Malaysian Journal of Library amp Information Science Vol5 noZ December 2001 95-108

EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC LIBRARY WEB SITESIN MALAYSIA

KH LeeKH Teh 1

IMLIS Programme Faculty of Computer Science ampInformation Technology University of Malaya

e-mail tehkhfsktmumedumy

ABSTRACT

This study evaluates the content and design of academic library Web sites inMalaysia and uses a mixed-method approach that combines both quantitativeand qualitative analyses of academic library Web sites evaluation A total oftwelve library Web sites of public and private institutions of higher learningwere selected for evaluation Thefindings reveal that the academic librariesin Malaysia generally have set up well-designed and useful Web sites A fewacademic library Web sites however have very simple and basic featuresOverall they fall short of expectations as virtual expressions of the qualitylevels of academic libraries

Keywords Web sites Academic Libraries Malaysia

INTRODUCTION

Although academic libraries have extensive experience in providingcomputer-based information services a great deal of effort has been investedin transforming useful information and services into Web access Academiclibraries have dynamically created Web sites and improvements on the designand layout of the Web sites have been made progressively

Since the users of academic library Web sites are primarily staff and studentsof institutions of higher learning the libraries have to be careful to keep thecontent and design of their sites in line with their missions It is clear that themain function of an academic library Web site is to provide access toresearch tools and full-text databases for education and research purposesThe users are allowed to access the librarys electronic resources across thenetwork in a manner that is independent of location or time

A search through the literature has shown that at present studies of academiclibrary Web sites are either exclusively using quantitative analyses orqualitative methods There is lack of a mixed-method approach for academiclibrary Web sites evaluation and integration of the results Furthermore noneof the evaluation methods surveyed academic library Web sites in Malaysia

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Malaysia is a computer-literate and Internet-savvy country In general theacademic community in the country has pioneered the establishment and useof the Internet Additionally Malaysian universities have been the leadinginstitutions in the country in creating Web sites As a result of thesedevelopments academic libraries have been in a more privileged position toset up Web sites than other types of libraries Their presence on the Webimplies the desire of academic libraries in Malaysia to provide better andmore services to their users Although much resources have been committedto create and maintain academic library Web sites there has been little effortin evaluating these sites

This study brings attention to the content and design of academic library Websites in Malaysia A total of twelve library Web sites of public and privateinstitutions of higher learning in Malaysia were selected for evaluation (fable 1)

Table 1 Library Web Sites of Public and Private Institutions of HigherLearning in Malaysia Used in the Study

Universities in Main Libraries Library URLsMalaysia

Universiti Malaya (UM) UM Library httpwwwumlibumedumyUniversiti Islam International Islamic University huplib iiuedurnyAntarabangsa (UIA) Malaysia Library

Universiti Kebangsaan Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang httpwwwlibraryukrnmyMalaysia (UKM) UKM

Universiti Putra Universiti Putra Malaysia Library httpzlibupmedumyMalaysia (UPM)Universiti Sains USM Library httpzwwwIibusrnmyMalaysia (USM)Universiti Teknologi Perpustakaan Sultanah Zanariah hUpllwwwpszutmmyMalaysia (UTM) Universiti Teknologi MalaysiaUniversiti Utara UUM Sultanah Bahiyah Library httpzwwwlibuumedumyMalaysia (UUM)Universiti Malaysia Perpustakaan Universiti Malaysia httpwwwumsedumylibraSabah (UMS) Sabah ryMultimedia University Multimedia University Library hUplibraryuniteleedumy(MMU)University Teknologi Perpustakaan Tun Abdul Razak httpwwwitmedumyacactrMARA (UiTM) IptarUniversiti Malaysia Centre for Academic Information httpwwwunimasmylhtmlSarawak (UNIMAS) Services Universiti Malaysia caishtml

SarawakUniversiti Tun Abdul UNIT AR Virtual Library httpvlibunitarklj ledumyRazak (UNIT AR)

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Evaluation 0 Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

METHODOLOGY

Two different research instruments quantitative and qualitative analyseswere used in the study Qualitative analysis was employed as anobservational technique carried out from December 1999 to February 2000The content and design of the selected Web sites were analysed A matrixwas developed to reflect the features that might be found on an academiclibrary Web site based on literature This matrix was then used to record thefeatures present in each Web site It was extended as necessary as newfeatures were noted on Web pages accessed for the study

Quantitative analysis method was used on the data gathered from a surveycarried out from December 1999 to January 2000 Seventy-five Informationprofessionals and 75 library users of selected Web sites were invited toparticipate in the survey based on simple random sampling Participation wasvoluntary Also confidentiality was assured In addition all participants wereinformed about the eventual use of all the data collected

Information professionals and library users of the selected sites were asked torate the evaluation criteria A total of 25 evaluation criteria were listed in aquestionnaire form The returned questionnaires were analysed using SPSS90 for descriptive statistics and factor analysis

