Building a Library Website (and How not to!)
The old adage "Do as I say not as I do" will ring true for much of the content on this page.
Here are some articles and resources I wish I had read back in 2011 when we started building our site.
So here are all the what to do and what not to dos - many of the latter deftly illustrated by our site!
Here are some articles and resources I wish I had read back in 2011 when we started building our site.
So here are all the what to do and what not to dos - many of the latter deftly illustrated by our site!
Purpose: |
Audience: |
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Before you start designing - what is the site's purpose?
To showcase your physical library? To provide an online presence for your library? To support the learning and teaching of the school? To provide easy access to all your online resources? To review and promote resources? |
Before you start designing - who is your audience?
Students Teachers Parents and greater school community Prospective families Library community |
You can do all of these things for all these people...but just remember that a physical library takes time to plan, design, build and resource.
This is very true of a virtual library - your new website - so you might want to develop the site in stages.
When we started building our site we were chiefly interested in supporting the learning and teaching. We wanted to provide easy access to our eResources - especially the ones that couldn't be reached via catalogue (pre-federated search days). We set a 3-click target so that students could get to what they mostly needed in a maximum of 3-clicks.
With our teaching loads and the requirements of running the physical library we knew the time constraints meant we had to prioritise what needed to have a virtual presence. Our initial focus was simply to provide online resource guides for specific subject assignments and more general resource guides to support VCE subjects.
We have had wonderful support from our Director of eLearning and ICT team.
They have helped us learn how to do things ourselves rather than always asking them! We've also watched a lot of instructional videos. Self-directed learning is a skill that is central to website building - it is also an essential skill for a 21st century student.
You need to be able to make the required changes yourself in order to keep your site current and relevant.
This is very true of a virtual library - your new website - so you might want to develop the site in stages.
When we started building our site we were chiefly interested in supporting the learning and teaching. We wanted to provide easy access to our eResources - especially the ones that couldn't be reached via catalogue (pre-federated search days). We set a 3-click target so that students could get to what they mostly needed in a maximum of 3-clicks.
With our teaching loads and the requirements of running the physical library we knew the time constraints meant we had to prioritise what needed to have a virtual presence. Our initial focus was simply to provide online resource guides for specific subject assignments and more general resource guides to support VCE subjects.
We have had wonderful support from our Director of eLearning and ICT team.
They have helped us learn how to do things ourselves rather than always asking them! We've also watched a lot of instructional videos. Self-directed learning is a skill that is central to website building - it is also an essential skill for a 21st century student.
You need to be able to make the required changes yourself in order to keep your site current and relevant.
Getting Started
Weebly is a very simple website builder. You drag and drop elements onto your page.
This is a great site for free, quality images that don't require attribution. Login required.
Options
Libguide example: Brisbane Grammar School
Wikispace example: Springfield Township High_ |
Useful ResourcesDeveloping your library websiteDeveloped by the National Library of New Zealand, this site has lots of useful resources, links and PDFs for planning.
Best practices in school library website designThis site gives some very good advice about accessibility and what you need to consider to ensure your site can be accessed by anyone who is visually impaired.
5 Things Every School Library Website Should Have
Library girl's list of five essentials. Worth a read, especially her reflections on her own webpage.
Libguides: Getting your message across (the Curriculum)A feature article in FYI by Megan Davies about her experiences with Libguides at Toorak College.
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Key points:
Consistency of navigation:
Use same style or colour to indicate location.
Link within same site - link should open in same page (needs back button, home button or breadcrumb)
Link to new site - link should open in a different page
Button are powerful tools for calls to action.
Colour:
Can be used as a marker for a subject or a year level.
Keep a consistent theme throughout the site
Virtual real estate:
Keep banners narrow. They take up valuable space without introducing new content. People want to see what is on the page beyond the banner but may not scroll down.
Hide unfinished pages:
Incomplete pages give waste people's time and potentially damage the reputation of the site. Hide them from the navigation bar until they are fully resourced and edited.
Use same style or colour to indicate location.
Link within same site - link should open in same page (needs back button, home button or breadcrumb)
Link to new site - link should open in a different page
Button are powerful tools for calls to action.
Colour:
Can be used as a marker for a subject or a year level.
Keep a consistent theme throughout the site
Virtual real estate:
Keep banners narrow. They take up valuable space without introducing new content. People want to see what is on the page beyond the banner but may not scroll down.
Hide unfinished pages:
Incomplete pages give waste people's time and potentially damage the reputation of the site. Hide them from the navigation bar until they are fully resourced and edited.
