Table Of ContentAugust/September 2009
vol. 45 / no. 6
MEET THE FACE OF Library Technology
W! ISSN 0024-2586
NE
ALA TechSource Online R e p o R T S
expert Guides to Library Systems and Services
www.alatechsource.org
a publishing unit of the
American Library Association
(cid:262)(cid:1) Access a growing
archive of more
than 8 years of
Library Technology
Reports (LTR) and
Smart Libraries
Newsletter (SLN)
(cid:262)(cid:1) Read full issues
online (LTR only) or
as downloadable
PDFs
(cid:262)(cid:1) Learn from
industry-leading
practitioners
(cid:262)(cid:1) Share unlimited
simultaneous
FREE SAMPLES @ alatechsource.metapress.com
access across your
institution
(cid:262)(cid:1) Personalize with
RSS alerts, saved
items, and emailed
favorites
(cid:262)(cid:1) Perform full-text
searches
LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY
UNCOVERED, EXPLORED, ONLINE
Building the Digital Branch:
Subscribe to TechSource Online today!
alatechsource.metapress.com Guidelines to Transform
Your Website
Your support helps fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.
by David Lee King
Library Technology
R e p o R T s
Expert Guides to Library Systems and Services
Building the Digital Branch:
Guidelines for Transforming
Your Library Website
David Lee King
www.alatechsource.org
Copyright © 2009 American Library Association
All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Library Technology David Lee King is the Digital
Branch and Services Manager at
R e p oR Ts the Topeka and Shawnee County
Public Library, where he plans
for, implements, and experi-
American Library Association
ments with emerging technology
50 East Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611-2795 USA trends. He speaks internationally
www.alatechsource.org about emerging trends, website
800-545-2433, ext. 4299
usability and management, digital
312-944-6780
312-280-5275 (fax) experience planning, and managing techie staff and has been
published in many library-related journals. David was named
Advertising Representative a Library Journal Mover and Shaker for 2008 and recently
Brian Searles, Ad Sales Manager published his first book, Designing the Digital Experience.
ALA Publishing Dept.
[email protected] David writes the Internet Spotlight column in Public Libraries
312-280-5282 magazine with Michael Porter and maintains a blog at www.
1-800-545-2433, ext. 5282
davidleeking.com.
ALA TechSource Editor
Dan Freeman
[email protected]
312-280-5413
Copy Editor
Judith Lauber
Administrative Assistant
Judy Foley
[email protected]
800-545-2433, ext. 4272
312-280-5275 (fax)
Production and Design
ALA Production Services: Troy D. Linker
and Kimberly Saar Richardson
Abstract
Library Technology Reports (ISSN 0024-2586) is published eight times a In the past fifteen years, the World Wide Web has become
year (January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December)
such a major part of the library world that most librar-
by American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. It is
managed by ALA TechSource, a unit of the publishing department of ALA. ies now have some presence on the Web. This issue of
Periodical postage paid at Chicago, Illinois, and at additional mailing offices.
Library Technology Reports explores the idea of the
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Library Technology Reports, 50 E.
Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. digital branch—a library website that is a vital, functional
resource for patrons and enhances the library’s place
Trademarked names appear in the text of this journal. Rather than identify
or insert a trademark symbol at the appearance of each name, the authors within its community. The report outlines an efficient pro-
and the American Library Association state that the names are used for cess for creating a digital branch, from the initial phases
editorial purposes exclusively, to the ultimate benefit of the owners of the
of gathering information and sketching out a design, to
trademarks. There is absolutely no intention of infringement on the rights
of the trademark owners. winning approval from management, hiring qualified IT
staff, and maintaining and upgrading the site once it is
built. Throughout the report, the author regularly uses
his experience at his own library as an example of how the
process can unfold and what pitfalls to avoid.
