyms vii
Introduction
I. The Internet and public libraries I 2. Public libraries in the United Kingdom 2 3. Aims of this research 4 4. Purpose of this research 4 5. Hypotheses 6 6. Methodology 7 7. Timing of the research 8
1. A review of the literature
1.1 Public libraries and the Internet 10 1.2 Providing information on the Internet 11 1.3 The Library Association and the Internet 13 1.4 Project EARL 14 1.5 Public libraries as information creators and providers 15 1.5.1 Public library projects and the Internet 15 1.5.2 Problems and issues of being iriformationproviders 17 1.5.3 The future role ofpublic libraries as iriformation providers 19
ill 2. Methodology
2.1 A survey of UK public library Web sites 22 2.2 Guides to Web publishing 23 2.3 A survey of UK public library Web site designers 25 2.3.1 Contacting the Web site designers 25 2.3 .2 Creating the questionnaire 26 2.3.3 The table of results 27 2.4 Creating a Web-based guide for UK public libraries. 28
3. Statement of results
3.1 A survey of UK public library Web sites 29 3.1.1 General observations 29 3.1.2 Basic public library information published on Web sites 33 3.1.3 Library access 33 3.1.4 OPACs on the Web 34 3.1.5 Local and community information 35 3.1.6 Business information 36 3.1.7 Literature on the Web 36 3.1.8 European information 37 3.1.9 Sites for information professionals 37 3.2 Guides to the design and creation of Web sites 38 3.2.1 General printed guides to Web publishing 38 3.2.2 Printed guides to Web publishing for library and information services professionals 39 3.2.3 Web-based guides to Web publishing 42 3.3 Web site designers' survey 43 3.3.1 About the Web site designer 43 3.3.2 About the Web site 44 3.3.3 About the guides used to create the Web site 45 3.3.4 Further comments 47
iv 3.4 Creating a Web-based guide to Web publishing 50 3.4.1 Selecting the texts and tutorials 50 3.4.2 Outline for the guide 53 3.4.3 Criteria for the guide 53 3.4.4 Building the guide: planning it 54 3.4.5 Building the guide: writing it in HTML 56 3.4.6 Building the guide: viewing the pages 59 3.4.7 Developing the Web site 60 3.4.8 Launching the Web site 62 3.4.9 Validating the pages 63 3.4.10Announcing the guide 65 3.4.11 Evaluating the Web-based guide: contacting Web site designers 65 3.4. 12 Responses from other sources 66
4. Analysis and discussion
4.1 Results of the research 71 4.1.1 The survey of UK publiclibrary Web sites 71 4.1.2 Guides to Web publishing 72 4.1.3 The survey of UK public library Web site designers 74 4.1.4 Creating a Web-based guide to Web publishing 76 4.2 Methodology 78 4.2.1 The survey of UK public library Web sites 78 4.2.2 Review of guides and tutorials to Web publishing 78 4.2.3 Survey of UK public library Web site designers 79 4.2.4 Creating a Web-based guide to Web publishing 80 4.3 Recommendations 81
S. Summary and conclusions 83
V Bibliography 85 A glossary of Web publishing terms 90
Tables Table I Facing page 32
Appendices Appendix I: URLs of UK Public Library sites 95 Appendix 2: Definitions of terms used in Table I 102 Appendix 3: Web site designer survey: a list of reference numbers, contact names and addresses 105 Appendix 4.1: Web site designer survey: accompanying letter 107 Appendix 4.2: Web site designer survey: questionnaire 108 Appendix 5: Key to Appendices 5.1 to 5.4 112 Appendix 5.1: Authorities that participated 114 Appendix 5.2: The Web site designer 115 Appendix 5.3: The Web site 116 Appendix 5.4: Guides used to create the site 117 Appendix 6.1: Letter from Charles Shearer (Hammersmith and Fulham Libraries) 118 Appendix 6.2: Letter from Stephen Moss (City of Bradford Metropolitan Council) 120 Appendix 7: A practical guide to Web publishing for UK Public Libraries: 'Essential information for your Web site', printed version 121 Appendix 8.1: Email from Robert Harden (Project EARL) 123 Appendix 8.2: Email from Peter Stone (Project EARL) 125 Appendix 8.3: Email from Stephen Moss (City of Bradford Metropolitan Council) 126
vi Abbreviations and acronyms
AAL Association of Assistant Librarians AS LID Association for Information Management BL British Library BLRDD British Library Research and Development Department CCTA Central Computing and Telecommunications Agency CLIP Croydon Libraries DNH Department for National Heritage DTI Department of Trade and Industry EARL Electronic Access to Resources in and through Libraries FTP File Transfer Protocol GIF Graphic Interchange Format HTML HyperText Mark-up Language ISP Internet Service Provider JANET Joint Academic Network JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group KB Kilobyte LA Library Association LASER London And South Eastern Libraries Region LIC Library and Information Commission LIS Library and Information Services LOIS Library Online Information Service NCLIS National Commission on Library & Information Science Nil National Information Infrastructure OPAC Online Public Access Catalogue SLAINTE Scottish Libraries Across the Internet URL Uniform Resource Locator WMRLS West Midlands Regional Library System www World Wide Web WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get
A Glossary ofInternet and Web publishing terms is provided on page 9!
vii Introduction
1. The Internet and public libraries
Whilst much research has been carried out with regard to the provision and availability of Internet access in public libraries for use by staff and members of the public, there has been much less research into the role of libraries as information providers on the Internet.
It has been argued that it is not the library's role to be active and creative, and to be a provider of information on the Internet, but that library staff have a more passive role where technology is concerned, and that they are there mainly to
explain and exploit it. 1 However, the I 994 National Commission on Library and
Information Science (NCLIS) report includes a quotation from L. A. Martin that
contradicts this view:
'The library that will survive and flourish is the library that will not only acquire
but will disseminate information.' 2
This study has been carried out in the belief that libraries are ideal organisations to
select, critically evaluate, and provide access to, electronic information sources,
just as they have done for printed materials. It is due to their wealth of expertise
and experience in this field, that the author believes that library and information
service staff are well qualified to be discriminating providers of information also.
I 2. Public libraries in the United Kingdom
Public libraries in the UK are generally perceived to be users rather than providers and disseminators of information. They tend to rely largely on traditional, printed sources for reference purposes, rather than electronic ones, and very few public libraries in the UK provide public access to any form of electronic sources of information, such as CD-ROMs and the Internet. According to Ormes and
Dempsey, this figure stands at 3% of all UK public libraries having Internet access, compared to nearly 45% of all public libraries in the United States.3
British public libraries have not yet made as much use of the Internet as public libraries in the US, either in terms of providing staff and the public with facilities to access the Internet, or of providing and publishing information about their services on the Web.4
There are several reasons for the slow reaction by UK public libraries to respond to a rapidly expanding global information network. Firstly, the government in the
US has made a commitment to work closely with the private sector, in order to create the National Information Infrastructure in schools and libraries, as outlined in President Clinton's 1994 speech. The British government, however, does not have a similar policy or taskforce that aims to help UK public libraries become part of such a network.5
Secondly, there is an absence of active encouragement in the public sector to experiment with information networks (unlike the situation in academic libraries
2 both in the US and the UK). There is also an inability to find sufficient funding
(due to government restructuring and budget cuts within local authorities) to
install such a network. Libraries are generally allocated a small percentage of the
county budget. Staffordshire County Council, for example, allocated 2%, or £15
million, of its gross expenditure to the entire 'Cultural and Recreational Service'
for 1996/97. This service encompasses the entire county's sports facilities,
museums, art galleries, and country parks, as well as libraries.
Finally, there is a lack of experience and expertise in the fields of information
technology (IT), marketing, and publishing among library staff, because these have
not always been taught as part of the librarianship degree course. However,
library schools are now including more modules in these kinds of transferable skills
in their syllabi, to reflect the changes currently taking place in the work of library
and information services (LIS) professionals.
Initially, there was a suspicion among many organisations and individuals that the
Internet was just a passing phase: one of a series of developments in technology, in
which it could be foolish to invest. However, the Library Association (LA) has
taken a stand on behalf of the profession, to make a public statement on the
'Information Superhighway'. This representative body is clear about its vision for
the future for UK public libraries, in relation to the Internet, and believes that they
are in a state of information poverty in comparison to academic libraries.6 The LA
recommends that all public libraries should therefore be given access to the
Information Superhighway, just as academic libraries have access to it (through the
3 Joint Academic Network: JANET). Given this access, public libraries should then see one of their duties as being active providers of information, and should:
•... publish appropriate information e.g. catalogues, community information, archives, over
the network; apply their skills to the management of the vast amounts of information on the
network; as appropriate and in partnership with the academic sector, provide information
from the network to students and distance learners.' 7
3. Aims of this research
The principle aim of this study is to produce a straightforward and practical guide
that will enable LIS staff in UK public libraries to become active information
providers on the Internet. The guide will help them to create their own series of
Web pages for their library service, and to then publish it on the World Wide Web
(WWW).
4. Purpose of this research
The reason why this guide is needed is that there is currently no comprehensive
text that is aimed specifically at the needs of LIS professionals who wish to publish
on the Web.
There are many practical guides on the mysteries of writing HyperText Mark-up
language (HTML), which is the language used by computers that are linked to the
4 Web, and which enables them to communicate in a common language. The problem is that these guides are often quite technical and are targeted at a wide and general range of interests. They are aimed at the needs of professionals who work for a large commercial organisation, down to those of amateurs who create
Web pages for a hobby. Such guides do not generally offer guidelines to, for example, good practice and design for a professional or commercial Web site.
UK public libraries are relative newcomers to the Internet. They have only been getting involved in the last few years, and at present, there is little information and research in this area to help them to become professional information providers on the Net. What is required by them - in addition to the technical information about
HTML- is an easily accessible guide to constructing a quality Web site, and
suggestions as to the type of content that is suitable for this form of media. They
need to know what their colleagues in other counties have managed to achieve, so
that they can make informed decisions for their own organisation. They need to be
' able to make an informed decision about whether to attempt to create a site by
themselves, or to call in Web design professionals. They need resources that they
can call upon and rely on, to help them to produce an accurate, useful, arid
professional Web site that will benefit both members of staff and the public.
If such a guide existed, it would mean that libraries in small local authorities
which have increased in number as a result of the recent local government
reorganisation - would have a single, complete resource that was specific to their
needs, to turn to. This guide would enable staff who have only a limited amount
5 of IT experience, spare time, and financial support, to create a simple but quality
Web site on which to publicise their activities and services.
The options currently available to library authorities who want their own Web site
are either to refer to the council's IT services department (which may itself already
be working on a limited budget), or to consult an outside organisation (which will
be an expensive option). Alternatively, they could attempt to create a site
themselves, out of the mass of information on Web publishing that is currently
available.
It is the author's belief that all local authorities should be given the opportunity to
produce and maintain their own Web pages, rather than feel obliged (perhaps
through inexperience) to hand over the responsibility to a third party. However, in
order to do this successfully, they will need a practical guide that will provide them
with help and impartial advice.
5. Hypotheses
This research project aims to test three hypotheses:
• That UK public libraries' Web sites are not created and maintained by ordinary
library staff
• That these Web sites are created without the consultation of library staff or
users, which would establish their needs and requirements
6 • That no practical guides have been produced specifically to help LIS staff who
may wish to create such Web sites.
6. Methodology
In order to achieve these aims and to test these hypotheses, a review of the
literature concerning public library activity on - and involvement with - the Internet
was carried out. Following this, the author surveyed 81 UK public libraries' web
sites, in order to establish the extent of their current activities on the World Wide
Web.
An email message was sent out to the designers of these Web sites to ask whether
they would be wi!Iing to participate in a survey, by completing a questionnaire.
This would cover topics such as the Web site designer's qualifications and
experience, the construction process of the site itself, and the guides or tutorials
used to help in creating the site. Consequently, 29 questionnaires were sent out.
Having done this, practical guides to Web publishing (in both traditional and
electronic formats) were examined and assessed for their potential usefulness to
public library staff who may wish to create their own Web site for the library.
As a result of these surveys and reviews, a practical Web-based guide to publishing
on the Web - aimed at UK Public Library professionals - was produced by the
author and published on the World Wide Web. Those Web site designers who had
7 returned their questionnaires were sent a message by email, asking if tbey would look at and evaluate the Web-based guide, provide feedback about its usefulness, clarity, and simplicity, and make any suggestions for its improvement.
In the light of comments made, the guide was revised, with the aim of providing future UK public library Web site designers with the benefits of their colleagues' experience and suggestions.
7. Timing of research
This research is being carried out in response to the recent rapid explosion both in
tbe numbers of Internet users, and in the number of information providers on the
World Wide Web. For example, government departments, the public sector,
corporate bodies, charities, and voluntary organisations now have their own Web
site, to publicise their services, activities, or products.
Standards of Web publishing are constantly increasing as tbe power of the Web
as a marketing tool, and as a global information resource - is realised, and as the
tools for creating professional Web sites and pages are made easier to use.
It is widely acknowledged tbat the Internet is an important information resource,
and therefore library and information services staff must prepare themselves, to
embrace and work witb this new technology. This will mean learning how to use
and exploit the Internet effectively, as well as how to become significant
8 information providers. To do this efficiently and professionally, they will need a guide that is written in the context of their needs.
References
1 Holland, Matt. 'Getting the Web into libraries'. The Electronic Library, 15 (2)
117.
2 McCiure, Charles R., John Carlo Bertot, and Douglas L. Zweizig. Public libraries and the Internet: study results, policy issues, and recommendations.
Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
(NCLIS), June 1994, p.4.
3 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997, p.27.
4 Batt, Chris. 'The libraries of the future: public libraries and the Internet.' IFLA
Journal, 22 (1996) I, 27-30.
5 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997, p.27.
6 Library Association. 'Information Superhighways: library and information services and the Internet- a statement by the Library Association.' ITs News, 32
10-14.
7 Library Association. 'Information Superhighways: library and information services and the Internet- a statement by the Library Association.' ITs News, 32
12.
9 1 A review of the literature
1.1 Public libraries and the Internet
Public libraries in the United States are approximately four years ahead of their
British counterparts in the race to provide Internet access to the public. A
comparative study by Ormes and McClure shows that 78.3% of all US public
libraries have an Internet connection, and nearly 45% of all US public libraries
provide Internet access to the public.i This compares to 3% of UK public libraries
that provide public Internet access.
This vast difference can be explained in part by the substantial investment from the
private sector in the US, encouraged by President Clinton's speech on the National
Information Infrastructure (Nil). As a result of this initiative, the government is
investing $1.2 billion a year, and the private sector will be contributing between
$50 billion and $100 billion in the period 1995-2005, to the Nil scheme.
As the Internet becomes more widely accessible, Ormes and McClure envisage an
increase in the level and range of services offered by public libraries in both the US
and the UK. Initially there may be simply an Internet access point for members of
the public or staff to use, but with increased investment much more will be
possible. Users will have access to electronic sources of information provided by
the library itself, such as the library catalogue, databases, newsletters, and local
government information. The next stage will permit users to become actively
involved in reserving and renewing their own books (as academic library users
10 already do). Finally, the system will be sophisticated enough to allow library staff to provide customised services to their users on demand, such as emails addressed to individuals that advise them of recent acquisitions or particular Web sites that based on 'previous reading habits' - may be of interest to them?
1.2 Providing information on the Internet
There has been some criticism of the idea of public libraries as information
providers; of public library staff being creatively and actively involved in the
process of producing information. Holland believes that Web pages are no longer
in the range of the well-meaning amateur. He states 'there is a realisation that
other skills are required which don't reside within the usual range of librarian skills
... On the whole our skills are to exploit, train, and explain networked technology
to users, not to create it.'3 He continues: 'Libraries should concentrate on
providing a suitable context in which to place links to these services (commercial
information providers)'.
However, it is the author's belief that libraries are capable of far more than just
being a link to information provided by third parties, which implies that they are
destined to play a comparatively passive role. Instead, they have a valuable and
active contribution to make. Through their experience and expertise in the art of
supplying information to users, and their firsthand knowledge of users' needs,
public library staff are also well qualified to produce their own, suitable
11 information resources, such as bibliographies in a traditional, printed format, or collections of Web page links, published electronically.
Public library staff have for many years produced printed leaflets that provide information about the library's activities, and about the wide variety of services it can offer to users. Some have gone further still, and have gathered information together in order to produce databases of, for example, local community, or local history resources. Therefore, it is a natural progression that some public libraries
should wish to become information providers on the new electronic, global
network of the Internet.
The development of the World Wide Web has made the Internet more acceptable
and more user-friendly to a vast number of end-users. Biddiscombe notes the ease
and simplicity with which people can communicate, and can create Web pages, by
learning and applying the Web browsers'language of HTML. End-users are
therefore no longer obliged to be passive receivers of information but can become
providers of it: the possibilities of publishing on the Web 'have profound
implications for libraries in general and information professionals in particular.'4
Staff are well aware that projects such as publishing documents on the World
Wide Web will be time consuming, both in their preparation and in their
maintenance. Hopefully, though, there will always be library staff who will see
these as challenges to be overcome, and who will ignore cynics such as Holland in
order to ultimately help their users in the best way they can.
12 1.3 The Library Association and the Internet
The British Library Association -the professional body that provides the official voice of British library staff- has issued several statements that demonstrate its commitment to and support for the global information network.
Firstly, it plans to work with other professionals, in particular networking practitioners, in order to establish a series of good practice guidelines in the area of information management on the Internet. Issues that would be covered by this evaluation are confidentiality, and quality, currency, and accuracy of information.5
This support from the profession's leading body- for both the Internet, and for a
code of good practice - means that in future all information published on the
Internet by public libraries - and indeed other types of library and information
service - should be of a consistently high and professional standard. It is the
author's belief that information professionals should be more aware of the need for
them to provide information that is accurate, reliable, and well presented. The
guidelines for Internet publishing to be produced by the Library Association will
help to ensure that this is the case.
Secondly, the Library Association believes that in the future, libraries will not be
purely a link between user and sources of information produced by third parties, as
Holland argues they should be. The association states that
Libraries will be infonnation providers as well, using the networks to disseminate
13 information from their collections, exchanging information to meet users' needs,
delivering documents electronically, and facilitating networked discussions. 6
Thus, the Library Association believes that its members should use whatever resources are suitable and necessary for fulfilling their commitments to their users.
It is irrelevant whether the information is in a printed book or leaflet, or in electronic format such as a database, CD-ROM, or Web page, or whether that information is published by a third party or produced in-house. The most important issue is that users' needs should be met in a professional and appropriate way, and if a particular information source is not available elsewhere, the library service should see it as one of their duties to provide that information.
