Information on Wheels-

Information on Wheels is an outreach service of the Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries. A mobile cart loaded with professional books and journals is taken weekly to the hospital unit and outpatient clinic of the Milwaukee County Hospital and Froedtert Hospital. The targeted audience is primarily nurses since (1) their job demands usually allow little time flexibility, and (2) they make up the largest percentage of hospital health care professionals. After one year of service, a survey was undertaken to determine the usefulness of the service. The results were very positive. One comment repeated was, "This is an excellent service because is provides easy access to pertinent information to people who are sometimes too busy or don't think to go to the library."     

创建“我们所需要的Web网”

Web网是个巨大的、杂乱无章的数据库,图书馆的任务就是要将其变为我们所需要的Web网－－一个数字化的图书馆。它必须具备五个要素;有选择的馆藏,便利的、开放性的检索途径,组织化的资料,珍品收藏和用户助手     

浅谈高校图书馆主页建设

借助互联网促进自身发展是当前图书馆界密切关注的话题。本文通过对图书馆主页现状的分析,阐述了高校图书馆在高速住处网下建立主页的一般要求及存在问题,对如何进一步 网络化、数字化服务作了初步研究与探讨。     

Services for Graduate Students: A Review of Academic Library Web Sites

A library's Web site is well recognized as the gateway to the library for the vast majority of users. Choosing the most user-friendly Web architecture to reflect the many services libraries offer is a complex process, and librarians are still experimenting to find what works best for their users. As part of a redesign of the Oregon State University Libraries’ Web site, entry points for specific user groups were created. One of these user groups was graduate students. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways other academic libraries design their Web sites for particular user groups, specifically graduate students, in order to determine how the Oregon State University Libraries Web site compared to peer institutions. This study analyzed 112 Association of Research Libraries’ Web sites and 26 Oregon academic libraries’ Web sites to determine the availability of resources and services specifically promoted to graduate students. Since graduate students may view the library Web site through the lens of new student, researcher, or instructor, Web sites were also examined to see if sites were created with any or all of these roles in mind. Nearly a quarter of Association of Research Libraries' Web sites that were examined contained a link on the homepage for graduate students, and another 20 percent provided graduate-student information at a lower level in their site hierarchy. A majority of sites had events, subject guides, or course guides for graduate students. Information for graduate students was typically framed in the context of graduate students as researchers. Ideas and examples are given for ways to improve Web site design to better serve this user group. In order to provide improved services to these students, future studies will explore what graduate students need from academic libraries and the ways these students conduct themselves in their various roles of researchers, instructors, and new students.     

我国高校图书馆主页建设现状分析

通过网络调查,深入分析和研究了我国高校图书馆主页建设的现状、存在的问题并探讨了相应的发展措施。     

Children's Librarians and BPH Subregional Librarians

Ways are explored in which public library children's librarians can help sighted children increase their understanding of persons with visual impairment and their skills in communicating with them. Interviews were conducted with six children's librarians and six BPH subregional librarians, and searches were made in the public library catalogs and the Regional BPH Library fiche catalog for selected titles. Three areas for discussion emerged: reader advisory and reference questions, collection development, and programming. Public library children's librarians and BPH subregional librarians can jointly coordinate provision of children's services by identifying and building on present strengths in collection development and programming.     

Tutorials on Google Analytics: How to Craft a Web Analytics Report for a Library Web Site

Libraries, along with other information service institutions, have entered a digital era in which resources are presented electronically through various digital platforms. The library Web site functions as the main source of information to patrons as well as a community outreach tool. Many library services now either succeed or fail based on how well users interact with the institution's Web site. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of library services, it thus becomes important for libraries to measure the performance of library Web sites. Web analytics is the ideal tool to answer questions regarding the evaluation of Web site performance. However, Web analytics can be hard to understand for those who do not have the time to familiarize themselves with all the terms and data. Writing a thorough Web analytics report can help make Web analytics easier to digest for administrators or Web site stakeholders.

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to craft a Web analytics report. It provides suggestions on visualizing statistics, interpreting data, and customizing the report based on a real experience. The tutorial is facilitated with customized figures, charts, and tables from a real Web analytics report on the Texas Tech University Libraries Web site and concludes with recommendations on presenting the report to the administration and stakeholders.     

Subject Index

No abstract available for this article.     

