Design

Examples of Good, User-Centered Design

• Springfield-Greene County Library District, http://thelibrary.org/;
• Hartford Public Library, http://www.hartfordpl.lib.ct.us/;
• Lakewood Public Library, http://www.lkwdpl.org/
• Arizona State University Libraries, http://www.asu.edu/lib/

  Specific Design Features

• Use of prime display area for most important content from USERS' point of view: Springfield-Greene County Library District, <http://thelibrary.org/>; Claire T. Carney Library, U-Mass Dartmouth <http://www.lib.umassd.edu/index.html> (interesting feature: show your friends where you are in the library)
• Use of movement, animation: Topeka Shawnee County Public Library, <http://tscpl.org/>; City of Tempe Public Library, <http://www.tempe.gov/library/; Good Question, the revolving list of reference questions answered at the Cleveland Heights/University Heights Library <http://www.heightslibrary.org/>; Mohave Community College Library Services, revolving slide show of librarians, <http://www.mohave.edu/pages/136.asp>

  Design Tips

• Library Terms That Users Understand http://www.jkup.net/terms.html
• Librarian in Black: IL 2007: New Rules of Web Design http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2007/10/il2007-new-rule.html
  
  

  Show off the physical library on your web site

• On your main page: Southfield Public Library, <http://www.sfldlib.org/>; Iowa City Public Library, <http://icpl.org/> - note there's a different scene each time the web site opens; Page (AZ)Public Library, <http://www.youseemore.com/page/default.asp>
• With virtual tours: Anderson Public Library, <http://www.and.lib.in.us/about/virtualtour/>; Apache Junction Public Library, <http://www.ajpl.org/library/tour/index_new.htm>; Kansas City Public Library - Virtual Construction Tour, <http://www.kclibrary.org/support/central/>; Middleborough Public Library http://www.midlib.org/> - revolving slide show
• With webcams: Peabody Library Terrace Webcam <http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/x5635.xml>; Indianapolis Marion County Construction Webcam, <http://warthog.imcpl.org/1/video.html>
• Put your users in the picture: Chandler-Gilbert Community Colleges Library, revolving slide show on front page, <http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/l/ib/library/home/1/>; Scottsdale Public Library <http://library.ci.scottsdale.az.us/
  
  

  Create uniquely useful information to draw people to your site

• New site announcement services: Neat New Stuff <http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html>; ElDorado County Library's What's Hot on the Internet This Week, <http://www.eldoradolibrary.org/thisweek.htm>.
• Library-Created Databases and Digital Text Collections: LaCrosse Public Library Local Genealogy Indexes, <http://lacrosselibrary.org/genealogy/>; Making of America, at University of Michigan, http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/ and Cornell, http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/moa/; Norther Arizona University, Cline Library's Colorado Plateau Digital Archives, <http://library.nau.edu/speccoll/digitalarchives.html; Scottsdale Public Library, Digital local history, photography, maps, etc., <http://library.ci.scottsdale.az.us/local/historicphotos.cfm;
• Library-created topical guides: BNA Web Watch, <http://www.bna.com/webwatch/>; Documents in the News [University of Michigan Documents Center], <http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/docnews.html>; UT's Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection site, <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/;
• Library-created tutorials: Washoe County Library's How To Use a Mouse, <http://www.washoe.lib.nv.us/mod.php?mod=userpage&page_id=91&menu=3501>; Arizona State University Libraries tutorial videos and podcasts, <http://www.asu.edu/lib/librarychannel/>; University of Arizona Library Tutorials and Guides, <http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/index.html>; Researching Your Older Tacoma Home http://www.tpl.lib.wa.us/v2/NWRoom/Build.htm
  
  

  Provide Important Community Services and Information

  For local officials and community leaders:

  Hartford Public Library's HartfordInfo, <http://www.hartfordinfo.org/> - (note especially data sets, City Council meetings previews and reviews; and that HPL manages the city's web site); The University of Minnesota Library's UThink, <http://blog.lib.umn.edu/>; Lakewood Public Library's City of Lakewood information, <http://www.lkwdpl.org/city/>; Middle County Public Library's Catastrophe Readiness Clearinghouse http://www.catastrophereadinessclearinghouse.org/; St. Charles City County Library's Business and Public Management page, <http://www.win.org/library/services/business/index.htm>; Tucson-Pima Public Library's Grants & Nonprofits Information Center <http://www.tppl.org/research/grants/>