1.4 Project EARL
Project EARL (Electronic Access to Resources in and through Libraries) is funded jointly by the British Library Research and Development Department (BLRDD), the Library Association (LA), and London And South Eastern Libraries Region
(LASER). Its principal aims are:
+ To improve collaboration and resource-sharing between public libraries
+ To maximise the opportunities that the Internet offers
+ To provide access to information resources from a local to an international
level
+ To help the public gain access to this information.7
14 One particular sub-group of Project EARL, known as EARL Information, aims to encourage and support public library authorities in the United Kingdom to publish information about themselves, and about the services that they can provide, on the
World Wide Web (WWW). This will make a vast number of resources more easily accessible to a greater number of users, not just in the local area of the library, but to researchers and interested parties worldwide.
EARL Development, another sub-group, aims to increase and improve the variety of services that libraries provide. They hope that, by using the medium of the
Internet and WWW, more users will be able to gain direct access to libraries' resources and collections. Task groups in library services throughout the UK are currently working on particular, specialist areas such as their literature, poetry, or
music collections, and they plan to make these collections available on the Web, in
order to provide greater access for users to library information resources.
1.5 Public libraries as information creators and providers
1.5.1 Public library projects and the Internet
There is currently a lack of support and enthusiasm from governmental and
commercial organisations to provide UK public libraries with Internet access, with
the notable exception of the Input/Output centres based in Central London
libraries. 8 However, despite the disadvantages that UK public libraries have
experienced so far, there are signs that positive action is taking place within them.
15 Certain libraries have been highly innovative and motivated in their work, with regard to both the provision of Internet access, and the creation of electronic
information.
Hereford and Worcester's Library Online Information Service (LOIS) provides
local, council, community, and tourist information through a countywide network.
Initially, access to this resource was only available through a limited number of
specific service points, but due to its success, it has now been made available on
the World Wide Web, in order to reach a wider audience.9
Several UK authorities, including Manchester City Council and Norfolk County
Council, have produced searchable community information databases that can be
accessed on the Internet, through the library service's Web pages. Hertfordshire
County Council has made its online public access catalogue (OPAC) available on
the Internet, with Oxfordshire and Suffolk soon to follow suit.
The Croydon Libraries Internet Project (CLIP) led to the creation of a Web site
that provides 24 hour access to health, tourist, leisure, and business information,
job vacancies, the library catalogue, and information on council services, to name
but a few of its features. 10 The project was a result of contributions of aid from
both the public and private sector, for the benefit of Croydon borough's residents,
employers and employees.
This is just a small selection of a constantly increasing number of public library
16 networking projects in the UK (more are documented in Ormes and Dempsey's
11 book ). However, they are a positive reflection of the overall enthusiasm and commitment of many UK public libraries to the Internet, and of their desire to become active, professional information providers.
1.5.2 Problems and issues of being information providers
Despite the fact that public libraries are becoming increasingly active in the field of
information provision, and also have the support of their professional body in their
work, the issues of providing access to and publishing information on the Internet
can create problems for libraries. Oppenheim discusses some of these problems in
his article 'An agenda for action to achieve the information society in the UK'. 12
Providing public access to the Internet in libraries creates moral dilemmas such as
whether the facilities should be free or charged for, and the consideration of
security issues such as potential attacks from thieves and computer hackers (who
may steal, alter, or intercept information). In addition, there are problems of the
variable quality of information; anybody can publish on the Internet, which means
that information can be inaccurate and out of date, and library staff may have no
way of knowing that certain sources are reliable, and suitable for users' needs.
Oppenheim suggests that his concept of an information society can be best
achieved through a comprehensive series of policies, that are designed to guide the
information provider, and to protect the information user. There is an urgent need
17 for laws that will clarify copyright protection for those who publish on the
Internet, and a national legal deposit system of materials (which is compulsory for printed materials) to protect the information heritage for future generations.
Guidelines for the content of Internet documents, and regulations for data protection, must also be established. Internet users would then be assured of some form of consumer's protection and rights, and could rely upon accurate, up to date
information being provided on the Internet.
The author believes that Oppenheim's principles would not intend to restrict
electronic democracy or the freedom of information, but rather, that they would
aim to provide a more coherent structure for Internet end-users and publishers
than currently exists. It is unlikely that such constraints would be accepted and
adopted, though, because many feel that everyone should have the right to publish
whatever they wish on the Internet, regardless of the quality of that information.
Although no official guidelines or laws currently exist for Internet publishers, there
is no reason why public libraries should not set standards of professionalism in
their work. The Library Association is working to develop good practice
guidelines (see 1.3) and Project EARL aims to provide advice and staff training to
help public libraries become more involved in Internet activity (see 1.4). It is
therefore hoped that these initiatives will enable public libraries to set consistently
high standards in the quality of information provision on the Internet, even in the
absence of relevant legislation.
18 1.5.3 The future role of public libraries as information providers
The Department for National Heritage (DNH) has recently carried out a review of the public library service. The report stresses the importance of the role of public libraries, as information providers of the present and the future: local and central government, business and commercial, and local and historical information can be accessed, either through locally held collections, or remote, online sources. 13
A later review, published in 1997, reveals public libraries' need for a change in emphasis, in view of the rapidly expanding and flourishing format for information: electronic resources. The DNH states that they
Need to consider the implications of a change in focus from storing and indexing
printed documents to providing a managed gateway to a world of on line information.
The public library system should start to see itself as playing a key role in providing
and organising electronic material to which people want to gain access, at home or
inside a library building. 14
The author believes that by creating a Web site of its own, each library authority
will have started to achieve the DNH's vision for the future.
19 References
1 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997, p.27.
2 Ibid., p.35.
3 Holland, Matt. Getting the Web into libraries. Electronic Library, 15(2), 117.
4 Biddiscombe, Richard, ed. The end-user revolution: CD-ROM, Internet and
the changing role of the information professional. London: Library Association
Publishing, 1996, p.158.
5 Library Association. Information Superhighways: library and information
services and the Internet- a statement by the Library Association. ITs News, April
1995, 32 10-14.
6 Library Association. Policy forum on the Information Superhighway: a
response from the Library Association to the Labour Party's statement of aims and
objectives. ITs News, April 1995,32 16.
7 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the
public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997, p.51-72.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid., p.139.
10 Croydon Borough Web site. URL: http://www.croydon.gov.uk/index
library.htm, 10 July 1997.
11 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the
public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997.
12 Oppenheim, Charles. An agenda for action to achieve the information society
20 in the UK. Journal of Information Science, 1996, 22(6), 407-421.
13 Great Britain: Department for National Heritage. Public library service in the 1990s: guidance for local authorities. London: HMSO, 1995.
14 Great Britain: Department for National Heritage. Reading the future: a review ofpublic libraries in England. London, HMSO, 1997.
21 2 Methodology
2.1 A survey of UK public library Web sites
In order to create a guide to Web publishing for LIS staff, a survey was carried
out to establish what had already been achieved by public libraries that had
published on the Web.
Three sources were identified as being potentially useful in quickly finding the
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) ofUK public library Web sites. Firstly, the
Central Computing and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) site, which lists
many of the UK's local government Web sites, and consequently is a route to the
library services' Web sites.1 Secondly, the literature search had revealed the
existence of Project EARL, an organisation which aims - amongst other things -
to make information about public libraries in the United Kingdom more easily
accessible by publishing it on the Web.2 Finally, a site created by two individuals,
Robert and Sheila Harden, specifically listed a number of public libraries' URLs,
some of which were marked as being particularly worth looking at, in terms of the
quality of the site and the information provided on it. 3 It was hoped that the
combination of these three resources would provide a varied cross-section of UK
public library Web sites.
A short preliminary survey was carried out, using these sources, to examine the
. nature of the content and structure of a few UK public library Web sites. Once
this had been done, it was possible to compile a list of features that had appeared
on some of the Web sites. For example, information such as library opening times
22 might be given, hyperlinks to Web sites that might be of interest to LIS staff, or details of the library location and its accessibility to disabled users.
This list was then turned into a chart by using Microsoft's 'Excel' spreadsheet program so that as each library site was surveyed, the features that were found on that site could be recorded for future reference and comparison.
By using the three lists of URLs named above, a total of 81 UK public library
Web sites were found. The sites were visited between 29 April 1997 and 8 May
1997, and the results ofthis survey were recorded on the chart. A list of the
URLs of the sites surveyed can be found in Appendix 1.
r
2.2 Guides to Web publishing
Having established an idea of the extent of UK public libraries' publishing activities on the Web, and of the quality and quantity of information content provided on these sites, the next step was to discover what practical guides and tutorials were available to public library staff who may wish to create a Web site, such as those found in the survey.
In order to provide a broad range of titles for this section of the study, four main sources of information were used. These included reviews in books and magazines (from a range of personal computing, Internet, and library-oriented journals), and their associated bibliographies, the British National Bibliography
23 1986-1997 (on CD-ROM), Loughborough University library's 'TalisWeb' online
4 public access catalogue (OPAC) , and Internet searches.
References and bibliographies in reviews and articles were scanned for information on guides to Web publishing, either in printed or electronic format. The printed
sources that appeared to be relevant to the research subject were then searched for
in the Pilkington Library at Loughborough University, by using the OPAC, and
the electronic sources were searched for on the Web.
For the searches on CD-ROM, keywords such as 'HTML', 'publishing', 'Web', and
'Internet' were used, and then it was attempted to combine each resultant group
with relevant keywords such as 'public', 'library', and 'information'.
The OPAC in the Pilkington library was used to establish whether any of these
texts were available at that location. A keyword search, using the same terms as
for the CD-ROM search, was also carried out on the OPAC.
For the Internet search, the above keywords were entered into search engines such
as 'Alta Vista' and 'Yahoo', in order to find Web-based guides and tutorials to Web
publishing, and those that would be aimed at the needs of LIS staff.
24 2.3 A survey of UKpublic library Web site designers
2.3.1 Contacting the Web site designers
It was decided that the best method of collecting detailed information about UK
public library Web sites and the members of staff who had designed those sites
would be through a survey.
The 81 public library Web sites that had been surveyed were examined again, to
try to discover details of the Webmasters' or Web site designers' email addresses.
It was not always clear from the contact email addresses provided whether the
addressee was the actual Web site designer or administrator or not, and on many
sites there were no details of how to contact someone at the organisation, with an
enquiry specifically about the Web site. In some cases, no contact names or
numbers were given at all.
As a result of this search, over 50 email messages were sent to local authority staff
all over the country, to ask if they would be willing and able to participate in a
survey of UK public library Web sites. However, it was not possible to be certain
in every case that the email was being sent to the right person, due to the lack of
detail given on some of the local authorities' Web sites. An apology was included
with each message in case it had not reached the correct person, along with a
request- if this was so- for the message to be forwarded on to the appropriate
member of staff, if possible.
Those authorities that provided a telephone number instead were contacted by
25 phone, to establish the identity of the person responsible for the creation or
maintenance of the Web site, and to then ask that person if they would be willing
to participate in the survey.
It was also not possible to prevent busy members of staff from deleting the
message before they had even read it, but it was decided that email messages were
the most appropriate and also the most inexpensive method of conducting this
preliminary enquiry. A total of 29 authorities agreed to participate in the survey
(a list of names and addresses is provided in Appendix 3).
2.3.2 Creating the questionnaire
There seemed to be three main areas that needed to be explored in this survey: the
Webmaster/web site designer, the Web site, and the guides and tutorials that were
used to create the site.
In order to test the first hypothesis- that UK public libraries' Web sites are not
created and maintained by ordinary library staff- it was necessary to discover
what the Web site creator's job title, qualifications and experience were. This
should reveal whether staff were currently in a library post, and whether they were
chartered librarians.
The second hypothesis - that these Web sites are created without consultation of
library staff or users- would be tested in the section that asked about the Web
26 site. It would attempt to determine if any 'market research' had been carried out before the process of designing the site had begun, and how decisions had been reached about various components of the site, such as content, style, and structure.
The third hypothesis - that no practical guides have been produced specifically to help LIS staff who may wish to create a Web site- was to be tested in the final section of the questionnaire. This aimed to discover what training courses in Web site design and creation - if any- had been undertaken, whether any texts had been referred to during the process of building the Web site, and if so, how useful to
the task these texts were judged to be.
The questionnaire was word-processed and sent with an accompanying letter (see
Appendices 4.1 and 4.2) by post, and a stamped addressed envelope was enclosed,
in an attempt to ensure a response.
2.3.3 The table of results
Three tables were created using Microsoft Excel: one table for each section of the
questionnaire. The results were largely qualitative rather than quantitative, but
with a final total of only 18 respondents, it was decided that assessing and
interpreting the data would be easier with the use of tables.
27 2.4 Creating a Web-based guide for UK public libraries
The results of the survey, literature review, and questionnaire were used as
background and preparatory material for creating 'A guide to Web publishing for
UK public libraries'. By producing a guide in electonic format and then
publishing it on the World Wide Web, the author hoped to gain a greater personal
understanding of the processes involved in Web document creation and
publishing, similar to those experienced by designers who had already created a
library web site.
References
1 CCTA Home Page. URL: http://www.open.gov.uk, 5 June 1997.
2 Project EARL Home Page. URL: http://www.earl.org.uk, 28 June 1997.
3 UK Public Libraries on the Web.
URL: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/townlsquare/ac940/ukpublib.html, 14 August
1997.
4 Pilkington Library OPAC Home Page.
URL: http://www.lboro.ac.ukllibrary/opac.html, 16 August 1997.
28 3 Statement of results
3.1 A survey of UK public library Web sites
A complete list of the URLs of all the UK public library sites that were surveyed can be found in Appendix 1.
3.1.1 General observations
A survey of the contents ofUK public libraries' Web sites was carried out by the author between 29 April 1997 and 8 May 1997, as described in 2.1. It was encouraging to see that many local authorities are now providing library home pages on the World Wide Web, however, the standards of the quality and quantity ofinformation content that is currently being provided on UK public library Web sites varies greatly. Table 1 shows how much variation existed, in terms of the variety and range of information offered (definitions of the terms used in Table 1 can be found in Appendix 2).
Sites produced by the library services of Barnsley Borough Council, Bradford
Metropolitan Council, and Leeds City Council, were a pleasure to use. The layout of each home page was excellent, with graphics that enhanced the sites without significantly increasing the length of time required to download the page. The quality and quantity of information provided was high in all cases.
Bradford is one of a growing number of UK public libraries that has made the
29 most of the fact that the Web is an information source that can be accessed
remotely, given the appropriate equipment. By publishing a page of 'Housebound
Services' information, and a library email address, users with disabilities can
discover the range of the library's services that are available to them, and can
contact the person responsible for these services directly. This would be
particularly useful for those who have access to the Internet from their homes, and
cannot physically get to, or at least may have a struggle to get to, their local library.
Web sites from the London Borough of Enfield, Cambridgeshire County Council,
and Surrey County Council's library services were of similarly very high standards.
Their features included professional, colourful graphics and images that loaded
quickly, and a wealth of information that could be accessed through meaningfully
entitled links (for example 'Living and Working in Cambridgeshire' on the County
Council site) from both the library and Council sites. Surrey Libraries' site was
particularly good at providing information on individual libraries, and
Cambridgeshire published a current list of the most 'popular' library books (this referred to those books that have had the largest number of requests from
borrowers). Enfield was a good all-round site for useful library information, and
links to business, community, and local information.
The majority of sites were not as comprehensive as these, but nevertheless many
provided access to valuable sources oflocal, health, and business information.
Kent County Council's library site was strong in terms of the quality and quantity
30 of its information content. Birmingham City Council also provided useful information but because of several spelling mistakes, its integrity as a professional
Web site was diminished. To publish and maintain a site on a powerful medium such as the Web can be an expensive process (in terms of both finance and investment of time). Therefore, libraries that go to great lengths to publicise their services should try to ensure that the end result is one that projects a professional, authoritative image, and any errors or inaccuracies should be rectified as quickly as possible.
The East Sussex library service site was easy to navigate, but the quantity of available information was limited. In contrast, Oxfordshire County Council's library Web site provided a range of high quality information, but due to a combination of confusing labels and headings, and weak structuring of the site, information was more difficult to find. The absence of graphics and the use of
'Courier' font made the site appear quite drab and unattractive, which is contrary to users' expectations of a Web site.
Some library sites appeared poor only when compared to their local Council's site
(from which library sites are usually accessed). Wigan Metropolitan libraries provides. minimal information about itself and its services, but the Council's site is excellent, and provides a comprehensive A-Z index to enable users to quickly find information about the organisation. This problem also applied to the library site of
Warwickshire County Council, which in addition is not easy to navigate round.
Several Web sites conveyed a high quality, professional image of the library
31 '~ Telephone "'"'"'~~~~"'lif "' 1: ~11: Special collections ,. Send enquiry/feedbac~ ftc (J) :~I ·u;~ Searchable database " .0 Q) Reference/information j[ 3: ~ I~ ~ ~ I~ I~ ~ ~ Opening times ,. fie iC iel fWl !.'1 ~ OPACaccess .2 ~L~L~L~I~L~L~~l~L~L~I.~L~L~ L~L~ :0 Name of Iibra "c. ~ Library statistics! I \iC lie~ ::> Library-related linksl 0 lie ~ ->- , ... ,~.h. L.i~i .... I~I~IL Q) Library services/facilities l"J' lie fWl C: (/) Library events: " Job vacancies! I._I._IL Individual library info. ~ k\ie lielielieliei Housebound/disabled services! ._j._j._j._JL ~~ Graphics/icons! ~liel ~lie~~~~ fit:~ Children/youth services
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~ Q) ~INIMI"Education/careersR{ I ij( I County/City Council info. Community information Business information!