Subscriptions
wwwwww.a.alalatetecchhssoouurcrcee.o.orgrg
For more information about subscriptions and
Copyright ©2009 American Library Association individual issues for purchase, call the ALA Customer
All Rights Reserved. service Center at 1-800-545-2433 and press 5 for
assistance, or visit www.alatechsource.org.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1—What Is a Digital Branch, Anyway? 5
The Purpose of This Report 5
The Digital Branch Defined 6
What’s a Website? 6
Traditional Libraries 6
Building 6
Budget 7
Staff 7
Collection 7
Community 7
What Is a Digital Branch? 8
Real Staff 8
Real Collection 8
Real Building 8
Real Community 9
The Digital Branch Allows a Choice 9
What’s Next? 9
Notes 9
Chapter 2—Gathering Information 10
Hold Discussions 10
Start with the Leaders 10
Ask the Public Services Staff 11
Don’t Forget the Patrons—Your Customers 11
Observing 12
Note 12
Chapter 3—The Planning Process 13
Pull Your Information Together 13
Gather a Committee 15
Go Visit the Managers Again 15
Note 15
Chapter 4—Building the Branch 16
First Decisions 16
Content Management System 16
What Do You Want Your CMS to Do? 17
CMS Options 17
Windows or Linux? 18
Next Up: Design 19
The Design Process 19
HTML Prototype 19
Seeking Feedback 19
Building: Getting Started 20
Time 20
Deadlines 20
Staff 20
Creating Content 21
Notes 22
Table of Contents, continued
Chapter 5—What to Do Once Your Site Is Built 23
Focus on Staff 23
Continuous Writing 23
Job-Specific Training 23
Training and Coaching on Improvements 24
Touching Base 24
Modeling the Way 24
Creating a Style Guide 25
Continued Focus on Site Improvements 28
Chapter 6—Creating Community at the Digital Branch 30
What Is Digital Community? 30
Tools That Help Facilitate Digital Community 30
Blogs 30
IM and SMS Messaging 31
Twitter 31
Outposts—Content and Comments 32
Getting Participation at Your Digital Branch 32
Listening First 32
Creating Content 32
Being Real 33
Notes 33
Chapter 7—Planning for the Next Phase 34
Current Updates 34
Building Outposts 35
Strategic Planning: Next Steps 35
No Dry Rot 36
Teaching/Training 36
Chapter 8—Resources 37
Books on Building and Improving Websites 37
Blogs and Websites Relevant to this Report 37
Great List of Web Designers to Follow on Twitter 38
Content Management Systems 38
Wikipedia List of Content Management Systems 38
Social Media Tools to Enhance your Digital Branch 38
Must-Have Social Networking Sites—Start with These 38
Other Useful Tools and Services 38
Selected Digital Branches 38
CChhaapptteerr X1
What Is a Digital
Branch, Anyway?
Abstract Today, people driving down that road have discovered
communities along the way. With the emergence of Web
In order to build a digital branch, we first need to know
2.0, people can not only find information, they can also
what a digital branch is. How does it differ from a
often interact directly with the person who provided that
website? This chapter of “Building the Digital Branch:
information. They can add their own thoughts to the con-
Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website”
tent created by that person. They can remix that original
gives a brief history of library websites and discusses
content into something else entirely. The superhighway
how library websites and the traditional physical library
has become more like the old, winding Route 66, with
combine to form the concept of a digital branch.