  For residents

• Voter Guides and Community issue guides: Springfield-Greene County Library District's The Informed Decision, <http://www.thelibrary.org/informed/index.cfm>; Minneapolis Public Library's Issues of Local Concern, <http://www.mplib.org/list.asp?subhead=About+Minneapolis:Issues+of+Local+Concern>; Tulsa City-County Library Gov Docs room's Hot Topics pages, <http://www.tulsalibrary.org/govdocs/>; Euclid Public Library: City Council Videos, Voter Forums, etc., <http://www.euclidlibrary.org/Public/ListDetails.asp?ID=137>
• Community Calendar: Wilton Library, <http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/calendar/calendar/>
• Baltimore County Public Library Science Fair Projects page, <http://www.bcpl.info/kidspage/sciencefair.html>
• Multnomah County Library's Farmers Markets guide, <http://www.multcolib.org/guides/markets/>
• Allen County Public Library's Area Artists Database, <http://artists.acpl.info/>
  
  

  Provide transparency and public accountability

• Building projects: Seattle Public Library's "Libraries for All" Capital Projects site <http://www.spl.org/lfa/index.html>, Yuma County Library's Expansion Progress Reports <http://www.yumalibrary.org/expansionprogress.htm>
• Annual reports: Howard County Library, <http://www.hclibrary.org/about/annual_report.php>; Remind them about the money you bring into the community from outside sources - Fairfax County Library's page on their entrepreneurial activities, <http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/entrepreneur.htm>
• Strategic plans: Evanston Public Library, <http://www.epl.org/library/strategic-plan-00.html>, Howard County Library <http://www.hclibrary.org/about/master_plan0530.php>
• Make your survey results public: Tigard Public Library, <http://www.ci.tigard.or.us/library/about/survey/default.asp>, Ohio State University Library <http://www.ohsu.edu/library/surveys/2002jsurvey.shtml>
  
  

  Put a human voice and personality on your website

• Canton (MA) Public Library on its home page in May 2007, "Join the Friends for a 5-hour fiesta of books - Buy a bag 'o books for $5 bucks. - Buy 'em here - Take 'em home! - For the first 5 customers who were born on the 5th of May the Friends' Mariachi a Capella Quintet will sing a chorus of "Happy Birthday" - or for a $5.00 donation they won't."
• Blogs: Glendale Public Library, Teen Librarians' Book Obsession, <http://bookobsessiongpl.blogspot.com/>; Kankakee Public Library's She Said, He Said, <http://lions-online-shesaidhesaid.blogspot.com/>; New Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library construction blog, <http://newjmslibrary.blogspot.com/>; Topeka Shawnee County Library's Paper Cuts, <http://papercuts.tscpl.org/>
• RSS feeds: Pima County Public Library Feeds by Category, <http://www.library.pima.gov/rss/list.cfm#category>; Georgia State University Library <http://www.library.gsu.edu/news/index.asp>; Topeka Shawnee County Public Library <http://www.tscpl.org/rss.asp>
  
  

  Invite user input and control

• Wikis: Stevens County Rural Library District community information wiki, <http://www.scrldwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page>; Princeton Public Library BookLovers Wiki, <http://booklovers.pbwiki.com/Princeton%20Public%20Library>
• Invitations to comment and add content: Picture Ann Arbor, <http://www.aadl.org/services/products/pictureAnnArbor>; Hennepin County Library's user comments in the library catalog, <http://www.hclib.org/blogs/CatalogNews.cfm?ID=52
• Online surveys: Brooklyn Public Library Business Library, <http://www.biz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/index.cfm/bay/comm.contact/formtype/survey.htm>; Springfield-Greene County Library
• Interactive quizzes and "votes": - Phoenix Public Library's teen page, <http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/blaze/default.jsp?N=0>; Cincinnati Public Library's TeenSpace, <http://teenspace.cincinnatilibrary.org/>
• Online contests of all sorts, invitations to submit stories about the library: see Multnomah County Library's What's Your Favorite Story, <http://www.multcolib.org/feature/tellusyourstory.html>, and Beyond Words: BC's Public Libraries Are Changing Lives, <http://www.beyondwords.ca/>;
• Online discussions: Cleveland Public Library's Seniors Connect, <http://seniorsconnect.org> offers a variety of online discussions and also invites seniors to share their stories; many libraries have online book discussions - see Lake County Public Library, <http://www.lakeco.lib.in.us/remarks.htm>
• Invite communication in multiple formats, including IM, text messaging: Arizona State University Libraries, ask a librarian by chat, e-mail, phone, in person (with help in finding your subject specialist librarian), <http://www.asu.edu/lib/help/>
• Personalized portals and services: Brary Dog - Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, <http://www.brarydog.net/>; MyLibrary at Cornell, <http://mylibrary.cornell.edu:8080/MyLibrary/index.jsp>; MatchBook, from Morton Grove Public Library, <http://www.webrary.org/rs/matchbooksearch.html>
• Offer Toolbars: Arizona Health Sciences Library, <http://arizonahealthscienceslibrary.mylibrarytoolbar.com/?regular=true>, Denver Public Library <http://www.denverlibrary.org/toolbar/index.html>. To create toolbars painlessly, try Best Toolbars, <http://besttoolbars.net> or <http://conduit.com>
• Be where your patrons are: Flickr - see Chandler Public Library, <http://www.chandlerlibrary.org/ - or MySpace - see Denver Public Library's Teen MySpace page, <http://www.myspace.com/denver_evolver> - or Facebook, Hennepin County Library, <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=7223112325&ref=nf>, and Second Life, PLCMC, <http://plcmc.org/Teens/secondLife.asp>
  