Telephonel-tc 1'6( 1'6( 1'6( I Special collections! Send enquiry/feedbac~ H{ $ ·u; Searchable database .0 ~ Referenceflnformation~ I ~ ~ ~~ IL.IL.I .. c: Opening times: :~[ie e ~ OPAC .2 acce~~~~ ,I d .. :0 Name of Iibra "'c. Library statistics! "' :.:: 1i ~ ;;) Library-related links li 0 r.:: l ... l .... lt.. >- Library services/facilities ~ Library events! 1i [i C/)"' Job vacancies Individual library info. ~ Housebound/disabled service~ 1 ....1 .... l ... l .... lt.. Graphicsflcor ~ Children/youth services ~ ~ ~ Book reviewsli li li li .:: Address , :~1 Accesslmap/transportl I I I fi! ~ 0 ~ I~ [0 [0 ~ ~ ~ mcd eo- () ~ _ .!:::O.,c OOCC(5 ~ ~ ~~mx~O ~mdEm-d~-~~m~ m~~m ~c w d m_ ~~o~~c- s~ ::J"- woo m.t=.Oc._oc: ~CI)"'~x~~~Ewc.~o~O ~c .f0 ~-~Q) .!:::: ~-~~~~g~ ~~~~a~~~ £ =a E ~w-~w- oEEt>~=c~cc ~m~c0m-mmrommm==wmm0 ~ owwww~~~~~~~~~~~:.:::.:: / Job vacancies~~~~~~~~~~ Individual library into. I /iC Housebound/disabled services /-t(~lieliel Nil. Graphics/icons ··· Children/youth services Book reviews: l_i,Ll. lL AddressHc~~ljf.k f.k ll. Access/map/transportHC lie I ., ~ I I lie I -tc '§ ~ ~CS :SI Q)._ a>oco Cil I o .cm :2-55 :Ec:...J ~ ~ w_, wE.,wu~ ::::!.1 ~ I.U c: .c. - Q) ..... Q) "'C 0 (/) ~ c (/) d.ro'5Et:: c:~:c~cuc-o ·a:: Q) ~(/) 0 Q) c::Eonso~~ ~2~ 0E.c.2.c ~ s;;:j ~~52 113 i :::;::::;::::;:zzzzzoc..a:a:oo Q) ~ :0 ~~N ~lwl~loolmjoj~jNjMjvj~jwj~joojmjo vv ~I::J: ~~vvv~~~~~~~~~~m ~ '1.... 1.... 11.. Telephonel-tc ~ ~ ~ ~ 1-t( !i{ ftc~~ fJi Special collections I I ~ ~ Send enquiry/feedbac ~ ~"' Searchable database ~ .0"' Reference/information ~I ~I I I 11 ~ ~ ~ Opening timesj.t{~ ~I ~I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~ fi'ftc~~ ~ I g .2 OPAC 1... 1 ... 11.. :0 Name ofa~e~ Iibra ~ 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C ~ ::l c. ~ Library statistics! ~~ ::::> Library-related links! ~ ~· 0 .....1 .... 11.. >- Library services/facilities~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~I f*tC ::l en Library events· ~ ~ Job vacancies Individual library info.li{~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~ Housebound/disabled services ~I I I I I I ~~ Graphics/iconsli{~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Children/youth services! ~I I ~I ~1---w ~ Book reviews! ~ ~ Address~ ~~~~~~~~~!i(~~~~~~ ~ Access/map/transportl ~ ~T-}t(l ftc ~ (50~- c ...J.....Jomal- o c0 "' --m m Cl> ID Cl> U)(/)_J ...J a .!::. ...J (]) } c a;~-Q) - ..c- .... c o - 0 ..cL.o ... ~ a.l ~ -~.C:Co -cc ~ m mEu.t::C())-2! 00cn(l) asE .?>:c CD m en c: ~ d.c:t:E3:~::J.5 ..c: ·c m = ~<:="Eo.:.:: Q; c:CD~ascn._CI)Ec:Qi 0 c. ::l Q).C.C032Q £ e :§ e--==o- -c ~ o ro~£"g~oou;m>~ <.cncn::l .<: 0 cncncncncncno55~.9'5 ~ ~ ~ ~ {3. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 3: ~l:e ~ "' wl~lgl~l~l~l~lffilffilgl~l~l~l~l~l~l~l~l~l~loo ~ service, but due to either large graphics file sizes, or to the Web site designer choosing to use bulky JPEG format instead of the more compact GIF format, the pages were very slow to load. In the case of Suffolk County Library Service, the map of the county held the searching process up considerably. This problem was magnified by the fact that the only way to gain information on each individual library appeared to be through this particular page. A re-evaluation on the choice offormat for the map, or possibly a separate listing oflibrary units to enable quick access to information, would have considerably enhanced this site.
Other culprits in the large graphics files categories included Nottinghamshire
County Council and Southwark Borough Council. Although there was no 'slow to download' category in Table 1, such Web sites were very noticeable in a sample of
81 sites, and were fortunately in the minority. Solihull Metropolitan libraries has a similar problem with graphics files that are slow to load, and unfortunately the quantity of information that it provides is also quite limited, on an otherwise professional site.
Finally, a few library services have provided information on their Web sites that is of a high standard, but there is still room for improvement, for example those of
Gloucestershire, and Cheshire (which has a weak structure, making it difficult to navigate). Other sites give only a bare minimum of information, such as Dorset, and Somerset County libraries, which only give library names and addresses and telephone numbers. Despite the fact that the small Metropolitan Borough of
Barnsley has a professional and informative Web site, some county library services
32 do not appear to have created a site at all yet, for example Lincolnshire, and
Cornwall.
3.1.2 Basic public library information published on the Web site
The vast majority oflibraries (almost 80%) published details of their opening times, address, and telephone number. This was the very minimum level of information that was found to be offered on a UK public library Web site. A slightly lower number oflibraries, approximately 75%, provided a list or summary of the facilities and range of services that the library offered to its users, which included information such as how to join the library, how to borrow books, and what happens when books become due for renewal. This compares favourably with the findings of Ormes and Dempsey, whose survey in 1995 showed that only
41% of public library Web sites at that time were providing information about their services to users. 1 There are two possible factors involved in creating the changes that have taken place in the past two years. Firstly, that the variety of information that is being published on library sites is increasing, and secondly that an increasing number of public libraries are publishing information on the Internet.
3.1.3 Library access
The London Borough ofBrent's library service published the numbers of the buses and also the names of the local underground tube stations that could be used to
33 travel to each of its libraries. Several of the London Borough Councils' sites offered this useful facility, but detailed transport information was very rarely found on Web sites outside the capital.
Several libraries' Web sites, again mostly but not exclusively in London, contained detailed maps of the libraries' locations, and of nearby car parking areas, where applicable.
3.1.4 OPACsontheWeb
This area appeared to be quite rare but was growing slowly, probably because of problems of incompatibility between Web browsers, and OPAC software and interfaces.
Rather than offering access to the complete library catalogue, some libraries are aiming to provide just specialist OP ACs at first, such as catalogue records of audio visual collections, as part of the EARL Development initiative (see 1.3). Croydon libraries' Web site is one that offered full OPAC access, and Hertfordshire has made both a community information database and its catalogue available on the www.
34 3.1.5 Local and community information
Local and community information was found on several public library sites, although in some cases it was the city or county council rather than the library department itself that had created and was maintaining the service. Leeds City
Council Internet Project, for example, was a Web-based local information system, run by the library service, whereas Cambridge Online was a Web-based system that was maintained by the City Council.
A survey carried out by Ormes and Dempsey in 1995 revealed that of the total number ofUK public libraries that have Web sites, 15% published community information and 21% published local authority information. 2 The findings of the survey carried out by the author indicate that 14% published community information, and the same number published local authority information.
Hereford and Worcester's Library Online Information Service (LOIS) was a project that had been funded by both county and national organisations, with the aim of providing local information to rurally and physically isolated citizens in the area. Originally it was a small network of four computer terminals, but due to the success of the scheme, the information provided by LOIS has now been made available through an expanded county network, and also via the WWW.
At least four UK authorities, in Hertfordshire, Islington, Manchester, and Norfolk,
'have established searchable community databases' that can be accessed via their
World Wide Web pages. 3 These databases contain the details of contact names
35 and addresses for local self-help, sporting, or creative activity groups and clubs.
Such information is not always well publicised (often due to a lack of funding) and therefore can be difficult to obtain, unless an organisation like the library service voluntarily takes the initiative to organise and create such a directory.
3. 1. 6 Business information
Many library sites throughout the UK offered details of the services that were on offer to businesses, and some, such as Berkshire, also listed URL.s of third party sites that may be of interest. Berkshire County Council had a particularly comprehensive Web site that provided information for businesses. Its business pages carried links to central government resources such as the Energy Office, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
3.1..7 Literature on the Web
As a result of the EARL Development initiative, several UK public library authorities have been inspired to publish book-oriented information on their Web sites. The West Midlands Regional Library System (WMRLS) is planning to launch a Virtual Literature Centre, whilst Leeds Libraries, in partnership with
Leeds Word Arena, has produced 'Leeds Book Marks'.
36 3.1.8 European information
The survey carried out by the author showed that 16% of Web sites contained either information on the European Community (EC) and Europe, or links to third party sites that contain information relevant to the EC.
As well as those provided by local library authorities, in the future other major information resources may become available on the Web. The Citizens First initiative aims to use public libraries to provide a local point of access to European
Community information. The UK Public Information Relay, of which 165 UK public library authorities are currently members, is another principal source of information on Europe.
3.1.9 Sites for Information Professionals
Some library sites provided links to the Web sites of appropriate professional organisations and resources: Brent Council listed links to local library and museum resources, and Croydon published a wide variety offacilities, including links to the
British Library (BL), Project EARL, and Association for Information Management
(Aslib) pages.
The survey discovered an increasing number of Web pages written by information professionals for information professionals, which were aimed at helping
'geographically dispersed professionals' to feel less isolated. Two projects that operated in the North of Britain were Scottish Libraries Across the Internet
37 (SLAINTE}, and Info North. SLAINTE was described as a 'WWW directory for and about information professionals in Scotland', whilst Info North was more general in that it aimed 'to create WWW pages for National Heritage professionals including public librarians'.'
This informative site that was created by Robert and Sheila Harden contained links to many public library and related interest Web sites throughout the UK, and to sites that information professionals may find interesting and relevant to their work and career. s
3.2 Guides to the design and creation of Web sites
A survey of the literature revealed that even if staff wished to create a Web site for the public library service, few practical guides have been designed to help them.
3.2.1 General printed guides to Web publishing
Whilst there were many general guides that taught the computer language of the
Web- HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML)- they were aimed mainly at the practical and aesthetic aspects of creating Web pages. They did not usually discuss in detail how to structure and present Web page content for a specific audience. Few guides had been published (in either traditional or electronic format) to help public libraries' Web site designers to create the kind of professional and informative sites that they would like to produce.
38 A text by American authors Andrew Ford and Tim Dixon, 'Spinning the Web', aimed to enable the reader to become an information provider on the Internet. 6 It had a very comprehensive index and detailed contents pages, but contained few illustrations for guidance. The guide was not aimed at LIS professionals' needs in particular but it did explain important aspects of creating and managing a Web site, such as HTML, images, forms, tables, planning and running/managing a server, and security issues. The strengths of this guide lay in its coverage of technical topics in a straightforward manner, although in the author's opinion, a certain amount of previous knowledge and experience of both the Internet and word processing would be necessary, before attempting to become the designer of a professional Web site.
3.2.2 Printed guides to Web publishing for LIS professionals
Only a handful of guides to the Internet were found that had been published specifically with the needs of LIS professionals in mind, but most were concerned with explaining what kind of information and resources they can find on the
WWW, and where they can find them. The guides are not so helpful in giving ideas or practical guidelines to novice Web site designers, about the sort of information that can or should be provided by LIS professionals for use by colleagues and members of the public.
Using the World Wide Web and creating home pages is a very practical guide
39 written by and for librarians that explains clearly and in detail the issues and tasks involved in planning, designing, authoring, and publicising of a library Web site. 7
It is effectively illustrated, contains a large and useful bibliography, and lists 'test questions' that you can ask staff and library users, in order to evaluate the site's presentation, usefulness, and ease of navigation.
Although it was written primarily for an American audience, the content would be applicable for UK LIS professionals too. Overall, this guide would be invaluable in the creation of a public library Web site. However, it does not discuss the practical issues of security and setting up a server, so if an Internet connection and server were not already in place, it would need to be read in conjunction with the
Ford and Dixon, or similar, text.
Another text- less comprehensive than the previous one in terms of practical guidance and its coverage of Web page creation- was Building the service-based
8 library Web site . However, it contained useful advice about the layout and structure of a Web site and Web pages, and suggested the kinds of information content that would be of benefit to both library staff and users. Again, it did not directly address issues of security or setting up a Web server, although it did provide a URL to enable readers to download server software, if they wished.
Also of interest in this guide were the appendices. Appendix D ('Special considerations for public libraries') contained details oflnternet resources that may provide ideas and inspiration for public library Web site designers, and Appendix E
40 ('Home page templates') provided three simple templates to help them to build a library home page quickly and easily.
Only two printed guides for UK information professionals were found. The first, a slim volume published by the Association of Assistant Librarians (AAL ), discussed matters of connecting up to the Internet, providing public access to the Internet, and creating a library home page (Appendix Four briefly describes how to create
Web documents).9 By covering such a wide range of topics in such a small space, it served as a very basic introduction for LIS professionals, and addressed some of the current issues concerning public libraries and the Internet. Its greatest use would be as a preliminary guide to orient a newcomer to the basic technology and controversies concerning the Internet, before they went on to a more practical manual for designing and creating a library Web site, such as the Metz text.
The second UK published book- Bradley and Smith's guide for LIS professionals
-could be used by almost any organisation wishing to publish on the Web. 10 It was short and simple to follow, it contained clear illustrations to show the effect of
HTML tags, and discussed purpose, planning, and style in Web site creation. It briefly mentioned servers, and gave a list of contact numbers of professional
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who rent space on their servers, and who can offer design services if required. Like the other guides that have been reviewed here, it did not provide detailed information on Web site content, and because it was not aimed at library staff in particular, the Metz guide would probably be more useful for a major project. However, as a starting point and confidence-
41 builder, it proved very useful in the creation of the author's own Web site and practical guide to Web publishing.
3.2.3 Web-based guides to Web publishing
Many Web sites that were located sounded promising but were ultimately lists of
URLs of other sites, rather than primary information sources. One guide was especially useful, despite its misleading title Professional Web designn, because it was simple, humorous, well designed, clearly set out, and most importantly for beginners, was easy to follow. Although not aimed at libraries, it contained advice and practical tutorials on table, form, frame and button creation, and their inclusion in Web sites. In addition, a second Web-based guide, Good practice for
12 WWW authors , was a straightforward and comprehensive guide which covers subjects such as correct use of HTML tags, and again would be highly suitable for beginners to Web publishing.
Only one site was found that was of specific interest to library staff (which was
American and therefore not entirely suitable to the needs ofUK libraries): the guide to Web site design for US public libraries. 13 It was brief- a few screens' worth of text - and provided a list of information content that was recommended to be included in a public library site. It also gave a few good practice guidelines on issues such as style, design, and use of graphics. The information was a useful resource in the creation of the author's Web-based guide, although it duplicated some of the information found in the Metz and Junion-Metz text.
42 3.3 Web site desig11er's survey
Out of the 29 questionnaires that were sent to UK public library Web site designers, 18 were returned, representing a response rate of 62% (see Appendix
5.1).
3.3.1 About the web site designer
The survey showed that 72% of Web site designers who responded had been educated to at least degree level (see Appendix 5.2).
The question that asked about previous experience and other qualifications obtained showed a variety of career paths. 33% of respondents specified that they had a background in information technology or computing, and 56% of respondents were library staff who had gone on to attain a professional library or information qualification, such as chartership from the Library Association. Only one web site designer had both a professional library and a computing qualification. The remainder did not respond.
The average time that respondents had spent in their current post was nine months; some having been web master for that site for two years, and some for only one month.
43 3.3.2 About the Web site
The average age ofUK public library Web sites is one year, according to the responses given, but the range of ages fell between two years, and two months.
A total of61% (see Appendix 5.3) stated that they had carried out some form of research or consultation before launching the Web site. This had been carried out in order to establish staff and users' needs, or to receive the opinion of a professional Web design company about the requirements that a site may need to meet.
Decisions about the design ofUK public library Web sites, such as the style, content, and structure that the site would have, were reached in several ways.
With regard to content, 84% of respondents replied that the decision had been an internal one; either within the library department or the local council. The remainder had consulted an outside organisation such as a university or commercial Web design firm.
The questions about the overall style of the site, and decisions about its structure, method of navigation round the site, and what links - if any - to have to third party sites attracted a different response. In this case, just over 50% of authorities had reached a decision internally, but the rest had consulted an outside organisation.
The survey asked respondents to state whether the launch and existence of the library Web site had been publicised or promoted in any way. Only 44% replied that knowledge of the site had been made available to the public. This was done in
44 a variety of ways: by adding the URL to search engines, printing the URL on letter headings and business cards, producing a leaflet and posters advertising the site, inviting the local press along for the launch, and having a city council open day.
The rest of the respondents replied either that a promotion may take place in the future, when the site has become more established, or that at present it was only a test site or learning tool and therefore not intended for public viewing.
Once the site had been launched, the maintenance and updating of information was carried out by a variety of personnel. Responses indicated that either Project
EARL, a local university, a department within the council (IT, Library, or
Information services}, a local Web design company, a librarian (principal, senior, or assistant}, the site's Web master, or a combination of a couple of these options, held the responsibility for maintenance work.
The frequency of updates was as varied as the position of the personnel who carried out the work. Some Web sites were regularly amended, on a daily, fortnightly, monthly, or every two to six months basis, whereas others replied that work was done 'constantly' (17% of cases}, or alternatively 'as necessary' (28% of cases}, or in one case, 'not often enough'.
3.3.3 About the guides used to create the Web site
The author was interested in whether Web site designers had been given any form of specific training in HTML and Web page creation. A third of respondents
45 stated that they had attended a training course in the subject, and out of those six members of staff, five had applied to go on their own initiative, and one had received the suggestion to go from their employer (see Appendix 5.4).
Respondents were asked to list the formats and titles of the guides that they had used to help them design and create the public library Web site. The majority of designers used printed guides in their task: ten relied upon books, magazines, or other publication, and there were six respondents who had used Web based guides, or who looked at other Web sites for inspiration (three designers had used a combination of both printed and Web guides). Three had their sites created by outside organisations, such as a local university, Information Systems department, or a commercial Web design company, and two had relied upon their own experience and knowledge of HTML, and therefore these respondents had not needed to use any guide at all.
Each designer that had used either a printed or Web-based guide used a different source to all the others. The only similarity was that two designers had used a text written by Laura Lemay, but the titles were not the same. Those who specified using a particular Web site for information gave the details of the URL of that site.
From the URL it was possible to determine that all the sites used were American
Web sites.
None of the resources used were aimed specifically at the needs of library and information service professionals, and the type of Web site that they would like to
46 produce. None of the designers had used any of the guides reviewed by this author, some of which were aimed at creating a public library or information service Web site (see 3.2).
In order to determine what aspects of a guide were particularly liked by Web site designers, the final part of this section on the questionnaire asked what features were helpful or useful in creating a Web site. Not all of the designers replied to this question, but of those who did, six stated that they liked a clear, basic, and practical approach, that was suitable for beginners. One Web site designer with several years oflnternet experience commented that she felt that many guides assumed a higher level of computer and HTML literacy amongst readers than was the case. Two respondents liked the CD-ROM that accompanied their chosen text, two liked the HTML tag descriptions and definitions, and one liked the advice given on good practice issues.
3. 3. 4 Further comments
At the end of the questionnaire was a request for any further comments that Web site designers wished to offer, concerning the issues discussed in the survey.
Stephen Moss, Webmaster of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, wrote to say that the Web site was funded on a 'shoestring' (see Appendix 6.2), with two members of staff responsible for the administration and authoring of both the Internet and Intranet sites. They taught themselves HTML, and are training
47 those members of staff who wish to learn how to author Web pages and who do not mind taking on the work of authoring in addition to their normal workload.
This means that few volunteers have offered to take on this responsibility.
The software package that the Bradford team used to create Web pages was AOLPRESS, a very simple WYSIWYG package as long rthe user has some word-processing experience, and- in view of the tight budget available to them-
'most importantly it is free'.