ANALYSES AND FINDINGS

Qualitative Analysis

Twelve items were noted on the matrix for qualitative analysis done inFebruary 2000 Since Web sites are dynamic in nature each item noted on thematrix was analysed within a day or so Changes and new pages thatappeared after the date of analysis were not included in the study

a) General Information of the LibraryInformation about the library and services offered by the library wereprovided by all of the selected libraries In some cases this information waslimited to a few paragraphs or to a list of library collection areas and services

As expected the name of the library was the most outstanding feature thatappeared on the main page of all the library Web sites Besides the name ofthe library the most common feature of general information about the librarywas the library rules and regulations Eleven (II) of the 12 Web sites hadincorporated this feature A number of libraries devoted many pages tointroduction hours of opening membership collections and services

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Lee KH amp Teh KH

f) External Electronic Database ServicesSeven of the libraries had provided links to subscribed databases such asPubMed ERIC OVID ProQuest Direct EBSCOHost Springer LINK andUMI through their Web pages Some of the services were restricted to theuniversity community they require the use of appropriate login names andpasswords for some databases

It is noted that one library had links to Palmoilis and Sirimlink Palmoilis andSirimlink which are electronic database services created by researchinstitutions in Malaysia namely Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia(PO RIM) and SIRIM Berhad (formerly known as the Standards andIndustrial Research Institute of Malaysia) respectively

In addition some libraries provided access to electronic databases forbrowsing on a trial basis The usemame and password of databases on trialwere published on the Web pages making it possible for users to access thedatabases

g) Languages Used in Web SiteSurprisingly all but one of the academic library Web sites used English ABahasa Malaysia version was also available in a few of these Web sites Inaddition two Web sites were written in Bahasa Malaysia with a short Englishexplanation

h) Technical ServicesNone of the Web sites had developed Web pages specifically for technicalservice librarians to provide the information or on issues related toacquisitions cataloguing serials and preservation Two of the librariesprovided links to library technical services created by foreign academiclibraries However the links were integrated into the feature of Internetresources or electronic information

i) Instructional SupportsOne of the libraries provided instructional materials and teaching techniqueof a coursework called information literacy for its students Other librariesdid not develop Web pages specifically for lecturers to provide onlineinstructional materials and teaching techniques However two of themprovided information in support of teaching learning and research of thefaculties concerned

j) Other Important FeaturesFive libraries gave complete street address telephone contact fax numberand indication of when the page was last updated Two main pages did not

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Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

identify the dates of their most recent updates and one of them did not evenprovide street address and contact numbers In other words these importantfeatures were not embedded on the main page of this library

It is noted that most of the main pages with the date of last update wereupdated sometime in the last 20 days before being examined for this study

The Web pages of these Web sites were also examined for provision of wayout of the page and the feature of last update Three of the Web sitesprovided both way out and last update features on each of the Web pagesAnother three of the Web sites provided way out feature only on each ofthe Web pages

k) Loading Time of ImagesAll the first main pages with image files did not take more than 30 seconds toappear completely on the computer screen For Web pages with image filesthe loading time was less than 20 seconds

I) Marketing TechniquesGenerally all Web sites except one gave proper titles (the words that appearin the frame at the top of the pages) for search engines The one that did notgive proper title to its main page writes the word HOME at the top of thepage None of the Web sites created a good meta tag description statement forsearch engines to get the most important content indexed Therefore thedescription statements that appeared in the search engines are the first 250characters written by the libraries in their main pages Some of thedescription statements are in mixed languages that would not be helpful tointernational users

Quantitative Analysis

Of the 103 responses II were eliminated because respondents did not answerthe questionnaires they had either retired no longer at academic libraries onleave from academic libraries or graduated Therefore 92 usablequestionnaires that represent at least 61 percent of the population areeventually returned

a) Mean Ratings of Information Professionals and Library UsersThe data in Table 2 indicate that information professionals and library usersrated the same evaluation criterion that the contents of Web sites are updatedor refreshed on a regular basis as the criterion of highest importance

The second criterion that received the highest mean rating by informationprofessionals was text should be written in a clear concise manner This

101

Lee KH amp Teh KH

criterion was rated tenth by users On the other hand date of last updateshould always be present was rated second highest in importance by libraryusers and this criterion was rated fifth in importance among the informationprofessionals

Table 2 Top Ten Important Criteria as Perceived by InformationProfessionals and Library Users

