1. Introduction:
The
website is a distinct location on the internet, identified by an Internet
Protocol (IP) address and can be accessed by using Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) request. The website consists of all interrelated webpages residing at
the IP address. The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the pages organizes them
into a hierarchy. The home page is the first page which loaded automatically
when one enters only a domain name as URL in a web browser. To take the
visitors to other pages the home page carries hyperlinks, so that one can jump
between pages by clicking on a link. The homepage may be the only or the first
page of a website, or may be act as a guide to various carefully planned
sections of a large professionally designed website.
Websites are written in, or dynamically
converted to, Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and are accessed using a
software package called a web browser. WebPages can be viewed on computers or
various portable devices like Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)s, cell phones,
etc. that have internet-capable functionality and a functional internet
connection.
A library website is a distinct location
on the internet, identified by an Internet Protocol (IP) address and can be
accessed by using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request and provide
information, services or facilities to the user over the web.
2. Factors for
Contents Identification: The content of a library website will be very much
like the content of a traditional library pathfinder. The following factors can
be considered in design and development of contents for library website.
a) Consideration
of Five Laws of Library Science: The five laws of library science is
the base of content identification for any library related website. It will
give a direction regarding what kind of information should be incorporated into
the website and what not.
b) Observation
of Librarian and Staff: Observation of the librarian and library staff
regarding how the students or patrons use the classroom, center, or library;
how do they use the Internet, how much time do they spend on particular pages,
do they actually read off the screen or do the scroll, click, and print? etc.
can be important for content identification. Other subject specialist
librarians with an understanding of the goals of the libraries can also be
asked to provide lists of materials for inclusion in the website.
c) Studying
Popular Websites:
The librarian should also spend some time exploring some best library websites
currently available on the web. The librarian can also consult Awwwards
(http://www.awwwards.com), CSS Design Awards (https://www.cssdesignawards.com),
CSS Winner (https://www.csswinner.com), Web Awards (http://www.webaward.org),
etc. to study world best website in different subject area.
d) Conducting a
Recent Survey: Talking
with the library user to know how do they use the web? What things make them
frustrated? What do they think is missing from the web? What local information
would be useful? How would they prefer information to be organized etc. is
important for contents identification. The librarian also needs to find out
things like the reading level of their users and their language preference. Are
there any groups in their community that have special interests such as the
elderly or children? What kinds of services would the patrons of the library
like to see online? Should the primary purpose be informational, instructional,
or promotional? The librarian should make a choice among the answer of such
questions.
The librarian should also see what
people look for by checking out social networking websites like Facebook,
Twitter, Ask.com, blog, discussion forum related to library, Google groups,
Yahoo groups, news sites such as Google News, Blog, things people ask on Yahoo
answers, Amazon, and so on.
e) Recent
Probable Keywords: Most
people use search engines to look for the websites. So, what keywords they used
might be an important thing for the librarian to consider. The librarian can
get this from Keyword Discovery (http://www.keyworddiscovery.com), Google Ads:
Keyword Planner (https://ads.google.com/aw/keywordplanner/home), etc
3. Types of
Contents: The
webpage developer must give their visitors what user want, not what s/he
himself want, then only the user will love to visit the site and will
appreciate it. It will also make the user recommend a particular website to
their friends. There are many types of content that can be included in the
Library website. How does librarian choose? The following gives a light in this
regard.
3.1 Based on
Depth of Information: Based on the depth of the information, the content
can be-
a) Bibliographic
Sources: The website
should provide links to catalogues, bibliographic indexes, directories,
citation indexes and other finding tools.
b) Reference
Sources:
The website should acquire dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries, thesaurus
etc for reference purpose.
c) Information
Sources: Books, journals,
maps, images, statistics, and other media that meets the user need should
directly be accessible from the website.
In a public library website there
might be links to student, teacher and parent sections or there might be
special sections for children, adult and elder.