The City of Liverpool's Webmaster found that his greatest problem was that of a lack of staff support: he has experienced difficulties in 'getting staff of all levels to take ownership of, and accept responsibility for, the accuracy of their own information'.
The Senior Librarian at Information Services for Hammersmith and Fulham
Library Service, Charles Shearer, provided a detailed account of the Web site's design, construction, and maintenance: it was originally created as a testing ground, so that the library service could establish user demand. He states that
'Work on Hammersmith & Fulham libraries web site ceased on 1''April this year
(1997). We are now in the process of developing a Council intranet which will have as a spin off material that will be made available on our new web site hosted by ourselves' (Appendix 6.1 ).
The Hammersmith and Fulham library service will, according to Mr. Shearer, have
48 'a major role to play' in the development of the council's new Web site. This is not only because of the Internet experience that the Web site designers have acquired whilst creating the previous site, but also because it is the library department that 'will be responsible for the public information that will be made available.'
The Internet manager at Leeds Library and Information Services department, Peter
Kelly, returned the questionnaire and with it enclosed a copy of the 'Leeds City
Council Web site framework document'. This contained a set of guidelines about matters such as the purpose, aims, and objectives of the site, intended audience, acceptable use, and design and maintenance of the site.
The document stated that the content of the site was aimed at local, national, and international users: over 40% of visitors in the first six months were from abroad, and some information on the Leeds City Web pages has been provided in the main
European languages. The site was intended to provide a macro view of the city, and so it has published details of major local events and tourist attractions. It has also maintained 'a comprehensive list of links to all other Yorkshire based sites including commercial and business but excluding personal home pages.'
The City Council perceived the Web as an ideal medium for publishing large volumes of public services information. This was partly because it is free to deliver and does not require space to store it, but also when it is out of date it is quickly and easily replaced by the central organising body.
49 3.4 Creati11g a Web-based guide to Web publislli11g
3.4.1 Selecting the texts and tutorials
Following the review of guides to Web publishing, three texts in particular were selected to be used to create the initial Web-based guide for LIS staff. These were all in hard-copy rather than electronic format, mainly because the author felt that the costs of an individual using Internet resources from home could become quite high during the period of this research project. However, selected electronic sources were referred to later, once the basic site had been built.
The guides chosen were those by Phi! Bradley, Lilian Hobbs, and Elizabeth Castro.
They were selected because they were aimed at beginners to Web publishing, they were comprehensively and clearly illustrated, and they broke the steps of Web page creation down into small, manageable steps. None of them aimed to be a complete guide to HTML, but each gave sufficient information to get started.
The guide by Lilian Hobbs appeared to be simple and thoroughly illustrated, but omitted some of the fundamental tags ofHTML. It did not introduce the 'Body' tag until a third of the way through the book, and did not mention the 'Head' tag at all. 14 There was no mention of the 'Doctype' tag, either, which tells the browser what version ofHTML the document is written in. Without these, the document would not be successfully validated by the Kinder, Gentler, HTML Validator program, and may therefore not be recognised by certain browsers. ts The guide by Bradley and Smith also omitted to mention the 'Doctype' tag.
50 However, the guide by Hobbs did explain how to view and correct a Web page once it had been written in HTML, as did the guide by Castro, which also explained the 'Doctype' tag and its importance. 16
The author used the guide by Bradley and Smith to begin with, working through it as a tutorial, until the point was reached where a more sophisticated text was required. Then, the guides by Hobbs and by Castro were used for reference. The book by Ford and Dixon was used occasionally, but it was not as easy to find information in it as the previous three guides, and appeared to be aimed at a slightly more advanced user than the author. A certain amount of prior knowledge was assumed, which made it unsuitable for a novice Web site designer.
The two most useful guides aimed specifically at library and information service professionals were both written by American authors: Using the World Wide Web and creating home pages, 17 and Building the service-based library Web site. 18
The former text was very comprehensive and provided both a detailed but uncomplicated step-by-step guide to the planning, design, and structuring of a library Web site, and guidelines to good practice. Although it did not cover the elements ofHTML tags and Web page construction, this was not considered by the author to be a major fault, as there are already numerous texts available on this subject. However, it would have been useful to know which guides in particular the authors had used and found helpful, when creating their own Web site.
51 The chapters that were referred to most whilst creating the Web-based guide to
Web publishing were those on planning, designing, and testing the site, and also the bibliography, which contained a long list ofURLs organised by subject headings. Although the book is written for an American audience, this would be an invaluable guide for any UK library- whether public, academic, school, or special - that wished to create a professional and carefully thought out Web site.
The second guide was not as thorough and as systematic as the first, and did not discuss HTML other than to suggest using a word-processing program to convert existing leaflets and documents to HTML for instant publishing on the Web.
However, it gave useful suggestions as to Web site content and planning, and contained a short appendix entitled 'Special considerations for public libraries', as well as three 'Home page templates' that can be copied in order to provide a library-specific home page.
Finally, an article in the journal Library HiTech was extremely useful for its guidelines for accessibility. 19 Judith Dixon points out issues concerning the needs of blind and visually handicapped users, which can easily be overlooked when creating a Web site, and makes suggestions as to how these needs can easily be met. The information in this article was supplemented with that contained in the
'Cathy's News-stand' Web site, which gives both pages of practical information on the subject, and lists of links to other sites of related interest.20
52 3.4.2 Outline for the guide
Phi! Bradley's guide was the first one to be used, as it was a step-by-step tutorial
for creating a home page by using simple, raw HTML, and contained many
illustrations to demonstrate the effects of each HTML tag used. Having read this
guide- it is only 50 pages long and is designed to make the process of Web page
creation quick and painless- the outline for the author's 'Guide to Web publishing
for UK public libraries' was planned on paper, following the guidelines in Bradley's
book.
Although it is possible to buy software programs that do all the hard work, and
which create HTML documents without the author having to learn HTML tags,
this author decided that Bradley and Smith's guide made the process appear to be
quite straightforward. Therefore, it was decided that the project would be
attempted in the traditional way, using raw HTML tags input by the author.
2.4. 3 Criteria for the guide
The criteria for the guide were as follows:
• That it should be consistent - each page should have a very similar design, making
it easy for users to quickly become familiar with its layout, and the navigation
procedure of the site.
• That it should use the minimum of graphics - firstly because these can create
difficulties for blind and visually impaired people, particularly if they are used as
links, and secondly because they can greatly increase the downloading times of
53 pages, which is both time-consuming and frustrating.
• That it should aim to cover the basics ofHTML and Web site creation, navigation
and structure, and to make the process as simple as possible.
• That it should provide guidelines as to potential information content for UK public
libraries' Web sites: a subject not discussed by any UK guide.
• That it should aim to give guidelines for good practice in Web site design, so that
the site will be accessible to blind and visually impaired users, as well as users of
text-based, and graphics browsers.
3.4.4 Building the guide: planning it
The software programs that were used to build the Web site were Microsoft's
Internet Explorer, and Microsoft's Notepad, which were installed on an mM~
compatible personal computer.
Hardly any of the guides that had been reviewed specifically gave instructions as to
the physical process of how Web pages should be written, edited and viewed
(Hobbs' book was one exception).21 Through personal experience and tuition, and
using Hobbs' guide, it was decided that Microsoft's Notepad program would be
used as the text editor to create the site.
It was felt that the heading for the pages and the title of the site should be kept as
simple and as descriptive as possible. Consequently, the title of the Web site was
to be 'Guide to Web Publishing for UK Public Libraries'. The title is the part of
54 the Web document that is not shown by the browser as part of the Web page.
Instead, it appears in the title bar at the top of the screen, and this is the phrase that search engines use when they are looking for suitable matches, when a query is entered into a search engine.
The heading that was chosen to be displayed at the top of every page, like a kind of consistent and corporate logotype, was 'Web Publishing: A practical guide for
UK public libraries', followed by a simple horizontal line across the page.
Consistency is important because users of Web sites become more familiar more quickly with pages that all have a similar layout in terms of headings, footnotes, and navigation methods, and which react in the ways that they expect them to.
For example, if at the bottom of every page there is a link to the contents page and to the next or previous page, the user will soon begin to anticipate having to scroll down that page in order to reach the navigation links for the rest of the site. In addition, a clear and simple heading or logotype that appears on every page will indicate that all the pages that have that logo belong to the same site. If the user clicks on a hyperlink that takes him to another site, it should then be quite clear to them that they have moved on to another site, and left the original one, because the headings and layout will have changed. This means that users will not be confused into thinking that they are still looking at pages on the same site, or possibly be lead to believe that that site is endorsed by the original site.
The heading is intended to be concise and descriptive, and to emphasise the practical, applied nature of the guide that has been produced. The title is different
55 to the heading because a word such as 'practical' - if it were to be placed in the title section - would be superfluous, and may possibly be misleading for users of search engines.
At the bottom of every page, it was decided that there would be another horizontal rule, to separate the footnotes from the main body of information. The footnotes on every page would include both a link to the Contents Page to facilitate navigation, and also the URL of that particular page, so that it could be written down for reference if required by a user. Finally, the date upon which the Web page was last revised or modified by the author would be given, in order to indicate its currency.
An idea that had been used for Barnsley's Web site was incorporated here: a short, simple, and descriptive home page leads to a menu or contents page, so that the user is given an idea of what the site contains before entering it. This means that the user does not experience so frequently the frustration of following links through a site, only to find that it does not actually contain the information that they seek. The contents page is then the main method of navigation: all pages have a link back to this page, and a list ofhyperlinks to the main information topics included in the site is given here.
3.4.5 Building the guide: writing it in HJML
Having established the outline for the first page, the obligatory tag was
56 entered into a blank Notepad document. This tag is designed to advise browsers that the document that it is about to read is in HyperText Mark-up Language
(HTML), the language of the World Wide Web. Next, as instructed in the guide by Bradley and Smith, the
and tags were typed into Notepad, followed by the Web site title- 'Guide to Web Publishing for UK Public Libraries' </p><p>-and finally the closing tags of and . The order of the tags is important, and according to the rules ofHTML the latter of the first set of tags has to be closed first, that is to say the tag, and then the <head> tag. This is known as 'nesting' tags. The main part of the Web page then begins, preceded by a <body> tag to indicate that it is separate from the 'head' section of the document. </p><p>[Later, when validating the Web pages with the 'Kinder, Gentler HTML </p><p>Validator'/2 it was discovered that further details had to be added at the top of the </p><p>Web documents in order to make them conform to the regulations ofHTML 2.0. </p><p>These included the 'doctype' tag, which tells the <a href="/tags/Web_browser/" rel="tag">Web browser</a> which version of </p><p>HTML the page has been written in, for example version 2.0 or the latest, 3.2. </p><p>For a page written according to the code ofHTML 2.0, which is the older version ofHTML that is easily interpreted by most graphics and text browsers, the tag is as follows: </p><p><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-/IIETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN"> </p><p>An optional tag, which states the copyright ownership details of the page, follows </p><p>-if it is required- the doctype tag. For this, the owner's name and email address are included in the tag: </p><p>57 <!--Owner: Carol Barker. carol.barker3@virgin.net--> </p><p>The <HTML>, and <title> and <head> opening and closing tags come next, as described above.] </p><p>For this Web site, every page was created with the same initial heading, to ensure consistency for the user. The page began with the main title 'Web Publishing:' in the largest available font size, <HI>, and the subtitle 'A practical guide for UK public libraries' in the next size, <H2>, with a horizontal line <HR> to separate it from the body of the text. The effect was bold and clear, and it fitted neatly on the first two lines of the page. </p><p>The home page of this Web site was designed to be a brief introduction to the author and to the rest of the Web site, as recommended by several of the guides. </p><p>For a commercial or government organisation though, the introduction would be a concise explanation of its objectives, achievements, and services or products. </p><p>More detailed information will then be provided on other pages, but the initial aim is to attract the user's attention, and persuade them that the site is worth looking through. </p><p>The full content of the introduction was typed in, and a second horizontal rule was inserted using the <HR> tag (no closing tag is required), before the footnotes were written in. The first footnote was a link to the contents page: </p><p><A HREF="contents.html">Follow this link to go to the Contents Page</A> then the URL of that particular Web document: </p><p>58 URL: http://freespace.virgin.net/carol.barker3/index.html and finally the date of that page's creation, which would be revised in the event of that page being modified in any way, to reflect the date on which the changes took place: </p><p>This page was last revised on 21 July 1997 </p><p>To complete the page, the closing tags had to be included, of </body> and </p><p><IHTML>, and then the web document was completed. </p><p>At frequent stages during the Web page creation process, the document was </p><p>'saved' to the computer's hard disk, and as the number of Web pages on the site increased, they were also saved on floppy disk. The importance of saving work, both to the hard disk and to a second, back up disk, cannot be emphasised enough. </p><p>Thousands of pounds and valuable hours of effort have been lost when even professional Web site designers have neglected to take the time to save their work, and they have subsequently lost everything when the server or disk drive failed. </p><p>Web pages are easily created but the process of doing so is quite time-consuming: saving work regularly will always be a worthwhile practice. </p><p>3.4.6 Building the guide: viewing the pages </p><p>At any stage during the writing of a Web document, it can be viewed through a </p><p>Web browser, to see how the finished product will look. The text editor (in this case, Microsoft's Notepad was used) shows HTML tags and the text that has been </p><p>59 input, but it does not resemble a Web page as a user would see it. Therefore, the author of the Web page needs to save the document as 'All files' or as 'HTML', rather than as 'text'. Then, the browser must be started up, and from the menu bar </p><p>'File', and 'Open file' must be selected. The name of the Web document and its location (on the hard or floppy disk) must be typed in, for example </p><p>'C:/webpage/contents.html', and then the browser will open that file and display it as it would appear to a user. This will show any major errors that have been made in the writing ofHTML tags, such as the omission of a closing tag, for example. </p><p>Any mistakes can be easily corrected in <a href="/tags/Internet_Explorer/" rel="tag">Internet Explorer</a>: it is just a matter of selecting 'View' on the menu bar and then 'Source' from the drop-down menu. The </p><p>Web document in text format will appear, and alterations can be made and saved to disk. The revised page can be viewed by closing or minimising the text editor window, and then clicking on the 'Refresh' button on the tool bar of the Web browser. </p><p>3.4. 7 Developing the Web site </p><p>A list of topics that needed to be covered in the Web based guide was drawn up. </p><p>These included a simple, progressive tutorial for Web page creation, a guide to </p><p>Web page content for UK public libraries, a glossary of Web publishing terms, and a bibliography, for those who wanted to read on and learn more about the subject. </p><p>As the project progressed, other information was added to the site, such as details of the research project itself, and a list of all the URLs of the UK public library </p><p>60 sites that had been visited during the course of the research. Certain sites were of such a high standard that the author dedicated a page of the Web site to the </p><p>'OSCARS': an acronym for UK public library sites that were - in the author's opinion - 'Outstanding, Structured, Creative, Accurate, Resourceful Sites'. </p><p>To facilitate navigation and information retrieval, each main topic had its own menu: a list ofhyperlinks that led to pages containing information on a particular aspect of that topic. For example, the Bibliography section is divided into two categories: hard copy format, and electronic sources. This was done in order to aid those who specifically seek up to date information from the Internet and who have access to a computer with a modem, and those who prefer traditional printed texts, perhaps because they have no Internet access facilities. </p><p>Breaking information up into smaller chunks, each with its own page, means that users do not have to scroll down through long pages of text to find the details they are searching for. For this reason, where possible, the information to be included in the Web site was sorted into distinct categories such as 'graphics' or 'hyperlinks', and these then formed individual subsections of a 'chapter', entitled for example 'A step by step guide to planning and designing Web pages'. </p><p>When each page has its own, distinct and descriptive title, it is much easier for users to go straight to the appropriate page that they are looking for. Therefore, the title of each page was made as simple and unambiguous as possible, but with sufficient description to enable the user to make a decision about the suitability of </p><p>61 the information content before going to the site. </p><p>3.4.8 Launching the Web site </p><p>When the guide was complete, and all the hyperlinks between pages and to other </p><p>Web sites had been checked to ensure that they worked, the next stage was to transfer the documents from the hard disk of the author's personal computer to the server of the Internet Service Provider (ISP). The author's ISP- Virgin Net offers each of its subscribers I OMb of free Web space, which would be more than enough for the guide, in view of the fact that it contained no graphics, only text. </p><p>The absence of icons and images meant that the file size of each document was very small (the largest was approximately 9Kb ), and consequently the pages would be quickly downloaded by even fairly slow modems. The issue of fast downloading times can be an important factor if the user has Internet access from home, in which case every second of online time is charged to the user by the telephone company, and these fees are added to the user's telephone bills. In an academic institution, however, students and staff tend to have unlimited access to </p><p>Internet facilities and are not charged