Information Professionals UsersCriterion Mean SD Criterion Mean SD

The contents of Web sites 456 073 The contents of Websites 459 064are updated or refreshed on are updated or refresheda regular basis on a regular basisText should be written in a 451 063 Date of last update 451 069clear concise manner should always be presentNotification on any changes 449 077 Link to the librarys 437 070in the address of the Web parent institution Websites or Web pages siteIf there are charts or graphs 442 063 Links to relevant Internet 425 060containing statistical data resourcesthe charts and lor graphs areclearly labelled and easy toreadDate of last update should 433 072 If there are charts or 420 041always be present graphs containing

statistical data the chartsand lor graphs are clearlylabelled and easy to read

The Web sites have a 433 064 Title of the Web site 416 114logical and clear structure should be descriptive for

search engines to get themost important contentindexed

The information is free of 426 076 Link to the main page 414 098grammatical spelling and itself in each page of theother typographical errors Web siteTitle of the Web site should 419 066 Downloading of single 414 091be descriptive for search pages proportionatelyengines to get the most fastimportant content indexedSeamless access to all elec- 416 072 The information is free of 413 076tronic databases of the libra- grammatical spellingry (such as OPAC exam and other typographicalpapers and thesis abstracts) errorsThe sources for any factual 416 069 Text should be written in 412 067information are clearly a clear concise mannerlisted so they can be Notification on anyverified in another source changes in the address of

the Web sites or Webpages

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Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

The study did observe differences between information professionals andusers evaluation

Criteria that information professionals rated as important are (a) Web siteshave a logical and clear structure(b) seamless access to all electronicdatabases of the library (such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)and (c) sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can beverified in another source These three criteria were the sixth ninth and tenthcriteria of highest importance respectively However they were excluded inthe top ten highest mean ratings of the library users

Similarly library users rated the importance of four criteria which also didnot appear in the top ten highest mean ratings of the informationprofessionals They were (a) link to the librarys parent institution Web site(the criterion of third highest importance) (b) links to relevant Internetresources (fourth) (c) link to the main page itselJin each page of the Website (seventh) and (d) downloading of single pages proportionately fast(eighth)

b) FactorAnalysisThe principal components analysis was used to extract factors followed byvarimax orthogonal rotation method to maximise the variance explained byeach factor There were 8 factors with eigenvalues of 10 or greater These 8factors accounted for 7492 of the variance in the set of25 criteria

Criteria having factor loading with a value at or above 030 were treated asbeing significant A reasonable cut-off point would be 030 with loadingbelow that figure being ignored in explanation of a factor (Child 1970) The030 cut-off point was also agreed by Comrey (1973) Comrey suggested thatfactor loading of 055 are good those of 063 very good and those of 07 Iexcellent

The 8 factors that emerged from the factor analysis were interpreted andlabelled Table 3 shows the results of the factor analysis for 25 criteriaindicators loading at 030 or higher a commonly accepted measure ofsignificance have been included in the table

DISCUSSION

Generally the academic libraries in Malaysia have set up well-designed anduseful Web sites A few academic library Web sites however have verysimple and basic features

103

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Table 3 Factor Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Academic Web-sitesin Malaysia

Structure Factor Eigen- Cum ofloading value variance

Objectivity 646 2586The information is provided as a public service no pass- 730word is requiredLink to the librarys parent institution Web site 680Mean to provide contactfeedback to the library and its staff 658Technical service departments are embedded in the Web 638sitesSeamless access to all electronic databases of the library 524(such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)Reliability of links and information 285 3725Verification oflinks must take place on a regular basis 800Links to relevant Internet resources 779Link to the main page itself in each page of the Web site 753The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so 567they can be verified in another sourceDate of last update should always be present 502Authority and design control 236 4669 Librarians are assuming responsibility for creating and 833maintaining the Web sitesThe authors or Webmasters and their qualifications for 724creating and maintaining the Web sites are clearly statedThe Web sites have a logical and clear structure 612The colours of background graphics founts and types are 508suitableNew sections ofinfonnation should be highlighted 380Accountability for content 199 5463Text should be written in a clear concise manner 836Notification on any changes in the address of the Web sites 737or Web pagesMarketing 153 6076Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search 912engines to get the most important content indexedBalance use of graphics and the palette of colours against 663the time required to displaying themDownloading of single pages proportionately fast 607

Accuracy 125 6577English version or short explanation in English for patrons 804to understand the contentIf there are charts or graphs containing statistical data the 484charts and lor graphs are clearly labelled and easy to readThe information is free of grammatical spelling and other 458typographical errorsCurrency 116 7039The contents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a 843regular basisInstructional support 113 7492The instructional materials and teaching techniques of 903lecturers are incorporated into the Web sites

104

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

105

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

Lee KH amp Teh KH

f) External Electronic Database ServicesSeven of the libraries had provided links to subscribed databases such asPubMed ERIC OVID ProQuest Direct EBSCOHost Springer LINK andUMI through their Web pages Some of the services were restricted to theuniversity community they require the use of appropriate login names andpasswords for some databases

It is noted that one library had links to Palmoilis and Sirimlink Palmoilis andSirimlink which are electronic database services created by researchinstitutions in Malaysia namely Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia(PO RIM) and SIRIM Berhad (formerly known as the Standards andIndustrial Research Institute of Malaysia) respectively