3.2 Based on
Thought Content: Based
on the thought contents, the library webpage content may be of the following
types-
a) Essential
Contents:
WebPages should start with the basics i.e. About Us, Library Staff, Library
Collection, Library Services, and Contact Us and so on.
i) About Us: Many library websites have a page that
contains background information about the library. It is the page that provides
information about the library name, mission, philosophical and historical
foundation of the library, objectives, history, functions, opening and closing
time, parent institution/ organization of the library,
development plans, library departments,
cooperating institutions, library network, computer equipment, virtual tour,
statistics, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), and so on. They may also contain
updates such as information about construction or gifts.
ii) Library Staff: The Library Staff
page can include the name of the staff working in the library, their
designation, contact information, a passport size or group photographs, a
hierarchical structure of the staff, their responsibilities and so on.
iii) Library Collection: A list and description of all
collections and their special features may be included. It may also provide links to the
resources and services which can be accessed by one and all. Under this
category the dictionary, thesaurus, glossary, encyclopedia,
electronic books, open access journal, electronic databases, directories and
resource guides and searching tools may be included. It can also list
out the non book material, government and official publications, local
information, special collections, and so on.
iv) Library Services: Book
reservations, online book renewals, electronic document delivery service are
just a few of the services now offered online by many libraries and therefore
be included in a particular website.
v) Contact Us: Location of the library within the parent organization, within the
state and within the country as a whole (geographic), its complete addresses or
“Contact Us” information (physical, phone, fax, email), embedded Google Map may
be useful to the users.
b) Announcement: It is good if one will be able to consider links to local news as well as
global news sources related to library or current
information in the field. This may include new web resources; current local
events, and new acquisitions, lists of new materials arrived at the library,
upcoming events, and current job notification. If the web developer want
visitors to look at the special announcement, then it is better to place them
in the home page itself. The websites may also provide Email and RSS
subscription option for the updates from the website.
c) Interactive
Contents:
The users are learning best by doing. For getting the users involved with the
website it must contain a two-way communication channel. The librarian should
ask the user to submit feedback or query or other similar things, should ask
them to involve with online discussions or posting book reviews and so on. It
will also be better if the website include a comment section in all of its
pages or online registration forms, a guestbook for comments and such others.
Email has become a popular tool, guest book, ask-an-expert, chat room and
group, forum (by using blog technology, social networking, etc) should
also be added to the library to get the feedback and to build group activities
for modification of the site so that it is tailored to the user need and
purpose. The websites should also be a starting point for a discussion and
collaboration with other similar institution / organization / libraries.
d) Local /
Unique Contents:
The library should consider those things that will make their website unique.
It is better to post or share local events and information of interest and so
on. Online help to the users should be structured to provide guidance and do
the practice by themselves.
e) Legal Issues: Intellectual
freedom, licensing
policy, copyright, citing sources,
content disclaimer, and plagiarism are just a few of the other issues important
to libraries. One may wish to include resources related to these topics also. A
disclaimer sentence is also necessary stating the statement of content responsibility, copyright, use statement; not
responsible for external links, etc.
f) Others: Besides the above, the library website can
also have the name, address, email id of the website developer to report the
problem faced by the user of the website, date of origin and updates of the
website so that other can cite the website properly. The collection
development policies may also be included. The public library website must
contain link for online donation under support us or make a donation.
The website can also have a site search
facility. Implementing search services like Google’s custom search
(https://cse.google.com) might be something the libraries wants to do. The
inclusion of Sitemaps may be considered must so that the site
is indexed by Google and other general purpose search engine properly. Many websites
also link to related libraries or organizations.
Webpage contents can also be identified
based on its position in the webpage such as header information, middle
contents, footer information and so on. Footer information will include
developer’s name, address, email, date of origin and updates of the website,
support us /make a donation, sitemaps and so on.
4. Principles
for Designing a Website: The web was born to make information sharing easier;
therefore, we must ignore unessential contents like banners, graphics and
animation, etc. We should focus exclusively on the information users are
looking for. In designing the website much stress need to be given to the home
page, as it is the first and foremost page the user will likely or forced to
visit. In designing the website all other future growth and development should
also be considered. The following guiding
principles are suggested for the development of a website-
a) Self Describing: A website should have enough information for
completing a specific task. It should direct where to start, and with the sites
information architecture, in particular with interpreting the categories and
their labels.
b) Maintaining
Identity: Correct usage of names, logos and seals
must be followed and it should be consistent across the site.
c) Targeted and
Timely Response: User interfaces should be designed
to get users started in the direction most likely to result in success for
their current need. The system should provide a response time that is
acceptable to the user.
d) Integrate Various
Information Sources: Wherever appropriate, webpages
should provide, to each level of user, a single interface that transparently
integrates separate resources (e.g., dictionary, glossary, encyclopedia, etc).