for the service at all, in which case the length of time spent connected to the Internet is less of a concern for the individual. </p><p>Virgin Net has a very simple system of file transfer protocol (FTP) for uploading files from a user's personal computer to the Virgin Net server. Virgin Net uses </p><p>Netscape Navigator for this purpose, and it is a matter of going to 'File' on the </p><p>62 menu bar, selecting 'Open location' from the drop-down menu, and then typing in the file transfer protocol (FTP) address and password provided by the ISP. The files can then be uploaded by going to 'File' again, selecting 'Upload files', and then selecting the particular file that you wish to transfer to the server, for example </p><p>'index.html'. A copy of the file is transferred, leaving the user with the original file still on the hard disk of their personal computer. </p><p>This process was repeated for all 31 files that make up the 'Guide to Web publishing for UK public libraries'. The final Web site was located at the following </p><p>URL: http://freespace.virgin.net/carol.barker3/ </p><p>3.4.9 Validating the Web-based guide </p><p>Once the pages have been loaded onto the server, they can then be validated. This means that the HTML tags in a Web document are checked by a software program to ensure that they conform to a certain standard of HTML, and will therefore be able to be interpreted by browser programs. The older version, HTML 2.0, can be read by almost any browser, either text or graphics based, and most users throughout the world can access pages that are written to this standard. The latest version, however, known as HTML 3 .2, is more sophisticated and can only be read by the most recently developed or upgraded Web browsers: text-only browsers and older versions of graphics browsers will not understand the language ofHTML3.2. </p><p>63 The Kinder, Gentler HTML Validator23 was a useful aid in learning HTML construction. It can check all versions ofHTML, points out any errors, and often gives the user a link to a page that explains the reason why the code was faulty. </p><p>The 'Guide to Web publishing for UK public libraries' was written to conform to version 2.0 in order to make it available to the widest possible audience. </p><p>To use the HTML validator, it is simply a case of typing in the URL of the individual Web page to be verified, and the program will inform the author whether the document conforms to the standard, and if not, what changes need to be made. </p><p>Correcting the pages was a lengthy and frustrating process, and sometimes by putting one error right, another error was created. The length of time taken to alter Web documents was increased because each corrected page had to be transferred to the Web server before it could be re-validated. In addition, the </p><p>Validator usually looked at the old version of the page when the author attempted to re-check it (possibly because it was stored in the Validator's server's memory), so it was necessary to wait for a while, until the altered version was sought by the </p><p>Validator program. </p><p>Overall, creating HTML was an enjoyable process, and it was highly satisfYing to enter the URL of a Web document from the guide into the Validator, and read the </p><p>'Congratulations! This document conforms to HTML 2.0' message. When this was achieved, the 'HTML checked' icon could be copied from the Validator site </p><p>64 and placed on the Web document, to indicate to users that it conformed to the standards ofHTML 2.0. The author validated every page until each had its validation icon. </p><p>3.4.10 Announcing the guide </p><p>The final stage in the Web guide creation process was to announce the site so that search engines would know of its existence. </p><p>Most search engines have a link to an 'Add URL' page, where Web page authors can type in the URLs of their Web sites, and possibly also a couple oflines of text that briefly describe the site's aims and contents, and a contact email address. This information is then added to the search engine's database, for access by future users. The URL of the 'Guide to Web publishing for UK public libraries' was added to Alta Vista in this way. </p><p>3.4.11 Evaluating the Web-based guide: contacting Web site designers </p><p>On the questionnaire that had been sent out to Web site designers ofUK public library Web sites, there was a check box that was to be ticked by those people who were willing to participate in the evaluation of the completed Web based guide. </p><p>When the guide was completed, the 9 Webmasters who had indicated their interest in the possibility of being involved further in this research project were contacted </p><p>65 by email. The URL of the Web site was given, and responses to the site were invited from the participants. </p><p>The only response came from Stephen Moss of the City of Bradford Metropolitan </p><p>Council, who described the author's Web-based guide as 'a first class document'. </p><p>His sole suggestion was an amendment to the 'Graphics' page of the site, where </p><p>GIF format is recommended to be used because of its small file size. Stephen </p><p>Moss points out that although the file size is preferable, it does restrict the image to a maximum of256 colours, which means that it is not as high a quality as a </p><p>JPEG image. This format offers a range of 16 million colours but has the disadvantage of an increased file size, which means slower downloading times, particularly for older computers and modems, and some versions of browsers will be unable to display the images at all. </p><p>3. 4.12 Responses from olher sources </p><p>As a result of a paper given by Project EARL at the Library Association's annual conference - UmbrelLA 4 at the University of Manchester: Institute of Science and </p><p>Technology (UMIST)- the author contacted two of EARL's consultants, Robert </p><p>Harden, and Peter Stone, by email. They were asked if they would look at the author's Web site, and possibly provide some feedback with regard to the guide's style, content, and navigation and structure. The response from Project EARL was considered by the author to be potentially important and useful feedback, because one of its major projects is to encourage UK public libraries to create their </p><p>66 own Web sites, and this guide was intended to enable staff in such libraries to do just that. </p><p>Robert Harden replied with an email that was extremely complimentary, and which contained suggestions as to how he thought the Web site could be improved </p><p>(Appendix 8.1): </p><p>Congratulations on an excellent piece of work. Every library web weaver should read </p><p> it. Nobody has produced anything as useful for UK public librarians just beginning to </p><p> get to grips with creating web pages. We've been trying to convince our public library </p><p> colleagues for years that HTML isn't rocket science and that, if they follow some </p><p> simple principles, they will get good results. Now you've spelt it out for them in a very </p><p> helpful way. </p><p>He suggested a few minor stylistic improvements, such as creating more white space on the page by using a borderless centred table of 80% width, using font colour to add visual interest to pages, and specifYing a background colour - preferably white - rather than leaving it to the browser to choose the default colour </p><p>(usually white or grey). </p><p>Robert Harden's colleague at Project EARL, Peter Stone, also sent an email message (Appendix 8.2). This stated that he found the guide to be 'an impressive piece of work, interesting and clear', and he forwarded several URLs that may be useful for future reference. He enjoyed the 'OSCARS' (an acronym made up by the author to stand for 'Outstanding, structured, creative, accurate, resourceful </p><p>67 sites'), and would have liked more information on the subject of graphics, mainly because it is an area where faults most often occur, due to excessively large file sizes. </p><p>He suggested that he would have liked to be able to see a list of all the pages on the site, so that he could see which ones he had visited, and a plan of the hierarchy of the site's structure. This would help with navigation, and interested users could ensure that they had visited all relevant pages. He also pointed out that many users would want the option to be able to print out the whole guide in one step, rather than going through each page individually and printing it off separately. </p><p>His final comment was that more treatment to the subject of GIFs would have been appreciated in view of the fact that the commonest fault of Web site graphics is 'bad GIFs and bloated JPEGs' with file sizes in excess of 20Kb. </p><p>References </p><p>1 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey. Library and Information Commission public library Internet survey. Bath: UK Office for Library and Information </p><p>Networking (UKOLN), 1995, p.10. </p><p>2Ibid. </p><p>3 Kendall, Margaret. 'Web for the community' The Library Association Record, </p><p>99 (4) April1997, 212. </p><p>68 4 Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997, p. 44. s Robert and Sheila Harden's Web site. </p><p>URL: http://dspace.dial. pipex.cornltown/square/ac940/ukpublib. html, 14 August </p><p>1997. </p><p>6 Ford, Andrew and Tim Dixon. Spinning the Web. London: International </p><p>Thomson Computer Press, 1996. </p><p>7 Metz, Ray E. and Gail Junion-Metz. Using the World Wide Web and creating home pages: a how-to-do-it manual for librarians (number 67). New York: </p><p>Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1996. </p><p>8 Garlock, Kristen L. and Sherry Piontek. Building the service-based library </p><p>Web site. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996. </p><p>9 Biddiscombe, Richard and Ian Upton. Getting started: an information professional's guide to the Internet. Halifax, England: Association of Assistant </p><p>Librarians, 1996. </p><p>10 Bradley, Phi! and Ann a Smith. World Wide Web: how to design and constntct home pages. London: Association for Information Management (Aslib ), </p><p>1995. l! Barta, J. Professional Web Design. URL: http://junior/apk/net./-jbarta/ </p><p>12 Isaacs, Margaret. SIMA guide to good practice for Web authors. URL: http://info.mcc.ac.uk/CGU/SIMA/Isaacs/toc.html, 16 August 1997. </p><p>13 Web site design for US public libraries. URL: http://www. tiac.net/users/mpl/guidelines.html, 16 August 1997. </p><p>69 14 Hobbs, Lilian. Designing Internet home pages made simple. Oxford: </p><p>Butterworth-Heinemann, I996, p.44. </p><p>15 The Kinder, Gentler, HTML Validator. URL: http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/-gerald/validate/, I4 August I997. </p><p>16 Castro, Elizabeth. HlMLfor the World Wide Web. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit </p><p>Press, I997, p.220, p.24. </p><p>17 Metz, Ray E. and Gail Junion-Metz. Using the World Wide Web and creating home pages a haw-to-do-it manual for librarians (number 67). New </p><p>York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, I996. </p><p>18 Garlock, Kristen L. and Sherry Piontek. Building the service-based library </p><p>Web site. Chicago: American Library Association, I996. </p><p>19 Dixon, Judith M. Levelling the road ahead: guidelines for the creation of </p><p>WWW pages accessible to blind and visually handicapped users. Library HiTech, </p><p>I996, 53(I4) I 65-68. </p><p>2°Cathy's News-stand. URL: http://www2.cdepot.net/-mist/access.htm, I4 </p><p>August I997. </p><p>21 Hobbs, Lilian. Designing llllernet home pages made simple. Oxford: </p><p>Butterworth-Heinemann, I996, p.I8-23. </p><p>22 The Kinder, Gentler H7ML Validator. </p><p>URL: http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/-gerald/validate/, I 0 July 1997. </p><p>23 !bid </p><p>70 4. Analysis and discussion </p><p>The topic of this project was chosen because the author's literature review showed that very little research had been carried out on the achievements of public libraries as information providers on the Internet. There was no data on the extent of Web publishing by UK public libraries, or on the quality and quantity of information provided by those libraries' sites, or on the members of staff wlio had designed and created them. </p><p>4.1 Results of the research </p><p>4.1.1 The survey ofUKpublic library Web sites </p><p>The survey revealed that a large number of UK public libraries (at least 40%, but the exact number was not established, because that was not the focus of the research) have a Web site. This is irrelevant of the size of the local authority: towns such as Gateshead, cities such as Birmingham, and entire counties such as </p><p>Berkshire have a place on the Internet. </p><p>The quality and quantity of information provided by each site varied considerably, indicating that local authorities have different priorities in terrns of their activities, budgets, the allocation of staff time, and resources. Two counties, namely </p><p>Cornwall and Lincolnshire, were found to have no library Web.site at all, which suggests that either the local council or the library service do not consider this to be a priority. </p><p>71 The variety of style and design found on the Web sites also demonstrates that there are several options now available to potential and existing Web publishers. In addition to the traditional HTML tags and text editors that can be used, there is a growing selection of ~oftware programs on the market that make the creation of </p><p>Web documents as easy as word-processing. Also, it was discovered that a number of Web sites have been created by independent, professional Web design consultants. </p><p>4.1.2 Guides to Web publishing </p><p>Some of the general guides to Web authoring and HTML that were examined made the process of Web site design and construction seem unnecessarily complicated, and many assumed some prior knowledge of the subject. These problems were made worse by the fact that public library staff do not always have </p><p>IT skills, confidence in their abilities, or the time to wade through daunting computer manuals. </p><p>The UK guides to the Internet for LIS staff that were found did not provide a comprehensive approach to the subject of information creation and provision on the Web. Instead, they tended to address contemporary Internet and library issues, such as Internet access for the public, and resources that could be found on the </p><p>Internet that may be of use to LIS professionals in their work. </p><p>The research showed that the majority of guides that have been published with LIS </p><p>72 professionals in mind were aimed at an American audience. There were no guides to Web publishing that were aimed specifically at the needs of public library staff in the UK, and nor were there any guidelines or resources available to them, with the exception of any policy documents that may have been produced by their local council. The findings support the author's hypothesis that 'no practical guides have been produced specifically to help LIS staff who may wish to create ... [UK public library] Web sites' (see page 6). </p><p>The guide to Web publishing by Piontek was written for library staff but did not discuss Web authoring and HTML other than to suggest using a word-processing program to convert existing leaflets and documents to HTML for instant publishing on the Web. In theory, this may seem a sensible suggestion, but the conversion may not give the result that is wanted, and this is where Web site designers can benefit from taking the trouble to learn how to write and structure basic HTML tags. With this method, the designer can have more control over the style and appearance of the site. It may also mean that the main purpose of the </p><p>Web site - to convey information to users in an easily accessible form - is not overlooked, in the desire to include as much graphic decoration as a word processing program or Web page creation software can provide. To a certain extent pictures do provide interest but this has to be a secondary function of a site where users are seeking information rather than entertainment. </p><p>The American guides addressed issues of library Web site content, though, which </p><p>British guides did not. Other issues such as library Web page design and </p><p>73 authoring, the selection and structuring of information for inclusion on a public library Web site, and setting up a server that is secure from hackers, were not so thoroughly documented. The guides that were looked at each contained references to some ofthese topics, but there was no guide that covered them all, and not all the guides were aimed at the needs of UK public library staff and users. </p><p>4.1.3 The sun,ey of UK public library Web site designers </p><p>The responses from Web site designers show that UK public libraries are still relative newcomers to Web publishing: the average age of a site is twelve months but some are only two months old. This supports the findings of the literature review, which state that involvement in Internet activity in the UK by public libraries has been slow to gain momentum, due to a lack of funding, confidence in new technology, and government support. </p><p>The survey cannot provide support for the author's hypothesis that 'UK public libraries' Web sites are not created and maintained by ordinary library staff (see page 6). Out of the 18 respondents, ten stated that they were qualified librarians. </p><p>This suggests that library staff are involved in the maintenance and creation of their library's Web site. </p><p>There is no support either for the author's hypothesis that 'these Web sites are created without the consultation oflibrary staff or users, which would establish their needs and requirements' (see page 6). It was revealed that 62% of library </p><p>74 Web sites were designed and created after some form of research or reference to people other than those on the design team. </p><p>In addition, decisions about library Web site content were reached within the department in the majority of cases, although decisions about technical aspects of </p><p>Web site construction were usually made in consultation with an outside organisation. This suggests that library staff feel confident that they know what they and the library users want and expect from a Web site, but that they are unsure about the practical side of information provision on the Internet. </p><p>Only 7 of the eighteen respondents stated that the existence of the Web site had been made public; some of the remainder replied that they had not publicised the presence of the library Web site because it was still being tested or under trial. </p><p>With regard to the rest, the reason for the 'secrecy' could be that public libraries did not have the confidence to officially launch their service, or that they did not have the resources of staff and finance to do so. A third alternative could be that they did not anticipate a great deal of demand for the service, but without extensive publicity, it would be unlikely that the site would attract significant attention. </p><p>The question regarding the maintenance of the Web site produced a variety of responses. Some replied that the site was updated on a daily or 'constant' basis, others said that it was done fortnightly or monthly, but a number stated that the documents were not updated for periods of up to six months at a time. Whilst it is </p><p>75 recognised that maintaining a Web site takes time, even a moderately sized site of </p><p>30-50 pages should not consume a great deal of time if the site has been well designed and structured. If documents are kept small (perhaps two to three screens in size) and are given meaningful file names, the page that needs amending can be quickly located, and the information on it can soon be found, without scrolling through reams of text. </p><p>The problem with not regularly changing information on a Web site is that users may not return to it, if they know that the content is always the same. The Web is an excellent medium for publishing 'static' library information such as opening times and addresses, which hardly ever change, and which are frequently needed by users. However, it is also an inexpensive, quick and effective way of publicising all kinds of current and changing library events, from the refurbishment of a building to the announcement of guest lectures and exhibitions, or even 'what's new on the shelves this week'. The survey ofUK public library Web sites revealed that few libraries were using this facility to advertise their activities and therefore were missing out on this opportunity for 'free' promotion. </p><p>4.1. 4 Creating a Web-based guide to Web publishing </p><p>The aim of this research was not to provide a prescriptive and definitive model of </p><p>Web publishing for all libraries to follow. Instead, it was hoped that it would provide a series of guidelines to good practice, information content, structure, and the practical aspects ofWeb publishing, that would address the needs of public </p><p>76 library users, staff, and Web site designers. The intention was that each category of visitor would then gain the maximum benefit from the site that was created, and that local authorities would feel confident enough to produce their own independent and professional information resource. </p><p>The Web site designers' survey revealed that every Webmaster had used a different guide of tutorial to create their site. The fact that they had chosen such a variety of guides supported the findings of the author, in the review of guides to Web publishing. These findings showed that no one guide on its own was sufficiently comprehensive to cover the issues of planning, creating and publishing a library </p><p>Web site. In addition, guides specifically for libraries were so few and far between </p><p>(and usually American) that rather than seek out a specialist publication (possibly believing that none existed) they resorted to using standard guides to HTML that did not address the issues of content and structure for library Web sites. </p><p>Despite these factors, the quality of many UK public library sites is of a very high standard - but there is no way of knowing how much better they could have been, if only they had used library-oriented guides to Web publishing in conjunction with the guides to HTML. </p><p>The author found that the best guides were those that were simple, and those that were written by LIS professionals (either English or American): the guides by </p><p>Metz and Junion-Metz, and Bradley and Smith, were the most useful and are therefore highly recommended to any future library Web site designer. The best </p><p>77 HTML guide was that of Castro, which was clear, basic, and well illustrated: the features of a guide that - according to the swvey - designers found most helpful, when creating their Web sites. </p><p>4.2 Methodology </p><p>4. 