In addition some libraries provided access to electronic databases forbrowsing on a trial basis The usemame and password of databases on trialwere published on the Web pages making it possible for users to access thedatabases

g) Languages Used in Web SiteSurprisingly all but one of the academic library Web sites used English ABahasa Malaysia version was also available in a few of these Web sites Inaddition two Web sites were written in Bahasa Malaysia with a short Englishexplanation

h) Technical ServicesNone of the Web sites had developed Web pages specifically for technicalservice librarians to provide the information or on issues related toacquisitions cataloguing serials and preservation Two of the librariesprovided links to library technical services created by foreign academiclibraries However the links were integrated into the feature of Internetresources or electronic information

i) Instructional SupportsOne of the libraries provided instructional materials and teaching techniqueof a coursework called information literacy for its students Other librariesdid not develop Web pages specifically for lecturers to provide onlineinstructional materials and teaching techniques However two of themprovided information in support of teaching learning and research of thefaculties concerned

j) Other Important FeaturesFive libraries gave complete street address telephone contact fax numberand indication of when the page was last updated Two main pages did not

100

Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

identify the dates of their most recent updates and one of them did not evenprovide street address and contact numbers In other words these importantfeatures were not embedded on the main page of this library

It is noted that most of the main pages with the date of last update wereupdated sometime in the last 20 days before being examined for this study

The Web pages of these Web sites were also examined for provision of wayout of the page and the feature of last update Three of the Web sitesprovided both way out and last update features on each of the Web pagesAnother three of the Web sites provided way out feature only on each ofthe Web pages

k) Loading Time of ImagesAll the first main pages with image files did not take more than 30 seconds toappear completely on the computer screen For Web pages with image filesthe loading time was less than 20 seconds

I) Marketing TechniquesGenerally all Web sites except one gave proper titles (the words that appearin the frame at the top of the pages) for search engines The one that did notgive proper title to its main page writes the word HOME at the top of thepage None of the Web sites created a good meta tag description statement forsearch engines to get the most important content indexed Therefore thedescription statements that appeared in the search engines are the first 250characters written by the libraries in their main pages Some of thedescription statements are in mixed languages that would not be helpful tointernational users

Quantitative Analysis

Of the 103 responses II were eliminated because respondents did not answerthe questionnaires they had either retired no longer at academic libraries onleave from academic libraries or graduated Therefore 92 usablequestionnaires that represent at least 61 percent of the population areeventually returned

a) Mean Ratings of Information Professionals and Library UsersThe data in Table 2 indicate that information professionals and library usersrated the same evaluation criterion that the contents of Web sites are updatedor refreshed on a regular basis as the criterion of highest importance

The second criterion that received the highest mean rating by informationprofessionals was text should be written in a clear concise manner This

101

Lee KH amp Teh KH

criterion was rated tenth by users On the other hand date of last updateshould always be present was rated second highest in importance by libraryusers and this criterion was rated fifth in importance among the informationprofessionals

Table 2 Top Ten Important Criteria as Perceived by InformationProfessionals and Library Users

Information Professionals UsersCriterion Mean SD Criterion Mean SD

The contents of Web sites 456 073 The contents of Websites 459 064are updated or refreshed on are updated or refresheda regular basis on a regular basisText should be written in a 451 063 Date of last update 451 069clear concise manner should always be presentNotification on any changes 449 077 Link to the librarys 437 070in the address of the Web parent institution Websites or Web pages siteIf there are charts or graphs 442 063 Links to relevant Internet 425 060containing statistical data resourcesthe charts and lor graphs areclearly labelled and easy toreadDate of last update should 433 072 If there are charts or 420 041always be present graphs containing

statistical data the chartsand lor graphs are clearlylabelled and easy to read

The Web sites have a 433 064 Title of the Web site 416 114logical and clear structure should be descriptive for

search engines to get themost important contentindexed

The information is free of 426 076 Link to the main page 414 098grammatical spelling and itself in each page of theother typographical errors Web siteTitle of the Web site should 419 066 Downloading of single 414 091be descriptive for search pages proportionatelyengines to get the most fastimportant content indexedSeamless access to all elec- 416 072 The information is free of 413 076tronic databases of the libra- grammatical spellingry (such as OPAC exam and other typographicalpapers and thesis abstracts) errorsThe sources for any factual 416 069 Text should be written in 412 067information are clearly a clear concise mannerlisted so they can be Notification on anyverified in another source changes in the address of

the Web sites or Webpages

102

Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

The study did observe differences between information professionals andusers evaluation

Criteria that information professionals rated as important are (a) Web siteshave a logical and clear structure(b) seamless access to all electronicdatabases of the library (such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)and (c) sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can beverified in another source These three criteria were the sixth ninth and tenthcriteria of highest importance respectively However they were excluded inthe top ten highest mean ratings of the library users