e) User-centered
Design: The webmaster
along with the designer of the website always needs to remain committed to the
primary goal of the user i.e. providing the user the tool necessary to use the
online resources to succeed in their information seeking. Design need to be
focused on how the user will use the system. To have a proper user-centered
design in place, the following should be taken care of-
i)
Provide clear Instructions on use: Help button
should be easy to find; the help instructions should be focused on the concrete
steps to be carried out and be brief.
ii) Jargon-free: The interface should
speak the users’ language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the
user, rather than using jargon, acronyms, and system-oriented terms. The names
of library services and systems or their explanatory labels should reflect what
they do.
iii) Consistent Identification: Standard
language and terminology should be used throughout the website to refer to the
same activity or item.
iv) Refer
User to Human Assistance: The website
should be able to refer a user who needs more help to a person.
f) Maintain User
Task Context: The user interface should keep users
informed about where they are in the session and as much as possible, help them
keep their place in the web-based user interfaces.
g) Maintain Setting
Visibility:
The objects, actions, and options should be
visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the
dialogue to another.
h) Continuously
Evaluated and Updated: To keep the website looking
fresh and up-to-date it constantly needs to be reviewed and new capabilities
need to be added.
i) Keeping Broken
Links to a Minimum: All necessary steps like
checking broken link automatically and periodically should be taken to reduce
the number of broken links.
j) Provide Support
for Multiple Browsers: The website need to be accessible to a number of different Browsers and versions.
k) Comply with Copyright Policies: The website
should comply with all policies and guidelines of the institute, country and
the world as a whole.
l) Comply with all State and Federal
Regulations:
The website should comply with the American Disabilities Act (ADA)
(http://www.ada.gov) and Section 508 (http://www.section508.gov) requirements.
m) Comply
with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: The website should
comply with the web content accessibility guideline
as outlined by the W3C (http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505/full-checklist.html).
n) Simple, and Clean
Navigation Option: To assist users the interface
should provide useful, consistent navigational tools / bars that represent the
most-used navigational features.
o) Searching Option:
The website should provide a single search box for
all resources in the website. It may also provide tips for improving search
results to assist users in locating the information.
p) Browsing Option: A hierarchical, supplemental, or contextual
browsing approach should be provided to user.
q) Sitemaps: The website
should provide Extensible Markup Language (XML) and HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) variant of the sitemaps for the user and the search engines.
r) Facilitate
Comment and Feedback: Users should be able to
easily report problems they encounter with website, databases, applications and
search engine. Feedback forms should be widely available.
s) Data Security
and Integrity: All
those intending to place information on the website should test it for data
security and should seek approval from the authority.
The web page developer should also
have a clear idea of the features that
improve a website, and those that degrade its quality. The improving features
may include, but not limited to- easy to navigate, logical in structure; and
pleasant appearance. Characteristics to avoid include- unclear means of
navigation, crowded pages, etc.
5. Webpage Formatting Guideline: Adhering to the
following general guideline will help to build a useful website.
a) File Name: The file name
should not have any space and special character. The file names of a webpage,
if possible should be very short, and should represent contents and are of
memorable value.
b)
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS): CSS can create and control the
style of the page (colors, sizes, spacing) as well as the layout (the position
of text, navigation, graphics). It is also a time saving mechanism in building
WebPages. So, whenever possible CSS should be used in the webpages.
c)
Responsive Design:
Responsive Web design (RWD) aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal
viewing experience-easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing,
panning, and scrolling across a wide range of devices (from mobile phones to
desktop computer monitors). In case of websites
that don’t use up all of the available space, liquid design should be introduce
to fixes the problem by making the layout fit to the screen.
d) Colors and Fonts: The following can be treated as a general guideline about colors and
fonts.
i) Font: The types of
fonts that work best on websites are sans serif. To make the text attractive to
read, the webpage developer can use different sizes and colors for headings,
subheadings and paragraphs giving plenty of space in between.
ii) Background
Colors:
The
rule of thumb is to build a website with dark text on light colored background
or white background.
e)
Links: People
learned early on that links were the blue, underlined phrases one can click on.