many points of interest. Someone might want to pull off
the road and poke around or chat for a while. The new
The Purpose of This Report Web allows that type of interaction. Lib
That’s where the idea of a digital branch comes into ra
r
y
Library websites have been around for about fifteen years. play. A modern library can exist in two places—in a build- T
e
During that time, library websites and the nature of the ing and online. When this idea is taken to the next step, ch
n
Internet itself have changed considerably. These sites people can now hold conversations with librarians in the olo
started to appear in the mid-nineties. Dan Lester, librar- building and online. People can hold meetings in the gy
ian emeritus at Boise State University, described those physical library and in the online library. Re
p
early days: “Boise State University Library had a website If you would like your digital branch to become more o
r
in the spring of 1994. . . . It ran under Windows 3.1 on of a destination, read on—we’ll take that journey together. ts
my desktop on a 486, 24/7, and was able to easily handle In this issue of Library Technology Reports, you will find w
w
the load in those days.”1 I also started building websites the following: w.a
around that time. The concept of a digital branch library is defined late
The list of what has changed in the past fifteen years and explained in this chapter, “What Is a Digital Branch, ch
s
o
could fill a library. For starters, coding languages have Anyway?” In chapter 2, “Gathering Information,” I discuss u
rc
multiplied. Back then, I learned HTML. Now, Web devel- how my library, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, e.o
opers also learn CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Ajax, and Ruby on gathered information from customers and staff about what rg
Rails (and those are just a few). they thought a digital branch library should do. Next, in the A
u
Interaction has also changed. The “old Web” is third chapter, we examine “The Planning Process.” gu
s
described in the definition of World Wide Web on The process of building the site is discussed in chap- t/
S
Wikipedia as a place where “one can view Web pages that ter 4, “Building the Branch.” Chapter 5, “What to Do ep
may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia Once Your Site Is Built,” discusses how to work with staff tem
b
and navigate between them using hyperlinks.”2 The old on content for the digital branch. Your patrons will want e
Web was primarily about finding information and navigat- to add their voices to the conversation, and that’s the r 20
0
ing to other webpages. Hence, it was fondly referred to as focus of chapter 6, “Creating Community at the Digital 9
the Information Superhighway. Branch.”
5
Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website David Lee King
Finally, chapter 7, “Planning for the Next Phase,” not be new to you, it will provide a valuable model when
focuses on our next steps in Topeka and relates them we consider the digital branch.
to potential next steps for your library. You’ll also find a
resources section that lists tools in a variety of different Building
media to help you get started.
In order to have a library, you generally need a permanent
building (see figure 3). With that building comes a great
deal of maintenance and upkeep. Anyone who has ever
The Digital Branch Defined
owned a house knows that, right? If the roof develops a
leak, you have to fix it. If the carpet gets dirty, you have
In order to build a digital branch, we first need to know
to clean it. A library building of any size is a complex
what a digital branch is. How does it differ from a web-
creature. There are few library classes (if any) that teach
site? In this chapter, we’ll discuss library websites and the
budding librarians how to install new shelving, how to
traditional physical library, then mix the two together to
hire a plumber, how to pick appropriate carpet for a mul-
arrive at a description of a digital branch.
tipurpose room, or how to create useful signage.
What’s a Website?
Traditionally, a library website has been, well, traditional
(which is weird to say about a website, isn’t it?). Think
about it—many library websites, both visually and struc-
turally, were built last century. Their model was based on
what is now a dated, almost “traditional” structural and
visual model of website design.
Those older model websites focused on providing
information about the library rather than on providing
actual online services (see figure 1). There wasn’t a lot of
interaction on the average website in the nineties. Many
library sites had catalog links, pointers to other websites,
and information about the library—its history, what ser-
09 vices it offered, and when it was open. In fact, most of the
0
er 2 tools we currently use to interact online with people and
b websites were not yet available.
m
e Some library websites are still operating under that
pt
e older, more traditional model of Web design and struc- Figure 1
S
st/ ture (see figure 2). There’s no online collection on the Library website from 1999.
u
g website. No meetings, chat, or other types of interaction
u
A
happen online. There is rarely a staff person or staff group
org whose main job is to oversee the site. There certainly
ce. aren’t “digital branch workers,” which we’ll discuss later.
ur
o The traditional library website exists primarily to guide
s
h
c people to the physical building and to the services that
e
alat can be found inside the library.
w.
w
w
ts Traditional Libraries
or
p
e
R Traditionally, the “real stuff” a library does happens at
y
g that library’s physical locations—the main buildings and
o
nol branch libraries. Let’s turn our gaze to the branch library.
h
c As you probably know, a traditional physical library con-
e
T
y sists of at least four things: a building, a staff, a collection,
brar and a community. Bear with me as we briefly touch on
Li each of these aspects. While much of this information will Figure 2
Library website from 2009.