Similarly library users rated the importance of four criteria which also didnot appear in the top ten highest mean ratings of the informationprofessionals They were (a) link to the librarys parent institution Web site(the criterion of third highest importance) (b) links to relevant Internetresources (fourth) (c) link to the main page itselJin each page of the Website (seventh) and (d) downloading of single pages proportionately fast(eighth)

b) FactorAnalysisThe principal components analysis was used to extract factors followed byvarimax orthogonal rotation method to maximise the variance explained byeach factor There were 8 factors with eigenvalues of 10 or greater These 8factors accounted for 7492 of the variance in the set of25 criteria

Criteria having factor loading with a value at or above 030 were treated asbeing significant A reasonable cut-off point would be 030 with loadingbelow that figure being ignored in explanation of a factor (Child 1970) The030 cut-off point was also agreed by Comrey (1973) Comrey suggested thatfactor loading of 055 are good those of 063 very good and those of 07 Iexcellent

The 8 factors that emerged from the factor analysis were interpreted andlabelled Table 3 shows the results of the factor analysis for 25 criteriaindicators loading at 030 or higher a commonly accepted measure ofsignificance have been included in the table

DISCUSSION

Generally the academic libraries in Malaysia have set up well-designed anduseful Web sites A few academic library Web sites however have verysimple and basic features

103

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Table 3 Factor Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Academic Web-sitesin Malaysia

Structure Factor Eigen- Cum ofloading value variance

Objectivity 646 2586The information is provided as a public service no pass- 730word is requiredLink to the librarys parent institution Web site 680Mean to provide contactfeedback to the library and its staff 658Technical service departments are embedded in the Web 638sitesSeamless access to all electronic databases of the library 524(such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)Reliability of links and information 285 3725Verification oflinks must take place on a regular basis 800Links to relevant Internet resources 779Link to the main page itself in each page of the Web site 753The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so 567they can be verified in another sourceDate of last update should always be present 502Authority and design control 236 4669 Librarians are assuming responsibility for creating and 833maintaining the Web sitesThe authors or Webmasters and their qualifications for 724creating and maintaining the Web sites are clearly statedThe Web sites have a logical and clear structure 612The colours of background graphics founts and types are 508suitableNew sections ofinfonnation should be highlighted 380Accountability for content 199 5463Text should be written in a clear concise manner 836Notification on any changes in the address of the Web sites 737or Web pagesMarketing 153 6076Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search 912engines to get the most important content indexedBalance use of graphics and the palette of colours against 663the time required to displaying themDownloading of single pages proportionately fast 607

Accuracy 125 6577English version or short explanation in English for patrons 804to understand the contentIf there are charts or graphs containing statistical data the 484charts and lor graphs are clearly labelled and easy to readThe information is free of grammatical spelling and other 458typographical errorsCurrency 116 7039The contents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a 843regular basisInstructional support 113 7492The instructional materials and teaching techniques of 903lecturers are incorporated into the Web sites

104

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

105

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

identify the dates of their most recent updates and one of them did not evenprovide street address and contact numbers In other words these importantfeatures were not embedded on the main page of this library

It is noted that most of the main pages with the date of last update wereupdated sometime in the last 20 days before being examined for this study

The Web pages of these Web sites were also examined for provision of wayout of the page and the feature of last update Three of the Web sitesprovided both way out and last update features on each of the Web pagesAnother three of the Web sites provided way out feature only on each ofthe Web pages

k) Loading Time of ImagesAll the first main pages with image files did not take more than 30 seconds toappear completely on the computer screen For Web pages with image filesthe loading time was less than 20 seconds

I) Marketing TechniquesGenerally all Web sites except one gave proper titles (the words that appearin the frame at the top of the pages) for search engines The one that did notgive proper title to its main page writes the word HOME at the top of thepage None of the Web sites created a good meta tag description statement forsearch engines to get the most important content indexed Therefore thedescription statements that appeared in the search engines are the first 250characters written by the libraries in their main pages Some of thedescription statements are in mixed languages that would not be helpful tointernational users

Quantitative Analysis

Of the 103 responses II were eliminated because respondents did not answerthe questionnaires they had either retired no longer at academic libraries onleave from academic libraries or graduated Therefore 92 usablequestionnaires that represent at least 61 percent of the population areeventually returned

a) Mean Ratings of Information Professionals and Library UsersThe data in Table 2 indicate that information professionals and library usersrated the same evaluation criterion that the contents of Web sites are updatedor refreshed on a regular basis as the criterion of highest importance

The second criterion that received the highest mean rating by informationprofessionals was text should be written in a clear concise manner This

101

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criterion was rated tenth by users On the other hand date of last updateshould always be present was rated second highest in importance by libraryusers and this criterion was rated fifth in importance among the informationprofessionals

Table 2 Top Ten Important Criteria as Perceived by InformationProfessionals and Library Users