2. I The survey of UK public library Web sites </p><p>The sample size gave a good representation ofUK public library sites as a whole: it showed a selection of the good and not so good, large and small, colourful and plain, and was a very useful starting point for the rest of the research. </p><p>However, the author felt in retrospect that record-keeping methods for the survey could have been improved. Firstly, a larger check-sheet with more room for writing in the URL of the site, general notes, and email contact details would have made reference much easier at the later stages of the project. Instead, the Web sites had to be revisited several times in order to gather information that could have been noted on the first visit. This problem also reoccurred as the survey went on, because features were found on sites visited later, that had not been looked for and commented on with the earlier sites. This meant that earlier sites had to be revisited, to see if these features could be found there. </p><p>4.2.2 Review ofguides and tutorials to Web publishing </p><p>Although a range of guides - both printed and electronic - were reviewed, the </p><p>78 author was not entirely satisfied that the searches for these sources were as successful as they could have been. The search on the British National </p><p>Bibliography CD-ROM did not reveal the guide by Bradley and Smith: it is not listed at all, despite the fact that other Aslib guides in the same series have been included. This suggests that bibliographies may not always be complete, and so searches for guides may be unsuccessful when in fact a text exists. </p><p>In addition, the author was not aware of and therefore did not use all relevant keywords in the initial searches: a retrospective search using, for example, the word 'design' combined with 'Web' produced a number of useful sources that were not discovered first time round. </p><p>To conclude, it was felt that the most useful sources of guide titles came from articles and their bibliographies, personal recommendations, and pure serendipity, rather than systematic searching. </p><p>Searches on the Web were similarly disappointing, and this suggests that the vastness of the Web and its information sources has meant that many useful sites go unseen and unpublicised. The best sources of Web guides were again found through reviews, articles, other Web sites, and by pure chance. </p><p>4.2.3 Sun>ey of UK public library Web site designers </p><p>On reflection, this may have elicited a better response if it had been conducted by </p><p>79 email (this suggestion was made to the author by Charles Shearer of Hammersmith and Fulham libraries). By sending a survey electronically, it would have saved on postage costs, and possibly, respondents may have found it easier to complete an electronic form than a printed one. Conversely, with an emailed questionnaire respondents could erase the message without reading it at all, whereas a paper document is at least opened and glanced at, before it is destroyed. </p><p>The questionnaire itself could have been more useful if it had asked about matters such as what software program was used to create the Web site, and whose server was used to store the information on (library's, council's, or an ISP/JAP). This would have revealed whether designers had used raw HTML tags or an authoring program to create the site, and would therefore have helped to explain why more respondents did not use guides. The choice of server was also important because, </p><p>Charles Shearer wrote, a library or council server gives the developer of the site more freedom and flexibility by using, for example, Common Gateway Interface </p><p>(CGI) and server side scripts, than if an outside organisation's server is used. </p><p>4.2.4 Creating a Web-based guide to Web publishing </p><p>By learning the basics ofHTML tags and document structuring, the author found that articles and tutorials on the subject ofHTML became easier to understand. If a software program had been used from the beginning, it would have considerably reduced the depth and amount oflearning acquired, and would not have revealed the ease with which a Web site can be created, without the need for expensive </p><p>80 authoring tools. The author felt more in control of the whole process, simply by knowing the underlying logic of HTML, and by using original ideas rather than those of the software company. </p><p>With regard to the completed Web-based guide, the author would have liked to have given more time and space to the subjects of graphics. In particular, to have included some small graphics and coloured fonts in the guide to make it more distinctive and interesting, and possibly to have investigated the use of patterned backgrounds: a 'watermark' effect rather than anything too bright or bold, which can make the text too difficult to read. It was also felt that the issue of servers should have been researched and discussed, because this is a part of the final process ofWeb publishing: launching and providing access to the site, so that it can be used. However, it was assumed that most county and city councils would already have their own internal computer network, requiring a server of some kind, and that this would be the method used by most local authorities to host the library's Web site. For libraries that do not have a network, or that for some reason wish to act independently of the council, though, an exploration of the elements of establishing and running a server may have been appreciated. </p><p>4.3 Recommendations </p><p>UK public libraries should be actively encouraged to begin working more closely with the LA and Project EARL, with the aim of improving standards of Web </p><p>81 publishing on library sites. Issues that need to be addressed include: greater accuracy, more frequent updates, the circulation of current information, and an increase in the amount of quality information and Web-based services made available. </p><p>There also needs to be more attention paid to the needs of both able users and those who are blind or visually handicapped, so that public information Web sites are accessible to all. The information content and presentation of a Web site, which covers matters such as the use oftables, icons, graphics and alternative text, can considerably affect users of speech synthesisers, refreshable Braille displays, and older versions of browsers and modems. A set of good practice guidelines needs to be agreed upon and distributed to UK public library Web site designers and maintenance staff, to ensure that no one is precluded from the information published by them on the Internet. </p><p>A final suggestion would be the establishment of aUK public library Web site designers' discussion list. This would mean that experienced staff could share their knowledge with newcomers to the field, provide information about their site, announce useful resources that they have found, and exchange ideas. </p><p>82 5. Summary and conclusions </p><p>This research project has looked at UK public library publishing on the World </p><p>Wide Web, and how these sites were created. It has also evaluated the resources available to staff who wish to create such a site, and then used some of these sources to create a Web-based guide to Web publishing for UK public libraries. </p><p>The author found that the quality and quantity of information that is provided on </p><p>UK public library Web sites varies greatly due to the priority- and consequently the resources - allocated to the project by the local authority or library service. </p><p>The inclusion of graphics on these sites can enhance the appearance of the pages, but can detract from the fact that the site is there to provide information rather than entertainment, and they also slow downloading times considerably. </p><p>Creating Web sites for public libraries is still a relatively new activity, going back no more than two years (according to respondents in survey), and there is a considerable amount of involvement from outside organisations and consultants in the whole process, from planning to production and day to day maintenance. </p><p>There are guides that have been designed to help LIS staff to create a Web site for their library, but are targeted at the needs of an American audience, whose presence on the Internet is far in advance of their British colleagues. There is an absence of basic, practical guides aimed at those UK public library staff who are newcomers to the subject. </p><p>83 To create a Web site using no more than a text editor and a Web browser is not a </p><p> difficult process, although it can be time consuming until the language has become </p><p> familiar to the user. The greatest problem is finding practical guides and tutorials </p><p> that are suitable for beginners, to help them to plan, design and create their first </p><p> professional, library-oriented Web site. </p><p>84 Bibliography </p><p>All in one Web surfing and publishing kit: guide to getting started. Scottsdale, AZ: Coriolis Group Books, 1996. </p><p>Austin, Marcus. Add graphics to your Web page. What Personal Computer, 1997, (93), 63-65. </p><p>Austin, Marcus. HTML analysers. Internet Magazine, 1997, (29), 70-76. </p><p>Batt, C. The libraries of the future: public libraries and the Internet. IFLA Journal, 1996, 22(1), 27-30. </p><p>Batt, C. 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New York: Sams Publishing, 1996. </p><p>Library Association. Information Superhighways: library and information services and the Internet- a statement by the Library Association. ITs News, 1996, (32), 10-14. </p><p>Library Association. Policy forum on the Information Superhighway. ITs News, 1996, (32), 15-17. </p><p>McClure, Charles R., John Carlo Bertot, and Douglas L. Zweizig. Public libraries and the Internet: study results, policy issues, and recommendations. Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), June 1994. </p><p>87 McClure, Charles R., John Carlo Bertot, and Douglas L. Zweizig. The 1996 national survey of public libraries and the Internet: progress and issues. Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), July 1996. </p><p>McKee, Bob and Clare Nankivell. IT Point. Public Library Journal, 1997, 12(2), 33-36. </p><p>Metz, Ray E. and Gail Junion-Metz. Using the World Wide Web and creating home pages. London: Neai-Schumann Publishing, 1996. </p><p>Murray, I. R. and G. I. Sargent. Marketing leisure services over the Web in a county council. Electronic Library, 1997, 15(2), 99-107. </p><p>Oppenheim, Charles. An agenda for action to achieve the information society in the UK. Journal ofInformation Science, 1996, 22(6), 407-421. </p><p>Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey. Library and Information Commission public library Internet survey. Bath, England: UK Office for Library and Information Networking (UKOLN), 1995. </p><p>Ormes, Sarah and Lorcan Dempsey, eds. The Internet, networking and the public library. London: Library Association Publishing, 1997. </p><p>Parker, Sandra. The need to spread the word. Library Association Record, 1996, 98(12), 632-634. Pilkington Library OPAC. URL: http://www.Iboro.ac.ukllibrary/opac.html, 14 August 1997. </p><p>Pitchford, David. How to get images onto your Web site. Internet Magazine, 1997, (29), 122-127. </p><p>Pope, I van. Internet UK. Hemel Hempstead, England: Prentice Hall, 1995. </p><p>Project EARL. Home page. URL: http://www.earl.org.uk/, 14 August 1997. </p><p>Raggett, Dave, Jenny Lam and Ian Alexander. HTML 3: electronic publishing on the World Wide Web. Essex, England: Addison Wesley Longman, 1996. </p><p>Smith, Graham J, H. Building the lawyer-proof Web site. Aslib Proceedings, 48(6), 161-168. </p><p>Smith, Neil, ed. Libraries, networking and Europe. London: .British Library Board, 1994. </p><p>88 Tseng, Gwyneth, Alan Poulter, and De bra Hiom. The library and infonnation professional's guide to the Internet. London: Library Association Publishing, 1996. </p><p>Valauskas, Edward J. and Nancy R. John. The Internet initiative. Chicago: American Library Association, 1995. </p><p>Watson, Don. More than just a literary site. The Library Association Record, 99(3), 133. </p><p>Watson, Mark. Why should you be on the Net? Library Association Record, 1996, 98(11), 578-581. </p><p>Weibel, S. L. The World Wide Web and emerging Internet resource discovery standards for scholarly literature. Library Trends, 43, 627-644. </p><p>Winship, Ian and Alison McNab. The student's guide to the Internet. London: Library Association Publishing, 1996. </p><p>89 A glossary ofWeb publishing and Internet terms </p><p>American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII): this is the name given to straightforward text and numbers. </p><p>Body: the main content or text part of a HyperText Mark-up Language document. </p><p>Browser: a particular piece of software, specifically designed to enable you to connect to the Internet and look at Web pages. Also known as a Web Client Program. </p><p>CD-ROM: 'Compact Disk: Read-Only Memory'. Unlike an ordinary computer disk, when information has been stored on a CD-ROM, the data cannot be altered or written over. CD-ROMs can be used to store large amounts of text, sound, and image data. </p><p>Client: See Web Client Program </p><p>Domain Name: the unique name that identifies one computer that is connected to the Internet. A domain name is always made up of two or more parts, and each part is separated by a full stop (known as 'dots'). An example of this would be: 'library.gov.uk'. In this example, the first part refers to the organisation, the second part refers to the type of organisation (e.g. if it was 'ac.' instead of 'gov.', it would mean 'academic institution' instead of 'governmental department/institution'), and the third part denotes the country of that institution (e.g. uk for United Kingdom). </p><p>Download: the process of a Web page or file being requested by your Browser, and it then being sent by the Server program back to your computer for you to see. Large images tend to make the download time very slow (and make the telephone bill very high), whereas small pages of text-only documents will usually download very quickly. The best advice would be to make sure that the images and logos on the library Web pages that you create are quite small (less than 20Kb ), in fairness to your users. </p><p>E-mail: See Electronic Mail </p><p>90 Electronic Mail: also known as 'e-mail'. This is a message that is sent to a person (or can even be sent to a group of persons, simultaneously) using a computer system. </p><p>Element: usually has a start Tag, some text content, and a matching end tag. Some elements do not require text and therefore do not require an end tag either. </p><p>FAQ: See Frequently Asked Question </p><p>File Transfer Protocol (FTP): this is a method of transferring computer files. They can be uploaded to or downloaded from a remote server, via a network link. </p><p>Firewall: a form of security for computer networks. A separate 'firewall' computer is set up between private (e.g. internal library or organisational networks) and public networks (i.e. the Internet). The role of this computer is to check the authority of an attempt to enter the private network by a member of the public. If access is unauthorised, the private network will be rendered inaccessible to that user. </p><p>Frequently Asked Question (FAQ): a document published on the Internet that provides a list of answers to questions that are often asked by newcomers, about certain subjects such as the Web, or HTML. </p><p>FTP: See File Transfer Protocol </p><p>GIF: See Graphic Interchange Format </p><p>Graphic Interchange Format (GIF): a format designed especially for graphics files Gust as !PEG is for photographic files, and HTML is for text files). </p><p>Head: this information is placed at the top of an HTML document. This is the information that identifies your document, and that a robot (Search Engine) looks through for keywords, when it is carrying out a search. </p><p>Host: a computer connected to the Internet. </p><p>HTML: See HyperText Mark-up Language </p><p>91 HTTP: See HyperText Transfer Protocol </p><p>HyperText: can be either a single word, or a whole sentence, in a document. The Web page author designates it as HyperText whilst writing the document, and when a user clicks a mouse on the HyperText word or phrase, it acts as a link to another document. </p><p>HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML): a mark-up language used for Web documents. </p><p>HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP): the Internet's standardised method of describing a message. It enables Web Client Programs to retrieve information from Web Servers. </p><p>Internet: a worldwide network of computer networks that can communicate with each other. </p><p>Internet Access Provider (lAP): a commercial organisation that provides you with access to the Internet, for a subscription fee. </p><p>Internet Service Provider (ISP): similar to an Internet Access Provider. You are provided with access to the Internet, as well as additional services which are exclusive to that ISP's subscribers. </p><p>JANET: See Joint Academic Network. </p><p>Joint Academic Network: the high-speed network that links all universities in the UK. </p><p>Joint Photographic Experts Group: commonly abbreviated to 'JPEG'. This is also the name for the graphics file format that the Group developed. Not all Browsers will display JPEG images, so if you only wish to display line drawings, and not photographs, on your Web pages, it is better to use Graphic Interchange Format, which will be displayed by all browsers. </p><p>]PEG: See Joint Photographic Experts Group </p><p>Link: also known as a 'Hyperlink', it uses HyperText to 'jump' from the document containing the link to the document that it is linked to. This second, linked document does not have to be on the same Web site. You can make links from your site to any other one in the world. </p><p>92 Log on/off: the act of entering or leaving a large computer network, like the Internet. This makes it possible to restrict the number of users, and the type of use/task carried out, on that network. </p><p>M eta Information: information about information. </p><p>Search Engine: a utility which is found on the Internet that allows you to search for information across all Web sites </p><p>Server: a program that provides a service (data) to its clients, when it is requested to do so. A Web Server uses HyperText Transfer Protocol to provide documents to Web users, via a Web Client Program. </p><p>Tag: the structure in HyperText Mark-up Language that starts or ends an HTML Element. An instruction that is written in HTML is contained within two <a href="/tags/Brackets_(text_editor)/" rel="tag">brackets</a>. It begins with a 'less than' (<) bracket and ends with a 'greater than' (>) bracket, e.g. <HTML>. </p><p>Uniform Resource Locator (URL): this is a form of name used to identify Servers and resources in a unique way. </p><p>URL: See Uniform Resource Locator </p><p>Web: See World Wide Web </p><p>Web authoring: writing HyperText Mark-up Language to create Web pages. </p><p>Web Client Program: a program that requests information on behalf of the user, from a Server Program. On the Web, you need a Client Program (browser) in order to look at Web pages and their graphics (which are stored on Servers). </p><p>Web page: the name given to a HyperText Mark-up Language document that is available on the Web. It may be longer or shorter than the equivalent of a printed page. </p><p>Web site: a page (or more often, a collection of pages/documents) that belongs to an individual or an organisation, and which gives them a 'presence' on the Web. </p><p>93 World Wide Web: Frequently abbreviated to WWW, W3, or Web. This is the name given to the universe of hypertext servers that allow text, graphics, and sound files to be mixed together, and allow the user to browse and move easily between these servers. </p><p>WWW or W3: See World Wide Web. </p><p>WYSIWYG: an abbreviation for 'What You See Is What You Get'. This usually applies to graphics or word-processing software, and means that the image or text that you see displayed on the screen is exactly the same as it will appear when printed out on paper. </p><p>A list ofAbbreviations and Acronyms can be found on page vii. </p><p>94 Appendix 1: URLs ofUK Public Library Web sites </p><p>Aberdeen City http://146.176.15.249:80/ISC7!2.HTM </p><p>Argyll and Bute http://www.cqm.co.uk/ab_leisure/lib.html </p><p>Barn et http://lim. viscount.org. uk/earl/members/bamet </p><p>Barnsley http://www.shef.ac.uk/-is/bamsley/edu/edu.html </p><p>Bedfordshire http://www.demon.eo.uk/bcclgis </p><p>Berkshire http://dspace.dial.pipex.coru!town/square/ad206 </p><p>Birmingham http:l/birmingham.gov.uk/councilllibrary!index.html </p><p>Bradford http://www.bradford.gov.uk/council!Iibs/index.htm </p><p>Brent http:!