6
Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website David Lee King
Figure 3
The author in front of a library building.
Budget
Of course, even the smallest library needs some money Figure 5
and a plan for how to spend it in order to function. You Library collection.
need money allocated to acquisitions, utilities, and sala-
ries, to name just a few things. As we’ll discuss later in
this report, one of the nice things about a library website can keep patrons happy. These staffers answer questions
is that it can be done inexpensively, even if the library is at a busy reference desk while kids are screaming, the
unable to devote significant financial resources to it. printer’s jammed, and someone just spilled coffee on the
Encyclopedia Britannica.
Staff
A traditional library of any size will need a diverse staff Collection Libra
(see figure 4), including graduate-degree-holding librar- Most library collections (see figure 5) are fairly complex. At ry
ians and maintenance workers who actually know how the public library where I work, we have everything from Te
c
h
to keep the building in working order. There are one or comic books to price guides about those comic books, n
o
more administrators who are responsible for the big pic- novels, great nonfiction books, databases, and magazines. lo
g
ture. A library needs people who can keep collections We have a vast array multimedia content, including videos y R
on the shelves, as well as front-line staffers—people who in many formats and music galore. If a public library in ep
o
a medium-sized American city has this much variety, one rts
can only imagine just how complex a collection can get.
w
w
w
Community .a
la
te
Many libraries offer meeting facilities, either formally ch
s
o
or informally (see figure 6). For example, at Topeka and u
rc
Shawnee County Public Library, you can visit the library e
.o
café and have a fine latte with a friend. Staff members rg
interact with customers, involving themselves in the local A
u
community. Customers interact with us by asking ques- g
u
s
tions or attending an event or program. We’re a major t/
S
meeting facility in Topeka, so local organizations hold ep
thousands of meetings every year at our facility. tem
b
e
r 2
0
0
Figure 4 9
Library staff.
7
Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website David Lee King
But we don’t need to stop with the whole reading
thing, do we? After all, this is the Web! These days, our
libraries can offer librarian-created content such as blogs,
videos, and podcasts. This content is important for four
reasons:
1. The content is focused on helping patrons find
and use our materials in a better way.
2. It allows library staff to display a bit of organiza-
tional personality. A video explaining how to use
a database, for example, can be made in a fun
way that still teaches the skill.
Figure 6 3. The librarian has turned into the author. Tra-
patrons using a meeting room at the Topeka and shawnee
ditionally, libraries have housed other authors’
County public Library.
materials and helped patrons navigate through
that mound of knowledge. Now, with the advent
of user-generated content, we too can write for
our patrons. How cool is that?
What Is a Digital Branch?
4. We can even go one step further and allow our
Now that we know what a traditional library website is patrons to join in the fun—with patron-created
and have a description of a physical branch library, we content. Topeka and Shawnee County Pub-
can ask this question: just what is a digital branch? When lic Library is doing that by allowing teens to
I talk about digital branches, I like to remind people that post videos to our YouTube account and book
the “digital” part is somewhat arbitrary. A branch is a reviews to our teen blog. There are many other
branch and must have certain properties, whether it is ways to allow patron participation. This is really
physical or virtual. A digital branch is a branch library, not much different from the way some libraries
delivered digitally, on the Web. It offers much more than a collect books written by local authors—it’s all
traditional library website in many ways, because a digital patron-created content.
branch has real staff, a real building, a real collection, and
real community happening on and around it.
9 Real Building
0
0
2
er Real Staff With the digital branch, we also have a very real destina-
b
m tion that we need to maintain in order for it to grow and
Obviously, the digital branch needs some type of Web
e
ept staff. There must be someone to build and maintain the change. This digital destination is the equivalent of the
S traditional library’s physical building.