Information Professionals UsersCriterion Mean SD Criterion Mean SD

The contents of Web sites 456 073 The contents of Websites 459 064are updated or refreshed on are updated or refresheda regular basis on a regular basisText should be written in a 451 063 Date of last update 451 069clear concise manner should always be presentNotification on any changes 449 077 Link to the librarys 437 070in the address of the Web parent institution Websites or Web pages siteIf there are charts or graphs 442 063 Links to relevant Internet 425 060containing statistical data resourcesthe charts and lor graphs areclearly labelled and easy toreadDate of last update should 433 072 If there are charts or 420 041always be present graphs containing

statistical data the chartsand lor graphs are clearlylabelled and easy to read

The Web sites have a 433 064 Title of the Web site 416 114logical and clear structure should be descriptive for

search engines to get themost important contentindexed

The information is free of 426 076 Link to the main page 414 098grammatical spelling and itself in each page of theother typographical errors Web siteTitle of the Web site should 419 066 Downloading of single 414 091be descriptive for search pages proportionatelyengines to get the most fastimportant content indexedSeamless access to all elec- 416 072 The information is free of 413 076tronic databases of the libra- grammatical spellingry (such as OPAC exam and other typographicalpapers and thesis abstracts) errorsThe sources for any factual 416 069 Text should be written in 412 067information are clearly a clear concise mannerlisted so they can be Notification on anyverified in another source changes in the address of

the Web sites or Webpages

102

Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

The study did observe differences between information professionals andusers evaluation

Criteria that information professionals rated as important are (a) Web siteshave a logical and clear structure(b) seamless access to all electronicdatabases of the library (such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)and (c) sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can beverified in another source These three criteria were the sixth ninth and tenthcriteria of highest importance respectively However they were excluded inthe top ten highest mean ratings of the library users

Similarly library users rated the importance of four criteria which also didnot appear in the top ten highest mean ratings of the informationprofessionals They were (a) link to the librarys parent institution Web site(the criterion of third highest importance) (b) links to relevant Internetresources (fourth) (c) link to the main page itselJin each page of the Website (seventh) and (d) downloading of single pages proportionately fast(eighth)

b) FactorAnalysisThe principal components analysis was used to extract factors followed byvarimax orthogonal rotation method to maximise the variance explained byeach factor There were 8 factors with eigenvalues of 10 or greater These 8factors accounted for 7492 of the variance in the set of25 criteria

Criteria having factor loading with a value at or above 030 were treated asbeing significant A reasonable cut-off point would be 030 with loadingbelow that figure being ignored in explanation of a factor (Child 1970) The030 cut-off point was also agreed by Comrey (1973) Comrey suggested thatfactor loading of 055 are good those of 063 very good and those of 07 Iexcellent

The 8 factors that emerged from the factor analysis were interpreted andlabelled Table 3 shows the results of the factor analysis for 25 criteriaindicators loading at 030 or higher a commonly accepted measure ofsignificance have been included in the table

DISCUSSION

Generally the academic libraries in Malaysia have set up well-designed anduseful Web sites A few academic library Web sites however have verysimple and basic features

103

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Table 3 Factor Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Academic Web-sitesin Malaysia

Structure Factor Eigen- Cum ofloading value variance

Objectivity 646 2586The information is provided as a public service no pass- 730word is requiredLink to the librarys parent institution Web site 680Mean to provide contactfeedback to the library and its staff 658Technical service departments are embedded in the Web 638sitesSeamless access to all electronic databases of the library 524(such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)Reliability of links and information 285 3725Verification oflinks must take place on a regular basis 800Links to relevant Internet resources 779Link to the main page itself in each page of the Web site 753The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so 567they can be verified in another sourceDate of last update should always be present 502Authority and design control 236 4669 Librarians are assuming responsibility for creating and 833maintaining the Web sitesThe authors or Webmasters and their qualifications for 724creating and maintaining the Web sites are clearly statedThe Web sites have a logical and clear structure 612The colours of background graphics founts and types are 508suitableNew sections ofinfonnation should be highlighted 380Accountability for content 199 5463Text should be written in a clear concise manner 836Notification on any changes in the address of the Web sites 737or Web pagesMarketing 153 6076Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search 912engines to get the most important content indexedBalance use of graphics and the palette of colours against 663the time required to displaying themDownloading of single pages proportionately fast 607

Accuracy 125 6577English version or short explanation in English for patrons 804to understand the contentIf there are charts or graphs containing statistical data the 484charts and lor graphs are clearly labelled and easy to readThe information is free of grammatical spelling and other 458typographical errorsCurrency 116 7039The contents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a 843regular basisInstructional support 113 7492The instructional materials and teaching techniques of 903lecturers are incorporated into the Web sites

104

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

105

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

Lee KH amp Teh KH

criterion was rated tenth by users On the other hand date of last updateshould always be present was rated second highest in importance by libraryusers and this criterion was rated fifth in importance among the informationprofessionals

Table 2 Top Ten Important Criteria as Perceived by InformationProfessionals and Library Users