/www .brent.gov. uk/ services/lib/indxlibs.htm </p><p>Bristol http://www.bristol.digitalcity.org/org/council!bcc/leisure/leisure-libraries.html </p><p>Bromley http://www.earl.org.uk/earl/members/bromley </p><p>95 Buckinghamshire http://www .earl.org. uk!earl/memberslbuckinghamshire/ </p><p>Cambridgeshire http://www.camcnty.gov.uk!library!librarie.htm </p><p>Camden http://www.camden.gov .uk!depts/depts.htm </p><p>Cheshire http://www.u-net.com/cheshire!library/home.htm </p><p>Corporation of London http://www .earl.org.uk!earl/members/corp_of_london </p><p>Coventry http://www.coventry.gov.uklleisure!library.htm </p><p>Croydon http://www.croydon.gov.uk!index-library.htm </p><p>Devon http://www.devon-cc.gov.uk!dcc/services!library!libs.html </p><p>Dorset http://www .dorset-cc .gov. ukllibrary .htm </p><p>Dudley http://www.dudley.gov.uk!council!library/frame.htm </p><p>Dumfries and Galloway http://www .galloway .eo. uk!dg/dumgal/library .html </p><p>Durham http://www.ris.niaa.org.uk!heritage-north/dcc/ </p><p>96 East Sussex http://www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk/council/services/lib/main.htm </p><p>Edinburgh http://www.efr.hw.ac.uk/EDC/Caplnfo/library.htm </p><p>Enfield http://www.enfield.gov.uk/libs.htm </p><p>Essex http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/infoserv/ecc_Iib/fsinfo_I.htm </p><p>Gateshead http://wamses.unn.ac. ukllib l.htm </p><p>Gloucestershire http://www.gloscc.gov.uk/clams/index.htm </p><p>Hackney http://www.hackney.gov.uk/Iibrary/libraryl.html </p><p>Hammersmith and Fulham http://www .ftech.netl-haflibs/ </p><p>Hampshire http://www.hants.gov.ukllibrary/index.html </p><p>Hartlepool http://www.ris.niaa.org.uk/heritage-northlhbc/ </p><p>Havering http://www.earl.org.uk/earl/memberslhaveringlindex.html </p><p>Hereford and Worcester http://www .open.gov.uklhereford/pageslh&w_cc/l&ahome.htm </p><p>97 Hillingdon http:/nim.viscount.org.uklearl/memberslhillingdon/ </p><p>Islington http://www .artec.org.uklcouncilllibrary/index.htm </p><p>Jersey http://www.itl.net/vc/europe/jersey/Educationllibrary/index.html </p><p>Kendal http://dspace.dial.pipex.comlkendal.library/ </p><p>Kensington and Chelsea http:/llim. viscount.org. uk/earl/members/kc </p><p>Kent http://www.kent.gov.uk/kcc/arts/artlib.html </p><p>Kingston http://lim.viscount.org.uk/earl/members/kingston/ </p><p>Kirklees http://www .kirkleesmc.gov. uk/services/culturalllibsllib.htm </p><p>Lancashire http://www .lancashire.comllccllb/index.htm </p><p>Leeds http://www.leeds.gov.ukllibraryllibrary.html </p><p>Liverpool http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/public/council_info/direct-infolleisurellibs.html </p><p>Manchester http://www.manchester.gov.uklhome2.html </p><p>98 Merton http://lim. viscount.org. uk/earl/members/merton/index .html </p><p>Midlothian http:tnim. viscount.org. uk/earllmembers/midlothian/ </p><p>Monmouthshire http:/flim. viscount.org. uk/earl/members/monmouthshire/ </p><p>Newham http://www.newham.gov.uk/libpage.htm </p><p>Newport http://www.earl.org.uk/earl/members/newport/ </p><p>Norfolk http://www .ecn.co. uk/norfolkcc/htrnllibhome.htm </p><p>North Tyneside http://www.ris.niaa.org.uk/heritage-north/ntll </p><p>Nottinghamshire http://www .nottscc.gov .uk/cc/00000532.htm </p><p>Oxfordshire http://www .oxfordshire.gov .uklhtm115002/4C54A 1.1 </p><p>Rhondda Cynon Taff http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/parade/ow12/ </p><p>Richmond http://www.richmond.gov.uklleisurellibraries/library.html </p><p>Sheffield http://www.earl.org.uk/earl/members/sheffield/index.htm </p><p>99 Shropshire http://www .shropshire-cc.gov. uk/lib.htm </p><p>Solihull http://www.itpoint.org.ukllibrary.html </p><p>Somerset http://www .somerset.gov. uk/AtoZ/az-Jibra.htm </p><p>South Ayrshire http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/default.htm </p><p>Southwark http://www.southwark.gov.uk </p><p>Staffordshire http://www.earl.org.uk/earl/members/staffordshire </p><p>Stockton on Tees http://www.ris.niaa.org.uk/heritage-north/sbc/ </p><p>Suffolk http://www .suffolkcc.gov .uk/1 ibraries_and_heritage/ </p><p>Sunderland http://www.ris.niaa.org.uk/heritage-north/sund/ </p><p>Surrey http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/libraries/ </p><p>Sutton http://www.earl.org.uk/earllmembers/suttonl </p><p>Torfaen http://lirn. viscount.org. uk/earllmembers/torfaenlindex.html </p><p>100 Tower Hamlets http://www oearloorgo uk/earl/members/towerham/ </p><p>Waltham Forest http:l/limoviscountoorgouk/earllmembers/waltham/ </p><p>Wandsworth http:l/limo viscount.orgouk/earllmembers/wandsworth/ </p><p>Warwickshire http://wwwoearloorgouk!earllmembers/warwickshire </p><p>West Sussex </p><p> http://www 0 westsussexogov 0 uklli!Jibhomeohtm </p><p>Westminster http://www oearl.orgo uk/earl/members/westminster/ </p><p>Wigan http://formbyowiganmbcogovouk/pub!Jeis/info!Jeisurellibraryllibhomeohtm · </p><p>Wolverhampton </p><p> http://www 0 wol verhampton ogov 0 uk/councilllibrary /indexohtm </p><p>York http://wwwoyorkogovouklleaming!Jibraries/indexohtml </p><p>101 Appendix 2: definitions of terms used in Table 1. </p><p>Access/map/transport: Instructions of how to get to the library, a graphic map, a list of bus numbers, Underground station names, or details of accessibility for the disabled, are provided. </p><p>Address: Full address and postal code provided. </p><p>Book Reviews: Reviews or information on book stock. </p><p>Children/youth services: Actual information or links to information specifically </p><p> about child and teenage library services .. </p><p>Graphics/icons: More than a basic text-based web site. </p><p>Housebound/disabled services: Details of either the services that the library </p><p> provides for its housebound users, or a contact name and number at the library for </p><p> those who require these services. </p><p>Individual library information: Information is given on each library unit within </p><p> the whole authority area: address, phone number, and possibly opening times of </p><p> each one. </p><p>102 Job vacancies: information for the unemployed, or details of jobs available, not necessarily exclusively within the library service. </p><p>Library events: Events either taking place in libraries, or which have been </p><p> organised by the library service, and are taking place elsewhere. </p><p>Library services/facilities: Practical information on how to join, whether there </p><p> are toilets in the building, how to pay fines, and information of this nature. </p><p>Library-related links: Sources of information mainly for library professionals, but </p><p> also for members of the public who may be interested in learning more about </p><p> libraries and the library profession. </p><p>Library statistics: Anything from the number of books held and the size of the </p><p> population served, to the speed with which requests are fulfilled. The amount of </p><p> detail can vary considerably. </p><p>Name of library: The branch or headquarters name is provided. Research by </p><p>Clyde indicates that not all libraries actually provide their name on their Web site. </p><p>OPAC access: The library catalogue is available over the Internet. </p><p>Opening times: The days and hours of opening are given. </p><p>Reference/information: The details and location of the main reference collection </p><p>103 or alternatively, details of what kinds of information sources are held in each library, e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hansard's, statistics and census information, etc. </p><p>Searchable database: A local groups and organisations database that can be </p><p> searched by keywords. </p><p>Send enquiry/feedback: A contact email address is given for users to contact the </p><p> library with their questions, comments and complaints. </p><p>Special Collections: Any specific collection that is held in a library, such as local </p><p> studies/history, music and arts, etc. </p><p>Telephone: A telephone number is given for users to contact the library. </p><p>Links to Business, Community, County/City Council, Education/Careers, </p><p>European, Genealogy, Health, Leisure, Local history, Local area, and </p><p>Tourist Information: </p><p>Links are provided to a page on the library site, on the Council's site, or on an </p><p> external Web site, which gives more information on the named, specific subject. </p><p>104 Appendix 3: Survey of UK public libraries' Web site designers- a list of reference numbers, contact names and addresses </p><p>+ Bradford: WSD 30. Stephen Moss, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Computer Services, 6th Floor, Britannia House, Hall Ings, BRADFORD. BDI IHX + Devon: WSD 31. Mark Peasley, Reference Services Librarian, Central Library, Castle Street, EXETER, Devon. EX4 3PQ + Croydon: WSD 32. Debora Parr, Croydon Online Manager, Level4, Central Library, Katharine Street, CROYDON. CR9 lET + Cambridge: WSD 33. Roger Tempero, Library Systems Supervisor, Room BIOS, Castle Court, Shire Hall, CAMBRIDGE. CB3 OAP + Sheffield: WSD 34. John Murphy, Group Manager, Central Information Services, Central Library, Surrey Street, SHEFFIELD. SI IXZ + Berkshire: WSD 35. Melanie Harper, Cultural Services, Berkshire County Council, Shire Hall, Shinfield Park, READING. RG29 9XD + Leeds City: WSD 36. Peter Kelly, Internet Manager, Central Library, Calverley Street, LEEDS. LS 1 3AB + Norfolk: WSD 37. Bemard Farrant, Head of Personal Relations, Norfolk County Council, County Hall, NORWICH. NRI 2DH + Cheshire: WSD 38. Cath Wilcox, Information and Records, Room 261, County Hall, CHESTER. CHI ISF + Hampshire: WSD 39. Sarah Perkins, Local Government Unit, Hampshire County Library, 81 North Walls, WINCHESTER. S023 8BY + Wolverhampton: WSD 40. Peter Thomson, OCEPC, Civic Centre, St Peter's Square, WOLVERHAMPTON. WVIISH + Birmingham: WSD 41. Andy Mabbott, Birmingham Assist, Birmingham Central Library, Chamberlain Square, BIRMINGHAM. B3 3HQ + Dorset: WSD 42. Norman Shirley, Senior Manager (South), County Library Headquarters, Colliton Park, DORCHESTER. DTI IXJ + Staffordshire: WSD 43. Ros Bocock, Step In, Staffordshire Libraries </p><p>105 Headquarters, Friars Terrace, STAFFORD. ST17 4AY + Gloucestershire: WSD 44. Liz Haldon, Principal Librarian -Information Services, Arts and Museums Service, Quayside House, Shire Hall, GLOUCESTER. GL12HY + Bristol: WSD 45. Richard Newton, Bristol Information Technology, Bristol City Council, Council House, College Green, BRISTOL. BSI STR + Surrey: WSD 46. Ian Milton, Area Manager, New Haw Library, The Broadway, New Haw, ADDLESTONE, Surrey. KTIS 3HA + Barnet: WSD 47. Richard Nurse, Systems Controller, IT Section, Hendon Library, The Burroughs, Hendon, LONDON. NW4 4BQ + Enfield: WSD 48. Carla Herrmann, First Stop Information Development Team, Central Library, ENFIELD, Middlesex. EN2 6TW + Gateshead: WSD 49. John Hudson, Central Library, Prince Consort Road, GATESHEAD, Tyne and Wear. NE8 4LN + Wiltshire: WSD SO. John Fisher, Corporate IT Unit, Wiltshire County Council, Bythesea Road, TROWBRIDGE, Wiltshire. BA14 8JG + Dudley Borough: WSD 51. Deborah Poole, IT Co-ordinator, Dudley Central Library, St James Road, DUDLEY, West Midlands. DYI IHR + Liverpool: WSD 52. Alan Metcalf, IT Development Officer, Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, LIVERPOOL. L3. SEW + Richmond: WSD 53. Sheila Harden, Twickenham Library, Garfield Road, Twickenham, LONDON. TWIO 3JT + Hammersmith and Fulham: WSD 54. Charles Shearer, Fulham Reference Library, 598 Fulham Road, LONDON. SW6 SNX + Somerset: WSD SS. Mr J Campbell, Principal Assistant County Librarian, Administration Centre, Mount St., BRIDGWATER, Somerset. TA23 ODD + South Ayrshire: WSD 56. Angela McCormick, South Ayrshire Cyber centres, Camegie Public Library, 12 Main Street, AYR, Scotland. KAS SEB + Brent: WSD 57. Loma Brown, Brent Library Service, Chesterfield House, 9 Park Lane, WEMBLEY. HA9 7RW + Jersey: WSD 58. Mrs ..M. Corrigan, The Jersey Library, Halkett Place, ST. HELIER, Jersey, C.I. </p><p>106 Appendix 4.1 21 Park Road Werrington STOKE ON TRENT ST9 OEB carol.barker3 @virgin. net Thursday 19 June, 1997 Dear Webmaster </p><p>Survey of UK public libraries' Web site designers. </p><p>Thank you for agreeing to take part in my postgraduate research, by completing the enclosed questionnaire and returning it to me in the envelope provided. </p><p>The aim of my thesis is to look at what public libraries have published on the Web so far, at the design, content and structure of this information, and also at what practical guides exist to help Web site designers to construct a Web site. I shall then create my own practical guide to 'Web publishing for UK public libraries', with help from these guides and from the findings of my survey of Web site designers. This guide will be tested, and evaluated for its usefulness in creating a Web site for UK public libraries. </p><p>I would be grateful if you would return the fully completed questionnaire to me before Friday 27th June, and if you should have any questions about the questionnaire or my research, please do not hesitate to contact me. </p><p>Thank you for taking the time to participate in this research by giving me the benefit of your views and experience. </p><p>Yours faithfully </p><p>Carol A. Barker (Mrs.) MSc Information and Library Studies, Loughborough University </p><p>107 Survey of UK public libraries' Web site designers </p><p>I NUMBER OF QUESTIONNAIRE: </p><p>Dear Web site designer </p><p>This survey is designed to look at the experience of Web site designers of UK public library Web sites, at the sites they have created, and the practical guides and tutorials that they used in the process. </p><p>Please give full answers in the spaces provided, and for 'YES/NO' questions, please circle the appropriate response. When you have completed the questionnaire, please return it in the postage-paid envelope to: Mrs Carol Barker, 2 I Park Road, Werrington, STOKE ON TRENT, ST9 OEB. </p><p>Thank you for agreeing to take part in my research. </p><p>1. About the Webmaster: </p><p>1.1 Please state your name: ...... 1.2 Please state the organisation that you work for: ...... 1.3 What is your personal e-mail address? ...... 1.4 What is your exact job title? ...... 1.5 What are your qualifications and experience? ··························································································· ...... 1.6 How long have you been working on/for this site? ...... Years ...... Months 1.7 Have you been/are you currently a Webmaster for any other sites or organisations? YES/NO 1.8lf 'YES' to question 1.5, please specify for which organisation you worked, and which project(s) you have worked on. ·························································································· ...... </p><p>108 2. About the site: </p><p>2.1 When was this site first launched? ...... Year ...... Month 2.2 Was any research/consultation carried out beforehand, to establish the requirements of the site? (E.g. questioning staff or library users, reference to outside consultants, survey of existing Web sites, etc.) YES/NO 2.3 If 'YES' to question 2.2, who was consulted, and how was the research carried out? ·························································································· ...... ·························································································· 2.4 With regard to the Web site, how were decisions reached about: </p><p>2.4.1 Content? ...... 2.4.2 Style/design? </p><p>• 0 0 •••••• 0 0 •••••• 0 0 •••••• 0 0 •••• 0 • 0 •••• 0 •••••• 0 ••••••••••••••••••• 0 0 •••••••••••••••• ~ •••••• 2.4.3 Structure? </p><p>2.4.4 Navigation? </p><p>2.5.5 Links to other sites? ...... </p><p>2.6 When the site was launched, how- if at all- was it promoted? ...... ·························································································· 2. 7 Who is responsible for physically maintaining and updating the site? </p><p>2.8 How frequently is this done? </p><p>2.9 Any further comments about the site: </p><p>109 3. About guides or tutorials used: </p><p>3.1 Have you received any specific training in Web site creation/design? YES/NO 3.2 If 'YES' to question 3.I, please specify details of the date, place, and length of the training course, and the name of the organisation that provided it...... ··························································································· ··························································································· 3.3 How was this course chosen? (E.g. employer suggested it, own initiative, etc.) </p><p>3.4 Did you consult any practical texts/guides/tutorials (either in hard copy or electronic format) whilst planning and creating the Web site? YES/NO 3.5/f 'YES' to question 3.4, please fill in the details below as fully as possible. *RATING: please give each guide a rating of between I and 4, according to how useful the guide was to you, in planning or designing the Web site, where I is 'very useful/beneficial', 2 is 'quite useful/beneficial', 3 is 'not very useful/beneficial', and 4 is 'not at all useful/beneficial'. </p><p>3.5.1 TITLE ...... AUTHOR ...... PUBLISHER!URL...... : ...... RATING ...... </p><p>3.5.2 TITLE ...... AUTHOR ...... PUBLISHERIURL...... RATING ...... </p><p>3.5.3 TITLE ...... AUTHOR ...... PUBLISHER!URL...... RATING ...... </p><p>3.5.4 TITLE ...... AUTHOR ...... PUBLISHER!URL...... RATING ...... </p><p>3.5.5 TITLE ...... AUTHOR ...... PUBLISHER!URL ...... RATING ...... </p><p>110 3.6 Which- if any- of these guides were aimed specifically at the needs of Library and Information Service Professionals? (Please quote the appropriate reference number, e.g. 3.5.2 and 3.5.3, etc.). ··························································································· 3.7 For those guides that you have rated as either 'very' or 'quite useful/ beneficial' please name the features of each that you found most helpful. (Please quote the appropriate reference number, e.g. 3.5.4, of each) ...... , .. ··························································································· </p><p>3.8 For those guides that you have rated as either 'not very' or 'not at all useful/ beneficial' please name the features of each that were badly explained! presented, or additional features that would have been helpful. (Please quote the appropriate reference number, e.g. 3.5.4, of each). </p><p>4. Further comments Thank you very much for giving up your time to aid this research project. Any further comments that you may wish to make will also be greatly appreciated ...... ··························································································· </p><p>S. Evaluation of 'A guide to creating Web sites' Would you be interested in the possibility of assisting me further in my research? I am planning to write my own practical guide, which will be aimed at UK public library staff who are newcomers to Web publishing. The guide aims to provide a simple and basic introduction to this skill, and I am looking for Webmasters and Web site designers who would be willing to look at and evaluate my Web-based guide. </p><p>Please tick here if you would be interested in taking part D </p><p>Please return the questionnaire to the address on page 1. Thank you. </p><p>111 Web site designers' survey: Key to the terms used in Appendices 5.1 to 5.4 </p><p>Appendix 5.1: Authorities that participated REFERENCE NUMBER: given by the author to identify each authority. AUTHORITY: the name of the participating local authority. CONTACT: the name of the person who replied to the initial email, or who was named as being responsible for the Web site. EMAILffELEPHONE: contact details of each Web site designer. </p><p>Appendix 5.2: The Web site designer </p><p>GCEs!BTECIBAJBSc/MA!MSc: formal qualifications held by the respondent. </p><p>LIS/CHART: respondent specified that they were a qualified or chartered </p><p> librarian. </p><p>EXPERIENCE/OTHER QUALIFICATION: any relevant experience to the </p><p> current post. </p><p>TIME IN POST: length of time spent so far, as Web site designer/Webmaster. </p><p>Appendix 5.3: The Web site </p><p>AGE OF SITE: length of time since the site was first launched. </p><p>RESEARCH: whether any 'market research' was carried out (in order to </p><p> establish staff/user needs or to contact outside consultants for advice). </p><p>CONTENT/STYLE /STRUCTURE/NAVIGA TIONILINKS (TO THIRD </p><p>PARTY SITES): how the decisions were reached for each of these five </p><p> features of a typical Web site. i.e. was the decision about Web site content </p><p> made internally 'lnt.' (within the department or local council, or by the </p><p>112 Webmaster 'W.m.') or externally 'Ext.' (by an outside organisation or </p><p> consultancy). </p><p>PROMOTION: whether the site was publicised in any way, through press </p><p> releases, leaflets, open days, adding URL to search engines, etc. </p><p>RESPONSIBILITY: the job title of the person(s) and/or the name of the </p><p> organisation(s) that are responsible for the Web site's maintenance, and for </p><p> updating information on it. </p><p>UPDATES: the frequency of the site's maintenance/the updating of information </p><p> on the site. </p><p>Appendix 5.4: Guides used to create the site </p><p>COURSE: whether the Web site designer attended any form of training course </p><p> specific to Web site creation or design. </p><p>INITIATIVE: whether the decision to attend the training course was the </p><p> decision of the employer, or was the Web site designer's own decision. </p><p>TITLES AND AUTHORS OF GUIDES: details of any guides or tutorials used </p><p> or referred to in the creation of the library Web site </p><p>LIS: whether the resources used were aimed specifically at library and </p><p> information services (LIS) staff, or at the creation of a library Web site. </p><p>HELPFUL/USEFUL FEATURES: particular aspects of the resources used </p><p> that the Web site designer had felt were especially useful in the task of creating </p><p> the library Web site. </p><p>113 REFERENCE NUMBER AUTHORITY CONTACT EMAIUfELEPHONE 30 Bradford Stephen Moss webmaster@bradford.gov.uk 31 Devon Mark Peasley Devlibs@MF.devon cc.gov.uk 32 Croydon Debora Parr dparr@ library .croydon .gov .uk 33 Cambridgeshire Roger Tempero roger. tempero@ libraries.camcnty.gov.uk 34 Sheffield John Murphy sheffield.libraries@dial.pipex.com 35 Berkshire Melanie Harper Melanie.Harper@ berkshire.gov.uk 36 Leeds Peter Kelly peter.kelly@leeds.gov.uk 37 Norfolk Bernard Farrant bernard .!arrant .corpstrat@ norfolk. gov .uk 38 Cheshire Cath Wilcox cheshire@cheshire.gov.uk 39 Hampshire Sarah Perkins libsst@hants.gov.uk 40 Wolverhampton Peter Thomson Wolverhampton.Webmaster@dial.pipex.com 41 Birmingham Andy Mabbott 