/ site and public services staff to interact with customers.
gust These people do typical public service librarian jobs, such Think about it this way—when people want to buy a
u book, they can visit the local bookstore, or they can visit
A as answering questions, but they do it using instant mes-
Amazon. When they want to buy a shirt, they can visit the
g saging, e-mail, and other means of online communication.
or mall, or they can head to Zappos.com. In the same way,
e. Someone needs to respond to comments made on a
urc library’s blog or to the library’s Twitter account. Someone when they want to visit your library, they should have
o
s options. They should be able to visit you in person, or
h also needs to oversee the online library community (much
c
e online at your digital branch.
at as a branch manager would oversee the physical library
al A digital destination has many similarities to a library
w. community).
w building. There are clearly laid out places to do things,
w
just as in the library building. For example, your build-
s Real Collection
ort ing probably has a children’s section, and your website
ep A digital branch also has an actual collection that patrons should also have a children’s section.
R
y can interact with. A branch is a branch only if it contains At your digital branch, patrons can interact with you
g
o materials for patrons to use. With a digital branch, patrons in a way that is similar to the interactions when they visit
ol
n can go beyond mere reading and can interact with reading your library in person. Just as you might have a sugges-
h
c
e materials. For example, they can check out and reserve tion box at a physical branch, patrons can make comments
T
ary books from the catalog. They can read e-books online. on blog posts at a digital branch, or they can send a ques-
br They can listen to and download audiobooks. They can tion via e-mail, text message, or instant messaging. At a
Li
read, browse, and search for periodical articles. physical branch, patrons can reserve materials and par-
8
Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website David Lee King
ticipate in library programs. At a digital branch, patrons The Digital Branch Allows a Choice
can subscribe to parts and pieces of your content using
RSS feeds or attend a virtual book club using a forum The coolest thing about a digital branch is that you give
you have created. your patrons a choice about how they interact with you.
For instance, they can go to the library by simply visiting
your website. Or, through tools like RSS feeds or outpost
Real Community
sites like Facebook, they can have the library come to
The concept of community is crucial to any library. them. That’s something a traditional library model really
Without a community to serve, a library has no reason can’t duplicate.
to exist. In a physical library building, your patrons have
many ways to interact with library staff and each other,
thus continuously building the reciprocal relationship
What’s Next?
between the library and the community. At your digital
branch, they can do many of those same things: The rest of this issue is devoted to examining how to build
a digital branch and how to turn your current website into
• People can hang out there. Patrons can hang out
a digital branch. I plan to touch on quite a few things,
at the library’s digital branch by frequenting blog
including these:
comments, by friending and then interacting with
the library on social networks, or by attending book • Gathering information—how to collect the back-
clubs and visiting forums. ground you’ll need before deciding what to build
• The digital branch is a real place to attend meet- • Planning—how to use the gathered information to
ings. You can set up digital-based meeting spaces. figure out what to build
You can offer slideshows, share Google documents,
• Building—how to build the site, including many
or give a LiveMeeting presentation to your local
details to consider and decisions to make
business users and teach them how to use a hot
• Preparing for interaction—how to decide what
new business resource owned by your library. You
types of content and interactions you digital branch
can also set up video or screencast tutorials or hold
should include
an event in Second Life.
• The digital branch is a real place to interact with
library staff. This is also a type of community activ-
ity. When patrons walk up to the reference desk to Notes L
ib
ask a question, they are playing an active role in ra
r
the library’s community. This can happen digitally 1. Dan Lester, “Please Help SLJ: Milestones in Library y
T
via blog comments, IM, and text reference services; Technology,” Oct. 5, 1999, WEB4LIB, http://lists.web ec
h
comments and discussion groups in social networks; junction.org/wjlists/web4lib/1999-October/028842.html no
and more casual questions via a status update ser- (accessed June 20, 2009). log
y
vice like Twitter. 2. “World Wide Web,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/ R
e
wiki/World_Wide_Web (accessed June 20, 2009). po
r
ts
w
w
w
.a
la
te
c
h
s
o
u
rc
e
.o
rg
A
u
g
u
s
t/
S
e
p
te
m
b
e
r 2
0
0
9
9
Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website David Lee King
