Great Power, Great(er) Responsibility

Tactics to Ensnare Users in Your Library Web(site)

Angie Thorpe Digital User Experience Librarian Indiana University Kokomo atthorpe@iuk.edu

Magic Words
Go web. Fly. Up, up, and away web! Shazam! Go! Go! Go web go! Tally ho! (didnt work?)

A tale of two studies

Public libraries Any size
Only 430

Indiana

total libraries Branches and central libraries

Academic libraries Medium-sized (3,000 9,999 FTE) Geographicallydiverse 313 total libraries Only main libraries (no special)

Public library web presence

2% 5% 0% 0% Own Website Branch library using main library site No observed Web presence 41% 52% Only presence: Facebook Only presence: Google+ Consortial/affiliate Web presence

Total : 430 Indiana public libraries Reviewed for content: 223

Screen size & link results

Public
Number of screens in length Number of initially visible links (library-only) Number of initially invisible links (library-only) 1.9 {Range: 1 15) 39.7 {Range: 3 196} 29.1 {Range: 1 115}

Academic
1.3 {Range: 1 5.3} 45.1 {Range: 5 147} 35.6 {Range: 5 139}

Primary layout of homepage

4 equally-divided sections Columns Mixed columns & sections Other Sections 0.0% Public 20.0% Academic 40.0% 60.0%

Navigation Bar Type Frequency

80.0% 60.0% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0%

Top horizontal bar

Bottom horizontal bar Public Academic

Sidebar

Frequency of multiple navigation bars

20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0%
Top horizontal Top & bottom & sidebars horizontal bars Bottom horizontal & sidebars All 3 navigation bars

Public

Academic

Navigation feature frequency

Public libraries Accessibility link Foreign language link Quick Links Site Index Site Map Text-only link 0.4% 4.5% 13.0% 0.9% 21.1% 0.4% Academic libraries 3.2% 2.6% 19.8% 10.5% 10.9% 6.1%

Multimedia element frequency

Animations Images Podcasts Rotating images Scrolling text Video tutorials Virtual tour 0% 20% Public 40% 60% 80% 100% Academic

Search element frequency

Bing Databases (across multiple) E-journals Google Google Scholar Library site OPAC Other external search engine Other library OPAC WorldCat Yahoo! 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Public

Academic

Discovery service frequency

Indiana Public libraries

Medium-sized academic libraries

Presence: 3.6% Services used:*

Presence: 39.6% Services used:*

Encore: 62.5% WorldCat: 25.0% AquaBrowser: 12.5%

EBSCO Discovery Service: 33.9% Summon: 25.0% WorldCat: 16.1% Primo: 14.5% Encore: 8.1% VuFind: 2.4% Own brand name: 44.4% Established brand name: 29.8% No branding: 25.8%

Branding:*

Established brand name: 37.5% No branding: 50.0% Own brand name: 12.5%

Branding:*

* Percentage calculated based on those libraries with a discovery service.

Local history/ genealogy Privacy Contact a Suggest a title librarian Help/FAQ Hours policy Government News/events/ Library account Course documents whats new/newsletter reserves Staff Challenge/complaint E-books/Overdrive/ Directions directory Interlibrary loan Kindle/Nook About section/link Programming Hot picks Portals by subject/ Staff picks Contact us subject guides Gifts/donations/ Local authority body Policies friends Portals by Reference audience Annual reports Terms of use resources Mobile link
Library instruction/ guides/tutorials
Digital collections/ Web exhibits

Library Jobs/Employment Forms departments

Mission statement

Public libraries: Basic level of Web presence*

Board members Date of last update Hours INSPIRE link Library name Link to OPAC Mailing address Online contact method Phone number Physical address Services description 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

* Adapted from Persichini, et. al (2008) and Powers (2011)

Public libraries: Web presence beyond basic*

Image/icon used to represent library Mixture of text & images No spelling/grammar errors Option for feedback on Website 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
* Adapted from Powers (2011)

Unique content elements: Public libraries

Annual reports Challenge submission Library programming Local authority body/laws Local history/genealogy Suggest a title 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Frequency

Unique elements: Academics

Link to university homepage Course reserves University template 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Frequency

Most used content items

Indiana Public Libraries
News/events/newsletter E-books About section/link Policies Contact us (unspecified) Gifts/donations/friends Local history/genealogy Programming Library account(s) Portals by audience 87.4% 74.4% 65.9% 64.1% 58.3% 51.6% 50.7% 48.0% 43.9% 39.9%