Information Professionals UsersCriterion Mean SD Criterion Mean SD

The contents of Web sites 456 073 The contents of Websites 459 064are updated or refreshed on are updated or refresheda regular basis on a regular basisText should be written in a 451 063 Date of last update 451 069clear concise manner should always be presentNotification on any changes 449 077 Link to the librarys 437 070in the address of the Web parent institution Websites or Web pages siteIf there are charts or graphs 442 063 Links to relevant Internet 425 060containing statistical data resourcesthe charts and lor graphs areclearly labelled and easy toreadDate of last update should 433 072 If there are charts or 420 041always be present graphs containing

statistical data the chartsand lor graphs are clearlylabelled and easy to read

The Web sites have a 433 064 Title of the Web site 416 114logical and clear structure should be descriptive for

search engines to get themost important contentindexed

The information is free of 426 076 Link to the main page 414 098grammatical spelling and itself in each page of theother typographical errors Web siteTitle of the Web site should 419 066 Downloading of single 414 091be descriptive for search pages proportionatelyengines to get the most fastimportant content indexedSeamless access to all elec- 416 072 The information is free of 413 076tronic databases of the libra- grammatical spellingry (such as OPAC exam and other typographicalpapers and thesis abstracts) errorsThe sources for any factual 416 069 Text should be written in 412 067information are clearly a clear concise mannerlisted so they can be Notification on anyverified in another source changes in the address of

the Web sites or Webpages

102

Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

The study did observe differences between information professionals andusers evaluation

Criteria that information professionals rated as important are (a) Web siteshave a logical and clear structure(b) seamless access to all electronicdatabases of the library (such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)and (c) sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can beverified in another source These three criteria were the sixth ninth and tenthcriteria of highest importance respectively However they were excluded inthe top ten highest mean ratings of the library users

Similarly library users rated the importance of four criteria which also didnot appear in the top ten highest mean ratings of the informationprofessionals They were (a) link to the librarys parent institution Web site(the criterion of third highest importance) (b) links to relevant Internetresources (fourth) (c) link to the main page itselJin each page of the Website (seventh) and (d) downloading of single pages proportionately fast(eighth)

b) FactorAnalysisThe principal components analysis was used to extract factors followed byvarimax orthogonal rotation method to maximise the variance explained byeach factor There were 8 factors with eigenvalues of 10 or greater These 8factors accounted for 7492 of the variance in the set of25 criteria

Criteria having factor loading with a value at or above 030 were treated asbeing significant A reasonable cut-off point would be 030 with loadingbelow that figure being ignored in explanation of a factor (Child 1970) The030 cut-off point was also agreed by Comrey (1973) Comrey suggested thatfactor loading of 055 are good those of 063 very good and those of 07 Iexcellent

The 8 factors that emerged from the factor analysis were interpreted andlabelled Table 3 shows the results of the factor analysis for 25 criteriaindicators loading at 030 or higher a commonly accepted measure ofsignificance have been included in the table

DISCUSSION

Generally the academic libraries in Malaysia have set up well-designed anduseful Web sites A few academic library Web sites however have verysimple and basic features

103

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Table 3 Factor Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Academic Web-sitesin Malaysia

Structure Factor Eigen- Cum ofloading value variance

Objectivity 646 2586The information is provided as a public service no pass- 730word is requiredLink to the librarys parent institution Web site 680Mean to provide contactfeedback to the library and its staff 658Technical service departments are embedded in the Web 638sitesSeamless access to all electronic databases of the library 524(such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)Reliability of links and information 285 3725Verification oflinks must take place on a regular basis 800Links to relevant Internet resources 779Link to the main page itself in each page of the Web site 753The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so 567they can be verified in another sourceDate of last update should always be present 502Authority and design control 236 4669 Librarians are assuming responsibility for creating and 833maintaining the Web sitesThe authors or Webmasters and their qualifications for 724creating and maintaining the Web sites are clearly statedThe Web sites have a logical and clear structure 612The colours of background graphics founts and types are 508suitableNew sections ofinfonnation should be highlighted 380Accountability for content 199 5463Text should be written in a clear concise manner 836Notification on any changes in the address of the Web sites 737or Web pagesMarketing 153 6076Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search 912engines to get the most important content indexedBalance use of graphics and the palette of colours against 663the time required to displaying themDownloading of single pages proportionately fast 607

Accuracy 125 6577English version or short explanation in English for patrons 804to understand the contentIf there are charts or graphs containing statistical data the 484charts and lor graphs are clearly labelled and easy to readThe information is free of grammatical spelling and other 458typographical errorsCurrency 116 7039The contents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a 843regular basisInstructional support 113 7492The instructional materials and teaching techniques of 903lecturers are incorporated into the Web sites

104

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

105

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

The study did observe differences between information professionals andusers evaluation

Criteria that information professionals rated as important are (a) Web siteshave a logical and clear structure(b) seamless access to all electronicdatabases of the library (such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)and (c) sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can beverified in another source These three criteria were the sixth ninth and tenthcriteria of highest importance respectively However they were excluded inthe top ten highest mean ratings of the library users