中国科学院网络主页系统的总体设计与实施

本文介绍了中国科学院网络主页系统的总体设计思想和实施方式,以及系统的安全保证措施     

Transitioning from Marketing-Oriented Design to User-Oriented Design: A Case Study

The transition to a new architecture and design for an academic library Web site does not always proceed smoothly. In this case study, a library at a large research university hired an outside Web development contractor to create a new architecture and design for the university's Web site using dotCMS, an open-source content management system. The library participated in the design and development process along with other campus units. Because the university-wide process focused on marketing the university to prospective students, parents, and donors, the contractor's fact-finding process focused on how the library's site design could incorporate Web 2.0 technologies. The resulting library Web site showcased Web 2.0 technology more than it provided users with access to library resources. The library's users quickly communicated their dissatisfaction and confusion, which led to some immediate changes and a commitment to redesign the site based on expressed and demonstrated user needs. The library then hired another contractor to conduct iterative usability testing on both the new site and prototypes for a redesigned version. The testing showed that Web 2.0 technology that does not meet existing user needs creates obstacles for both novice and experienced users. In collaboration with the university's information technology unit, the library developed and launched a revised Web site, which helped users connect to the resources they needed. In the upgrade, Google Search Appliance replaced the native dotCMS search functionality. The authors of this case study demonstrate that libraries may need to advocate for different Web design priorities than those used at the university-wide level and that working with outside contractors presents different challenges and opportunities depending on the contractor's hiring unit. These experiences also demonstrate that libraries can do a better job learning about their users when they lead the fact-finding process. Following these experiences, the library committed to conducting iterative usability testing on a regular basis.     

Reference Librarianship

Abstract

Changes in the practice of Reference Librarianship as well as some practical and philosophical traits for success in this field in the 21st Century are discussed. There are brief summaries of specific elements of technological change that quite likely will have major impacts on library service delivery and some discussion of historical trends that have or have not prepared the field of librarianship to meet the demands of service in the coming decade.     

The Library,Information, and Institutional Outcomes

Summary

Discusses collection development for distance learning in both the print and electronic era. Focuses on several advances in electronic access that have impacted collection development in recent years.     

Work of the Web Weavers: Web Development in Academic Libraries

Although the library's Web site has become a standard tool for seeking information and conducting research in academic institutions, there are a variety of ways libraries approach the often challenging—and sometimes daunting—process of Web site development and maintenance. Three librarians at Western Michigan University explored issues related to this topic by conducting a Web-based survey, which was sent to two librarians—Web services and reference/public services—at 149 academic institutions. Survey findings are discussed, including references to Web departments and committees, priority setting, Web authoring, soliciting input, outsourcing, content management systems, redesigns, and user involvement. The participants’ insights regarding the greatest challenges and what seems to be working or not working well are also outlined, in addition to the authors’ suggestions for future research in this area.     

Meeting Reference Responsibilities Through Library Web Sites

Summary

Among the many ways the World Wide Web has changed libraries are the additional tools gained by librarians and library users for answering reference questions. In addition to the growing number of licensed resources providing the full text of articles from newspapers, magazines, academic journals, and reference works are the millions of free Web sites offering an incredible variety of information about everything. Locating the most useful of these sites and organizing them into categories on library Web sites can be enormously beneficial both to patrons and libraries. After deciding to make their sites reference portals, librarians must make a number of important decisions.     

Law Library Faculty Services Web Sites: Effectively Communicating Services Provided for Faculty

This article contains the results of an empirical analysis and review of 199 American Bar Association-accredited law school library Web pages to identify the law library services for faculty that are advertised or promoted on law library Web sites. The analysis ranked the Web sites based on how thoroughly a law library communicates, or promotes on its Web site, the services it offers to faculty. The analysis also identified the percentage of law libraries advertising specific services for faculty, such as those related to library staffing, publishing support, teaching support, and research services. Suggestions are included for the promotion of the law library to faculty, including services some libraries are uniquely offering.     

Library Services to External Students from Australian Universities: The Influence of Flexible Delivery upon Traditional Service Provision

Summary

Distance education services provided by a number of Australian university libraries are considered. Attention is paid to agreements between libraries, library staff involvement in program and information skills development, evaluation of services, and the evolution of online delivery. This paper establishes that little provision is made for the specific support of the adult learner in distance education and argues that flexible delivery initiatives are diminishing the distinction between on- and off-campus services, irrespective of client-base.