Medium-sized Academic Libraries

Link to university homepage Hours Interlibrary loan About section/link Portals by subject/subject guides Library guides/tutorials Course reserves News/events/newsletter Contact/ask a librarian Contact us (unspecified) 97.4% 94.6% 82.7% 82.1% 82.1% 75.1% 69.6% 68.1% 67.7% 64.5%

Least used content items

Indiana Public Libraries
Challenge/complaint submission Annual reports Hot picks (database list) Government documents Portals by subject/subject guides Terms of use Mobile Website link Digital collections/Web exhibits Forms Privacy policy 0.4% 2.2% 2.2% 2.7% 3.6% 3.6% 4.0% 5.4% 6.3% 6.3%

Medium-sized Academic Libraries

Staff picks/recommendations Terms of use Hot picks (database list) Gifts/donations Forms Library departments Digital collections/Web exhibits Directions to library Privacy policy Mission statement 2.6% 13.1% 14.4.% 17.9% 22.3% 24.2% 24.3% 24.6% 24.9% 26.2%

Most used social media elements

Indiana Public Libraries Medium-sized Academic Libraries
71.3% Interactive directions 37.2% 35.0% Interactive programming schedule Blogs 31.4% 23.3% 15.7% (link) RSS feed 12.1% 11.7% 7.2% Mobile app 4.9% Blogs RSS feed Texting (link) Share widget Chat with librarian 62.9% 46.0% 39.6% 33.2% 21.8% 19.5% 14.4% 10.2% 8.3% Survey 8.0%

Least used social media elements

Indiana Public Libraries Medium-sized Academic Libraries
0% 0% 0.3% 0.3% 0.6% 0.6% Polls 0.6% 1.0% User comments displayed Wikis 1.0% 1.3% Instant message 0% 0% 0.4% Discussion forums Polls Interactive library floor plan QR codes User comments displayed Wikipedia Wikis 0.4% 0.4% 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% Discussion forums Wikipedia StumbleUpon

Core elements: Public

Images Library name News/events/newsletter Library phone number Hours Physical address Mailing address OPAC search link E-books/Overdrive/ e-readers Facebook

Top horizontal bar navigation Online contact method About section/link Policies Contact us (unspecified) Layout: Columns Gifts/donations/friends Local history/genealogy INSPIRE/Indiana State Library link

Core elements: Academics

Link to University Hours Images Interlibrary Loan link About section/link Portals by subject/ subject guides OPAC search link Library guides/tutorials Course reserves News/events/newsletter Contact a librarian

Contact us (unspecified) Facebook Staff directory Other reference resources Help/FAQ OPAC search box Sidebar navigation E-books/e-readers Use of University template Policies

Lessons from publics

Text

+ image = engage variety of users Easy access to catalog (search box or link) News items & event announcements keep users coming back Easy access to e-book collections

Lessons from academics

Hours

deserve homepage real estate So do services (e.g. Interlibrary loan & how to contact a librarian) Help users help themselves

Tutorials Guides (including subject guides)

Areas of opportunity
Remember

the basics Improve accessibility Promote key resources (including free!) on homepage Provide opportunities for users to contact you and provide feedback Think about audio

Its all about attitude

Avoid this No matter what you do for them, eventually, they will hate you. Aim for this! Kids [or everyone]need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people. Setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero.

Conclusion: Be a hero.

References
Jones, S. L., & Thorpe, A. (2014). Library home page design at medium-sized institutions. Journal of Web Librarianship. forthcoming publication Persichini, G., Samuelson, M., & Bowman Zeiter, L. (2008). e-Branch in a box: How Idaho libraries created an easy and sustainable web presence. PNLA Quarterly, 72(2), 6, 18-19. Powers, B. S. (2011). Oh, what a tangled web we weave! An evaluation of Pennsylvania's public library websites for a basic level of web presence and beyond. Current Studies in Librarianship, 31(1), 21-35. Tolppanen, B. P., Miller, J., & Wooden, M. A. (2005). Library world wide web sites at medium-sized universities: A re-examination. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 10(2), 7-18. Vaughan, J. (2012). Investigations into library web-scale discovery services. Information Technology & Libraries, 31(1), 32-82.

Thank you!
Angie Thorpe Digital User Experience Librarian Indiana University Kokomo atthorpe@iuk.edu