Visited links were purple. All other text is black. So if possible, webmasters
should be consistence in maintaining this guideline.
f)
Navigation:
The home page should act as guide to all the first level web pages. It is
better to build a horizontal menu bar with 7 to 10 options maximum in the
homepage. Creation of a left hand side menu to list options at first level
pages is a good idea. All other pages should point back to the home page and
any other important “first level” pages. If possible, it is better to avoid
drop down menus.
g) Browsing: The website must
provide browsing using a hierarchical or contextual approach.
h) Loading Speed: For any educational site loading speed is foremost important thing than
anything else. The website designer can cut load times to a minimum by taking
out any graphic that doesn’t add to the user experience, by using CSS instead
of font tags to style the text, etc.
i) Graphics: The webmaster should accept the fact
that words is the core reason people visit their website. Graphics should be
used only when they are essential to communicate something that is not possible
to with words alone.
j) Sound: In incorporating
sound in the webpage, developer should be sure that sounds attract rather than
distract from the content. Again, if sound is necessary to include in the
website, kindly don’t make set it to auto play.
k) GIF
Animation: The
webmaster should choose animations that contribute to the theme, otherwise they
should be avoided.
l) Technical
Standard:
Website should used existing standards related to hardware, software, graphics,
Email, and almost everything related to the Internet.
6. Prerequisite for Website Design and Development: To design and
develop a website, the following prerequisite are needed-
a) Operating System:
An
Operating System (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer
hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. One can use any one from Windows /
Macintosh / UNIX machine to create Webpages, but the speed of the computer’s
modem or Network Interface Controller (NIC) should be at least 28.8 Kbps, and
faster is better.
b) Web Browser: A web browser
is a computer program that interprets HTML commands to collect, arrange, and
display the parts of a webpage. Browser contact a Web server, send a request
for information, receives the information and display the information on the
local system. According to StatCounter
(https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share#monthly-202001-202004-bar)
during the period of January 2020 to April 2020, usage share of desktop
browsers is Chrome (63.85%), Safari
(18.08%), Firefox (4.5%), Samsung Internet (3.33%), UC Browser (2.21), Edge
Legacy (2.18%), Opera (1.89%), and Internet Explorer (1.63%). People can get
Google Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome), Safari
(https://www.apple.com/in/safari/), Firefox
(https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/) or Microsoft Internet Explorer
(https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/internet-explorer.aspx) browsers free
from the internet.
c) Internet Access: Internet access
connects individual computer terminals, computers, mobile devices, and computer
networks to the Internet, enabling users to access Internet services. One can
either connect through the local network of the school / college / office / business
house or even through the General Packet Radio Service
(GPRS) of Mobile connection. The data cards are also becoming popular.
d) Programming
Language:
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate
instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. A web page is created using
a language called, HyperText Markup Language
(HTML). eXtended HyperText Markup Language
(XHTML) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) are the new
standard for webpage creation which are replacing the old fashioned HTML tags.
Active Server Pages (ASP), Java Server Pages (JSP) and /or a host of other
dynamic web-scripting languages can also be used to generate web pages.
Whenever possible, the data
transferred from the Web server to the browser will be in the form of XHTML
documents. By adhering to the XHTML standards the website developer can reap
all the benefits of XML, namely, separation of presentation from content,
compatibility with future Web standards, and the ability to reformat content
for different purposes and reading devices.
Dynamic HTML provides for user
interactivity and real time element updating within webpages (i.e., pages don’t
have to be loaded or reloaded to effect any changes), mainly using the Document
Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript, support for which is built-in to most modern
browsers.
A website also requires software known
as an HTTP Server such as Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS),
Apache, nginx, Google, etc.. Often websites may include content that is pulled
from one or more databases or using XML-based technologies such as Rich Site
Summary (RSS).
e) HTML Editors:
An
HTML editor is a computer program for creating webpages. Generally, the
following types of editors are available for creating a webpage. They are-
i) Plain Text Editor: One can write
the HTML tags within a plain text editor, such as Windows Notepad. People who are
familiar with HTML can also use text editors such Norton Editor, EDIT or
Macintosh Simple Text Editor and then insert the HTML commands to get the
desired output.
ii) WYSIWYG Editor: What You See Is
What You Get (WYSIWYG) HTML editors provide an editing interface which
resembles how the page will be displayed in a web browser. Google Web Designer
(https://webdesigner.withgoogle.com/), Notepad++
(https://notepad-plus-plus.org), Quill (https://quilljs.com), Komodo IDE
(https://www.activestate.com/products/komodo-ide/), Summer Note
(https://summernote.org/), Brackets (http://brackets.io/), etc are good
examples in this category.
