NOTE: I'll be taking a break for a couple of weeks while I'm speaking at the Wisconsin Library Association conference and the Internet Librarian conference. Next edition, November 15.
UNUSUALLY INTERESTING LIBRARY WEB SITES: PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CHARLOTTE AND MECKLENBURG COUNTY
by Marylaine Block. The web site is at http://plcmc.org/
The navigation bar and logo are about the only things this web site has in common with other library web pages. They remain constant from page to page, offering standard features such as access to Online Resources, Beyond Books, For Kids, For Teens, Ask a Librarian, and such.
Everything else is pretty amazing, the sign that Imagination has taken up permanent residence at PLCMC. It's a splendid example of re-envisioning what we do in libraries in light of the capabilities of the web.
The center of the screen -- the focal point and place of honor -- is a constantly changing hyperlinked poster. Right now it alternates between a poster for their gallery's exhibition on Rock and Roll Graphics, 1966-70, their local history page, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story, and "Quotes from the Columns" -- words about books that are posted on the columns of the main library.
On the right are links to the unique web pages created by Helene Blowers, Web Services Director, any one of which is brilliant enough to give the library a reputation as a leader in the wired world. One of the most well-known of these is Story Place, The Children's Digital Library, which is available in English and Spanish. Children can print-out activities, or participate in the telling of a Topsy Turvy Tale (animated cartoon adventures with read-along comic-strip style blurbs), visit the Elementary Library, or move on to another of their sites, The Book Hive.
This includes interactive pages (the Harry Potter Book Quiz, a Coloring Page, My Booklist), book reviews, and Top 20 Reading Lists for different grade levels. There are also reviews of books on all kinds of subjects -- fantasy, humor, multicultural, read-alouds, beginning chapter books, and such -- and these too give readers the chance to add their own comments. And that's not all that's here for kids. There's also a Hands-on Crafts page.
And there's brarydog, billed as "your homework help and web companion," though adults should find this customizable portal every bit as useful. Users can can select for their personalized page the databases and web pages and links that interest them, and then log on to it from anyplace in the world where they have internet access. And while use of the databases is restricted to library cardholders or brarydog memberships, people outside the service area can purchase memberships.
Other special services include HealthLink Plus, an excellent guide to consumer health information in both English and Spanish that, in addition to links to trustworthy medical sites includes information about local doctors, hospitals and other health resources, and a guide to evaluating information on the net. BizLink is one of the better guides to resources on personal finance, company information, taxes, starting a small business, and other business topics.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story is where the library really shows its rootedness in the community it serves. It provides information on local people, past and present, a timeline of local history, exhibits on topics like the area's doughboys of WWI, the home front during WWII, and an index of local cemeteries. It includes a Student Guide to Government and Officials which would be even more valuable to voting-age adults. Users interested in regional and family history can subscribe to an e-mail newsletter on the topic called Historical Hijinks. And of course, this is a fine opportunity for the library to showcase its genealogy and history programs.
The most interesting thing about the web site is what the librarians have chosen NOT to do: brand each of the well-known pages as part of PLCMC by framing it with the PLCMC logo, the "search the web site" button, and the standardized navigation scheme that takes users to other library web site functions. These special pages don't even share the plcmc.org address but have independent identities as http://www.bizlink.org/, http://www.bookhive.org/, http://www.storyplace.org/, and such. True, at the bottom of each of these pages there is a link telling people these are part of the PCLMC family of web sites, but it's so discreet people could easily use the sites for months without noticing, and without a clue that they're provided by a library.
I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this is, but perhaps it was to avoid any possible hint of uncoolness that the word library might evoke. Instead, these attractive web sites are allowed to build a reputation on their own and subtly lure people to the rest of the library's site. I'd be interested to know if this works well enough to compensate for the loss of brand value -- hey, there's just one incredibly nifty site after another at the Public Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg County!
The site deserves careful study by any library site designer because it so clearly starts from an understanding of the needs of the local community, the capabilities of the net, and the ways in which people prefer to use it. Since web users like to talk back, so the site has built in many opportunities for users to comment and contribute. The librarians have used the web's AV capabilities to the full, for animated storytelling, digitized local history, and 24/7 interactive reference. Librarians have anticipated users needs with a variety of FAQs, and of course with subject guides to their most frequent concerns, health, business, and genealogy. Take a look and see if it doesn't start your own creative juices flowing.
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COOL QUOTE
What keeps us library types going when the dotcoms are going bust is this: We have a business plan that has stood the test of time, a plan in which generations of librarians have believed in passionately, a plan that has inspired countless library users and city councils because of its simple elegance. What we have is a bargain with history as well as brilliantly simple historical bargain. Libraries promise to share knowledge and seek wisdom. We keep that promise, whether it is with print, what we used to call non-print, or with electronic sources. We do it at bargain prices. For this society rewards us. Not much, it's true. But we have a staying power that other less clear business plans (like NetLibrary or other dotcoms) never approached."
Thomas Hennen, librarian, author, and creator of Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HALPR)
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Ex Libris: an E-Zine for Librarians and Other Information Junkies.
http://marylaine.com/exlibris/
Copyright, Marylaine Block, 1999-2002.
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