  

  On Beyond Book Lists

• Fiction-L Booklists and other readers services at Morton Grove Public Library, <http://www.webrary.org/rs/rsmenu.html>
• State Library of Ohio's Read This Now 24/7 readers services, in collaboration with local public libraries, <http://www.readthisnow.org/>
• Hennepin County Library - Find a Good Book, <http://www.hclib.org/pub/books/iyl/> - note MY book lists, MY author alerts, MY comments...
• Waterboro (ME) Public Library's H2oboro lib blog, <http://www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm, Maine authors, Literary Births, booklists galore, etc.
• Readers Club, Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, <http://www.readersclub.org/default.asp> - note podcasts, My Reading Log, and more
• Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County's Story Place, <http://www.storyplace.org/> and BookHive, <http://www.bookhive.org/>
  
  

  Services to Special Populations

• Kids: Colorado Virtual Library for Kids, <http://aclin.org/>; Multnomah County Library, <http://www.multcolib.org/kids/>
• Teens: Bettendorf Public Library Teens Page, <http://www.bettendorflibrary.com/teen/index.htm>; Multnomah County Library - Homework Center Help, <http://www.multcolib.org/homework/> (their social issues page is a great start for hot paper topics); My Own Cafe, <http://www.myowncafe.org/> (connects kids from multiple towns south of Boston); Public Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg County, <http://plcmc.org/Teens/>
• Teachers: Colorado Virtual Library, <http://aclin.org/>; Skokie Public Library's Resources and Tools for Teachers http://www.skokielibrary.info/s_kids/kd_teachers/kd_tc_resources/index.asp
• Parents: Grow Up Reading at the West Bloomfield Township Public Library, <http://www.growupreading.org>; Internet for Kids and Parents - Allen County Public Library, <http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/children/internet.html>; Lakewood Public Library's Parents Page, <http://www.lkwdpl.org/parents/>; Home school discussion groups and events at Princeton Public Library
• Seniors: Cleveland Public Library's SeniorsConnect, <http://seniorsconnect.org>
• New Americans: Skokie Public Library's New Immigrants Website, <http://www.skokienet.org/american/index.html>; Queens Library's Community Information Database, http://queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_nm=Community+Information>; Niņos, Multnomah County Library, <http://www.multcolib.org/libros/ninos/>; Staff Library Guide To Assist the Spanish-Speaking Patron, <http://sol-plus.net/plus/survspa/toc.htm>; US Public Library Websites with Information in Spanish, <http://www.reforma.org/spanishwebsites.htm>
  
  

  Make the Most of the Web's Multimedia Capabilities

• Video: Tempe Public Library's MyLibraryDV, <http://www.tempe.gov/library/sources/source/mylibrarydv.htm>; Phoenix Public Library http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/controller.jsp?N=6594; Pima County Public Library Teen Zone's kid-constructed "teen trailers" <http://www.library.pima.gov/teenzone/trailers/2007.cfm>; Arizona State University's Library Channel, with news, podcasts, videos, and audio tours, <http://www.asu.edu/lib/librarychannel/
• Podcasts and Videocasts: Kankakee Public Library, <http://www.kankakee.lib.il.us/Podcasts.html>; Arlington Heights Memorial Library's VLog, <http://www.ahml.info/vlog/vault.asp>
  
  

  Services to Other Librarians

• Best Information on the Net - Resources for Librarians, <http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Librarians/libindex.htm>
• Current Cites, <http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/>
• YA Books in Series, <http://www.bettendorflibrary.com/bpl-bin/series.pl>
  
  

  Other Resources on Library Website Design

• Library Garden User 2.0: Innovative Library Sites, <http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2007/02/user-20-innovative-library-sites-part-2.html>
• Wilton Library - Innovative Internet Applications in Libraries, <http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/innovate.html>
• LibSite: A Recommendation Service for Library-related Websites, <http://libsite.org/>;
• Library Website Hall of Fame [Library Success: a Best Practices Wiki], <http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Website_Design#Library_Website_Hall_of_Fame>