iii) Online Editors: Now-a-days many
web hosting service provider, provided the facility of generating webpage using
their own softwares. They are easy to use. Such tools include – Blogger
(http://www.blogger.com), Google Sites (http://sites.google.com),
HTML Online (https://html-online.com/), etc.
f) Domain Name
System (DNS):
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical
distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to
the Internet or a private network. DNS is an essential component of the
functionality of the Internet. A domain name for the website is a must. Domain
name is alphabetical form or easy to remember form of an IP address that is
assigned to you in the form of a website with some Top Level Domain (TLD). DNS
translates the numerical IP addresses like 68.73.129.32 to easily memorized
domain names like lislinks.com needed for the purpose of locating
computer services and devices worldwide.
Domain Name Server (DNS) is the host. If it will not host and resolve the DNS,
it will display an error like DNS address not found. If the domain you would
like to purchase doesn’t have much demand, then the annual price of a domain
name will comes in between Rs.300 to Rs.1000. Google Domains
(https://domains.google) GoDaddy.com (http://www.godaddy.com), eNom, and Tucows
Domains are some of the domain registers companies in the world.
It may be noted that people who design
and develop their website by using Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), Google
Sites (http://sites.google.com) and such other platform, a free sub-domain is
provided by the company but this usually
isn’t ideal for businesses and should probably be avoided and to host it
in a custom domain, the developer need to purchase it from them or from any
other company.
g) Internet
Hosting Service:
An Internet hosting service is a service that runs
Internet servers, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content to
the Internet i.e. it allows individuals and organizations to keep their
files in a computer that is connected 24 X 7 X 365 and make it accessible to
the whole world via the World Wide Web. Web
hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by
clients and the clients can run anything they want.
Hosting services are most often used for hosting Websites
but can also be used for hosting files, images, photos, videos and other
similar content. Go Daddy (http://www.godaddy.com), Ionos
(https://www.ionos.com/), Hostgator.com (https://www.hostgator.com) are the top
hosts in the world. However, when you choose a hosting service provider, if
possible kindly select the same company from which you have purchased your
domain. It will make your task a lot easier when you try to link your domain to
your hosting account.
It may be noted that people who design
and develop their website by using Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), Google
Sites (http://sites.google.com) and such other platform, need not to spend on
hosting as these companies host the information completely free of cost.
h) FTP Client: To
make an HTML page part of the publicly accessible World Wide Web, one needs to
transfer the HTML documents to a web server or upload the site by using FTP to
a computer that is connected to the internet 24 hours a day. The FTP program
should be available at the workstation, i.e., the user’s PC. An FTP client
program sends a request to an FTP server asking for exchange of information and
transfer files. The server in turn verifies whether the user is authorized to
send or receive files and responds accordingly. Transferring of pages by using
FTP client varies from one network to another depending on the network
structure and server set-up. If one run his/her own web server, this procedure
is simply a matter of copying the file to the right directory folder. Otherwise
one can use FileZilla, CuteFTP, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Macromedia Dream
Weaver, NerObjects Fusion, Adobe PageMill, Netscape Navigator, etc to upload
the HTML files to the web server. One can also find many FTP program as
shareware to be used for some days freely at Shareware.com (http://www.shareware.com).
7. Conclusion: Libraries of all
types provide guidance to the user on evaluation of information sources before
its consultation for a work. Same thing is followed in the website too. So, it
is very much important that the website that is designed and developed for the
library clearly mention the name of the author or developer of the website,
date of publication / updation / revision within or below the webpage content
itself. Again, people return to websites that are constantly posting new
information. In addition, the librarian should develop a plan to update
existing pages. The contents need to be updated regularly; no content should be
left un-updated for a longer time.
How to Cite this
Article?
APA Citation, 7th Ed.: Barman, B. (2020). A comprehensive book on Library and Information Science. New
Publications.
Chicago 16th Ed.: Barman, Badan. A Comprehensive Book on Library and Information Science. Guwahati:
New Publications, 2020.
MLA Citation 8th Ed: Barman, Badan. A Comprehensive Book on Library and Information Science. New
Publications, 2020.

No comments:
Post a Comment