0121 235 4511 42 Dorset Norman Shirley 01305 224451 43 Staffordshire Viv Watkins/Ros Bocock 01785 278356 44 Gloucestershire Liz Haldon clams@gloscc.gov.uk 45 Bristol Richard Newton webmaster@bristol-city.gov.uk 46 Surrey lan Milton ianm@ surreycc.gov.uk 47 Barn et Richard Nurse fb16@dial.pipex.com 48 Enfield Carla Herrmann webmaster@efirstop.demon.co.uk 49 Gateshead John Hudson webmaster@gateslib.demon.co.uk 50 Wiltshire John Fisher webmaster@west-wiltshire-dc.gov.uk 51 Dudley Deborah Poole postman @dudley.gov.uk 52 Liverpool Alan Metcalf central@ lvpublib.demon.co.uk 53 Richmond Sheila Harden sheilah@ dircon.co.uk 54 Hammersmith & Fulham Charles Shearer charles@ haflibs.org.uk 55 Somerset MrJ Campbell info@somerset.gov.uk 56 South Ayrshire Angela McCormick cyberenq@ south-ayrshi re.gov. uk 57 Brent Lorna Brown lorna.BROWN@ brent.gov.uk 58 Jersey M Corriqan (Mrs) The Jersey Library, St. Helier, Jersey, C. I. </p><p>Appendix 5.1 Web site designers' survey: Authorities that participated REF. AUTHORITY JOB TITLE GCEs BTEC BNBSc MNMSc LIS/CHART EXPERIENCE/OTHER QUALIFICATION TIME IN POST 47 Barn et Systems Controller y y y N/A 3 months 35 Berkshire Senior Librarian y y N/A 6 months 41 Birmingham Development Manager y N/A 2 years 30 Bradford Webmaster y 18 years in IT 1 year 57 Brent 45 Bristol Principal/Senior IT Officer y y Also has OU degree in computing 3 months 33 Cambridgeshire 38 Cheshire Assistant Librarian y y PG Diploma in Information & Library mg't 1 year 32 Croydon 31 Devon 42 Dorset 51 Dudley Information Systems Officer y y Studying for BSc: Business lnfo/Tech 2 years 48 Enfield 49 Gateshead Assistant Librarian y y y OU 3rd level in Computer Programming 6 months 44 Gloucestershire Principal Librarian: Information y y Postgraduate Diploma 3 months 54 Hammersmith Senior Librarian: lnfo. Services y y y Associate of the Library Association 1 year 39 Hampshire Local Gov1. Information Ass't y y N/A 1 year 58 Jersey Deputy Chief Librarian y y y Associate of the Library Association N/A 36 Leeds Internet Manager y y y N/A 18 months 52 Liverpool Co-ord: lnfo. & Devp't Services y y N/A 8 months 37 Norfolk 53 Richmond 34 Sheffield Group Manager: Centrallnfo. y y y N/A 18 months 55 Somerset 56 South Ayrshire IT Co-ordinator y y PG Diploma in IT, Diploma in Training Mg' 1 year 43 Staffordshire Step-In Project Manager y City & Guilds Computer Literacy 1 month 46 Surrey 50 Wiltshire 40 Wolverhampton IS/IT Advisor PLD in Management Science 2 months </p><p>Appendix 5.2 Web site designers' survey: The Web site designer REF. AUTHORITY AGE OF SITE RESEARCH CONTENT STYLE STRUCTURE NAVIG. LINKS PROMOT. RESPONSIBILITY UPDATES 47 Barn et 2 months y lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. N Project EARL When required 35 Berkshire 2years N lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. y Senior Librarian Ad hoc 41 Birmingham 2 years y lnt. Ext. Ext. Ext. Ext. y University of Birmingham 30 Bradford 7 months y lnt. · Ext. Ext. y Webmaster As necessary 57 Brent 45 Bristol 3 months N Ext. lnt. Ext. Ext. Ext. y IT services & Univ. W. E. Fortnightly 33 Cambridgeshire 38 Cheshire 18 months N/A Ext. Ext. Ext. Ext. Ext. N/A Principal & Ass't Librarians constantly 32 Croydon 31 Devon 42 Dorset 51 Dudley 2 years y lnt. W.m. W.m. W.m. W.m. y Webmaster (Libraries) as and when 48 Enfield 49 Gateshead 1 year y lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. y Assistant Librarian usually daily 44 Gloucestershire 2 months y lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. N Senior Librarian continually 54 Hammersmith 1 year y lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. N Senior Librarian not since 1/4/97 39 Hampshire N/A N W.rn. W.m. W.m. W.m. W.m. N Webmaster & IT Dept. not often enough 58 Jersey 18 months y lnt. Ext. Ext. Ext. Ext. N Locally based company (not specified) 36 Leeds 15 months y lnt. Ext. Ext. Ext. N/A y Inte met Office daily (for some) 52 Liverpool 8 months y lnt. Ext. Ext. Ext. lnt. N Co-ordinator, Into. services circa monthly 37 Norfolk 53 Richmond 34 Sheffield 18 months N lnt. lnt/Ext. lnt. lnt. None N Into. Services & EARL 2-6 months 55 Somerset 56 South Ayrshire 1 year y lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. lnt. N IT Co-ordinator & Assistant ongoing 43 Staffordshire 1 year N lnVExt lnVExt lnVExt lnVExt lnVExt N Library Dept & IT Services as necessary 46 Surrey. 50 Wiltshire 40 Wolverhampton 3 months N lnt. Ext. Ext. Ext. Ext. y Web master monthly </p><p>Appendix 5.3 Web site designers' survey: The Web site REF. AUTHORITY COURSE INITIATIVE TITLES AND AUTHORS OF GUIDES LIS HELPFUUUSEFULFEATURES 47 Barnet N N/A HTML Writer (http:l/www .lal.cs.byu.edu/people/nosack) N Detailed description of HTML coding 35 Berkshire y Employer HTML Writer's Guide (http:l/www.hwg.org) N/A N/A 41 Birmingham N N/A (work carried out by external organisation: University of Birmingham) N/A N/A 30 Bradford N N/A HTML sourcebook!Graham N Basic tutorial & reference 57 Breht 45 Bristol N N/A HTML the definitive guide/Musciano; CGI programming/Gundavaram N Clear, practical guidelines and examples 33 Cambridgeshire 38 Cheshire N N/A (HTML work carried out by Information Systems Department) N/A N/A 32 Croydon 31 Devon 42 Dorset 51 Dudley y Own (Relied upon own experience/knowledge) N/A N/A 48 Enfield 49 Gateshead N N/A Teach yourself HTML publishing on the WWW/MacBride N Clear, 'no frills' explanations 44 Gloucestershire N N/A HTML by example; FrontPage N CD-ROM with 'HTML' was useful 54 Hammersmith N N/A (Looked at Web sites, used CIX conferencing system/discussion) N Practical and philosophical discussions 39 Hampshire N N/A HTML in a Week!Lemay; Internet & Local Authorities/Beds. C. C. N Clear, not too technical 58 Jersey N N/A (Produced entirely by external commercial organisation) N/A N/A 36 Leeds N N/A (Relied upon own experience/knowledge) N/A N/A 52 Liverpool y Own Publish it on the Web/Pfallenberger (& looked at other Web sites) N Definition of HTML tags 37 Norfolk 53 Richmond 34 Sheffield y Own Teach yourself Web Publishing/Lemay N CD-ROM: graphics software included 55 Somerset 56 South Ayrshire y Own (Various Web magazines and books- none specified by name) N/A N/A 43 Staffordshire y Own Teach yourself HTML N For the beginner 46 Surrey 50 Wiltshire 40 Wolverhampton N N/A Web Concept and Design/Waters; 'SI MA' & Yale's 'ClAIM' guide N Advice on good practice/overall concept </p><p>Appendix 5.4 Web site designers' survey: Guides used to create the site HAMMERSMITH&FULHAM Fulham Library 598 Fulham Road LIBRA ES London SW6 SNX </p><p>Telephone 0181-748 3020 ext. Direct line 0181-576 5254 Facsimile 0171-736 3741 </p><p> email info@haflibs.org.uk , Mrs Carol Barker 21 ParkRd Werrington Stoke on Trent ST90EB L 26 June, 1997 </p><p>Dear Carol </p><p>Firstly apologies for the late return of your survey. I hope the information will still be of use to you. Some of the questions demand longer answers. I have marked them with an asterisk together with the questions that don't conveniently have an answer. </p><p>Work on Hammersmith & Fulham Libraries web site ceased on 1st April this year. We are now in the process of developing a Council intranet which will have as a spin off material that will be made available on our new web site hosted by ourselves. A question that you did not ask is whether or not the site is hosted by the library service/council or whether the space was rented from a commercial Internet Services Provider (ISP). The is very significant because the range of facilities such as server side scripts, CGI, etc are available when we host the site and therefore the range of services on offer is potentially greater. This will impact the planning and design. </p><p>The design principles, content and execution of the new intranet are being discussed now. The Library will have a major role to play, partly because of our WWW experience, but mainly because we will be responsible for the public information that will be made available. Simply put, this will be done via an IITML query (using a browser such as <a href="/tags/Netscape_(web_browser)/" rel="tag">Netscape</a> or MS Internet Explorer) which will be passed to our SQL server using scripts and returned as a dynamically created web page containing the information required. </p><p>The design principles of our existing site were that it should be readable by any browser, including <a href="/tags/Lynx_(web_browser)/" rel="tag">Lynx</a> (a text only UNIX browser that is very popular). This meant that it should adhere to basic IITML. Except for the inclusion of tables this is true. Some of the design is also dictated by the corporate requirement that it contains various logos etc. It was a very basic site that was really used as a test bed for the Library Service to establish demand. We get several hundred hits a week, which although not great does show that somebody out there is looking ... </p><p>As far as learning how to design a web site, in my opinion the best method is to look at other sites and study the design and the code. It is important to work out why the ones you like work and vice-versa. My main source information is online via a conferencing system called CIX, mainly used by computer professionals. On CIX there is active discussion of!ITML, Java, Javascript, ActiveX etc as well as the more fundamental pbilosophical discussions on good design, style etc etc. This is more useful to me than formal training. However, even a quick look on the web will show you that there should be mandatory training in basic graphic design judging by the mess that some people make of their sites. We are at the stage where anybody can use the tools that are currently available because they make it very easy to create web pages. However, like DTP in the past, it is painfully obvious that the other skills that are required such as design. editorial, graphics, etc do not come naturally. </p><p>Anyway, I hope this helps. </p><p>Yours sincerely </p><p>Charles Shearer Senior Librarian Information Services Further Comments </p><p>As in most Local Authorities money is very much a problem at the moment. The Bradford Council Website was funded on a 'shoestring', there is only myself and a colleague doing all the administration and the majority of the authoring for the Internet and Intranet sites. </p><p>We both taught ourselves HTML and now train other people in the authority who wish to author pages. The main problem here is that people authoring pages are doing it on top of their normal work so therefore building the site, and finding people with the enthusiasm to take on the extra work is a slow process. </p><p>Fortunately the Central Libraries Section had such a person, and after training her in Authoring she has done a splendid job with the current pnges, and she is currently working on a lot more, as and when she can find the time. The authoring package we use is AOLPRESS which can be down loaded from AOL. This is a very simple to use WYSIWYG package and only requires word processing skills to use, and most importantly it is free I, and you do not have to be a subscriber to AOL to use it. </p><p>I hope this information is of help to you, all the best with your thesis, </p><p>Stephen Moss Webmaster City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council . </p><p>. . Appendix 7 </p><p>Web Publishing: </p><p>A practical guide for UK Public Libraries </p><p>Essential information for your Web site By surveying some 81 UK Public Library Web Sites, I have been able to get an overall impression of the quality and quantity of information that is being provided by them. The range of content that was included on the sites, and the degree of professionalism that I encountered, was very impressive. Below I have listed the main features that appeared on most of the UK Public Libraries' pages, and the URLs of those which are named as examples can be found on the page entitled 'URLS of UK Public Libraries' Web sites': </p><p>•Library Name, Address and Telephone Number Usually each individual library unit/building has its own page. The great advantage of this method is that the information is easy to update, particularly if you decide that you wish to publish details of forthcoming events, closures due to building work or redecoration, etc. at that library. Putting all the information of all the authority's libraries on one enormous page can be quite bewildering for users, and can be harder to maintain. </p><p>•Details of Opening Times Some libraries provide a telephone number so that borrowers can ring to find out the opening times ... but how are they supposed to know when the staff will be there to answer it? It is much more sensible to put the information on the Web site, as it saves the user having to. go from the computer to the phone, and it saves the valuable time of library staff, which is always in short supply. Opening times rarely change, and the Web site is an ideal medium for providing this basic and frequently requested information. Some innovative authorities (e.g. the London Boroughs of Sutton, Merton, and Kingston upon Thames) have even used their Web sites to publish details of the timetables and stopping places of their mobile library vans, which help to bring the library to the housebound and rurally isolated members of the community. I would therefore suggest that 'Mobile Library Van Schedules' be included as an essential page on your site. </p><p>•Details of Facilities and Services This heading covers a range of information, from 'How do I join the library?' and 'How many books can I borrow?', to Citizen's Charters and Mission Statements, and links to pages for the housebound, and </p><p>121 children's and youth services, as well as School Library Services (Berkshire is one good example of many such comprehensive sites). The more that you can tell your users that you have - and can provide - by way of support and services, the more likely it is that people will use those services. </p><p>•Special Collections This kind of information can be very helpful indeed to ordinary users as well as to researchers. Dorset provides links to its Thomas Hardy Collection Site, and many libraries provide details of the locations and special isms of their Family History, Local Studies, or Heritage collections. See the sites of the London Boroughs of Merton and Hillingdon, for examples. </p><p>•Contact Names and Numbers This was not as common as I would have expected on a library site. Some sites provided a general telephone number, but for specific queries or for specific departments within the library service there was often no information or guidance. However, Midlothian, for example, provides details of staff names and responsibilities, and Rhondda gives an e-mail address so that users can send in information for the Rhondda Cynon Taff 'What's New' page, for announcements of local community events. The provision of an e-mail address or telephone number, along with a contact name, should certainly be considered for inclusion· on the Web site so that users can provide feedback, or direct their enquiries to a specific, named member of staff, or to a particular department. </p><p>•Date of Last Revision This was not found on all sites, but it is seen to be part of 'Internet etiquette' (known as 'Netiquette'!) that you should state the date on which that page was last amended, for whatever reason, to show that the information is current. Some sites also give the date on which the page was created, but this is not so important for the user, as it gives no indication of the accuracy and integrity of the information currently provided on the page. </p><p>•Links Finally, a link to the library home page or to its contents/index page, as appropriate, should be provided on every page. This may seem a bit excessive, but when you have visited a few Web sites that do not have such facilities, or when you are creating a whole Web site, as I have done, you really do appreciate the benefits of making navigation as easy as possible: it is worth the extra time and effort! </p><p>Follow this link to return to the Web Page Content page Follow this link to return to the Contents Page URL: http://freespace. virgin.net/carol. barker3/essential.html This page was last revised on 6 July 1997 </p><p>122 Appendix 8.1 . </p><p>Subject: Re: A guide to Web publishing for UK public libraries Date: Fri, 11 Jul 97 11 :40:22 +0 I 00 From: harden <harden@dial.pipex.com> To: "Carol Barker" <carol.barker3@virgin.net> </p><p>Carol, '. Thanks for your message. Sheila showed me the message you sent to her at work earlier this week so I had already taken a look at your pages and already added them to EARLweb- the Networking in Action section at http://www.earl.org.uklearl/earlweb/aprof.htm </p><p>Congratulations on an excellent piece of work. Every library web weaver should read it. Nobody has produced anything as useful for UK public librarians just beginning to get to grips with creating web pages. It's an extremely valuable contribution. We've been trying to convince our public library colleagues for years that HTML isn't rocket science and that, if they follow some simple principles, they will get good results. Now you've spelt it out for them in a very helpful way. </p><p>I have absolutely no criticism to make, constructive or otherwise. You've said exactly what I would have said, if! had your talent for explaining things. In my opinion you've judged the content perfectly for the intended audience. I have a few stylistic preferences which you might want to consider. The simple use ofborderless centred tables of, say, 80% width is a good way of creating more white space on the page, which can make them easier to look at, as it does in print. It is really the only way to get the wide margins and shorter line length which aid readability. If you keep it simple they will degrade gracefully on older browsers which can't handle tables. The use of font colour is an easy way of adding visual interest to the page- in headings, for example. It can be a good idea to specify a background colour (our preference is white) in case your viewers have their browsers on the default setting of grey which isn't the best background for black type. If you're careful; there is a lot you can do to with colour to add interest and aid readability without using graphics. </p><p>If you did want to add a few graphic elements you might find Jay Boersma's collection useful. His home page is at http://www.ECNet.Netlusers/gas52rO/Jay/home.html </p><p>Have you come across DuifCalvin? She contributes to the HTML Writers Guild mailing lists and is the web style guru we pay most attention to. You'll find her thoughts on web page design in a marketing context at http://www .jaderiver.com/ </p><p>I hope you're planning to keep your guide going. You should announce it on lis-pub-libs and see if you can get some coverage in the LAR. I shall be letting EARL members know about it via the EARL contacts mailing list (if Peter Stone doesn't beat me to it) as well as the EARL web page. How would you feel about a review of your pages in Ariadne? I could suggest it to John Kirriemuir, editor of the web version, but I won't unless you're comfortable with the idea. </p><p>Keep in touch and let us know if there is ever anything Sheila or I can do to help. </p><p>Best wishes, Robert harden@dial.pipex.com http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/index.html </p><p>'. Appendix 8.2 </p><p>Date sent: Fri, 11 Jull99716:10:21 +0100 To: carol.barker3 @virgin.net From: Peter Stone <p.t.stone@niss.ac.uk> Subject: Re: EARL at UmbrelLA </p><p>Carol </p><p>Robert [Harden, of Project EARL] got back to me very quickly with your web address. </p><p>It's an impressive bit of work, interesting and clear. The comments below on its layout and structure are personal opinions, and others will have different views. Since the model that you have followed is not dissimilar to TONIC, http://www.netskills.ac.uk!TONIC/ i.e. grey background, black text, no margin space, descriptive and textual , not visual, hierarchic others will disagree with me </p><p>[Middle section has been omitted at Peter Stone's request] </p><p>Being more verbal than visual is not necessarily a fault: a lot of librarians find the Web just too graphic. </p><p>I do think it helps to see at all times where you are in the hierarchy, and where it is leading. I would have liked a comprehensive list of pages, which would indicate to me which pages I had visited. And many will want an option to print the whole thing in one go! (if you do, remind them to list the links when printing). </p><p>Love your OSCARS. I'm trying to persuade EARL to award annual prizes -tell me: if you were to focus on specific attributes, what would these be? eg Design, structure, search, content,- what? Must have several prizes! </p><p>Would have liked more treatment of images- tho I have a suspicion you disapprove of them! Commonest fault is bad gifs, bloatedjpegs. Nothing needs to be more than 20k - but clickable images are preferred by many for navigating. Most librarians have difficulty in writing concise textual labels </p><p>I attach a longer list of websites - tho' I think it better if you cite the Harden's since that will continue to be updates [sic] </p><p>What are your plans if any for maintaining this? Robert tells me he has suggested some ideas ... </p><p>Best wishes </p><p>Peter </p><p>125 Appendix 8.3 </p><p>From: Stephen Moss <webmaster@bradford.gov.uk> To: "'carol.barker3@virgin.net"' <carol.barker3@virgin.net> Subject: RE: Web site designers' survey Date: Wed, 30 Jul1997 11:30:44 +0000 </p><p>Carol </p><p>Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I have just been through your 'Guide to Web publishing for UK public libraries', and wish to congratulate you on a first class document. </p><p>The only point I noticed (isn't there always one !) is on the graphics.html page where you mention that graphics need to be in 'gif' format. GIFS are best for their small size but are restricted to 256 colours, the other format you can use is JPG which gives a much better quality images as you can use I 6m colours, but this is at the expense of size. </p><p>Best wishes </p><p>Stephen </p><p>. ' </p>
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