Similarly library users rated the importance of four criteria which also didnot appear in the top ten highest mean ratings of the informationprofessionals They were (a) link to the librarys parent institution Web site(the criterion of third highest importance) (b) links to relevant Internetresources (fourth) (c) link to the main page itselJin each page of the Website (seventh) and (d) downloading of single pages proportionately fast(eighth)

b) FactorAnalysisThe principal components analysis was used to extract factors followed byvarimax orthogonal rotation method to maximise the variance explained byeach factor There were 8 factors with eigenvalues of 10 or greater These 8factors accounted for 7492 of the variance in the set of25 criteria

Criteria having factor loading with a value at or above 030 were treated asbeing significant A reasonable cut-off point would be 030 with loadingbelow that figure being ignored in explanation of a factor (Child 1970) The030 cut-off point was also agreed by Comrey (1973) Comrey suggested thatfactor loading of 055 are good those of 063 very good and those of 07 Iexcellent

The 8 factors that emerged from the factor analysis were interpreted andlabelled Table 3 shows the results of the factor analysis for 25 criteriaindicators loading at 030 or higher a commonly accepted measure ofsignificance have been included in the table

DISCUSSION

Generally the academic libraries in Malaysia have set up well-designed anduseful Web sites A few academic library Web sites however have verysimple and basic features

103

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Table 3 Factor Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Academic Web-sitesin Malaysia

Structure Factor Eigen- Cum ofloading value variance

Objectivity 646 2586The information is provided as a public service no pass- 730word is requiredLink to the librarys parent institution Web site 680Mean to provide contactfeedback to the library and its staff 658Technical service departments are embedded in the Web 638sitesSeamless access to all electronic databases of the library 524(such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)Reliability of links and information 285 3725Verification oflinks must take place on a regular basis 800Links to relevant Internet resources 779Link to the main page itself in each page of the Web site 753The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so 567they can be verified in another sourceDate of last update should always be present 502Authority and design control 236 4669 Librarians are assuming responsibility for creating and 833maintaining the Web sitesThe authors or Webmasters and their qualifications for 724creating and maintaining the Web sites are clearly statedThe Web sites have a logical and clear structure 612The colours of background graphics founts and types are 508suitableNew sections ofinfonnation should be highlighted 380Accountability for content 199 5463Text should be written in a clear concise manner 836Notification on any changes in the address of the Web sites 737or Web pagesMarketing 153 6076Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search 912engines to get the most important content indexedBalance use of graphics and the palette of colours against 663the time required to displaying themDownloading of single pages proportionately fast 607

Accuracy 125 6577English version or short explanation in English for patrons 804to understand the contentIf there are charts or graphs containing statistical data the 484charts and lor graphs are clearly labelled and easy to readThe information is free of grammatical spelling and other 458typographical errorsCurrency 116 7039The contents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a 843regular basisInstructional support 113 7492The instructional materials and teaching techniques of 903lecturers are incorporated into the Web sites

104

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

105

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Table 3 Factor Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Academic Web-sitesin Malaysia

Structure Factor Eigen- Cum ofloading value variance

Objectivity 646 2586The information is provided as a public service no pass- 730word is requiredLink to the librarys parent institution Web site 680Mean to provide contactfeedback to the library and its staff 658Technical service departments are embedded in the Web 638sitesSeamless access to all electronic databases of the library 524(such as OPAC exam papers and thesis abstracts)Reliability of links and information 285 3725Verification oflinks must take place on a regular basis 800Links to relevant Internet resources 779Link to the main page itself in each page of the Web site 753The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so 567they can be verified in another sourceDate of last update should always be present 502Authority and design control 236 4669 Librarians are assuming responsibility for creating and 833maintaining the Web sitesThe authors or Webmasters and their qualifications for 724creating and maintaining the Web sites are clearly statedThe Web sites have a logical and clear structure 612The colours of background graphics founts and types are 508suitableNew sections ofinfonnation should be highlighted 380Accountability for content 199 5463Text should be written in a clear concise manner 836Notification on any changes in the address of the Web sites 737or Web pagesMarketing 153 6076Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search 912engines to get the most important content indexedBalance use of graphics and the palette of colours against 663the time required to displaying themDownloading of single pages proportionately fast 607

Accuracy 125 6577English version or short explanation in English for patrons 804to understand the contentIf there are charts or graphs containing statistical data the 484charts and lor graphs are clearly labelled and easy to readThe information is free of grammatical spelling and other 458typographical errorsCurrency 116 7039The contents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a 843regular basisInstructional support 113 7492The instructional materials and teaching techniques of 903lecturers are incorporated into the Web sites

104

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

105

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

EvaLuation of Academic Library Web Sites in MaLaysia

Some of the well-designed and useful Web sites cannot be accessed duringthe study due to the instability of their Web servers This instability hasresulted in difficulty to examine the Web sites at the same period for theitems noted on the matrix and affected any generalisation of the findings ofthe study

With regard to the provision of general basic information about the library onthe Web sites there does not seem to be much difference from what wasreported in the literature review Some of the general basic informationcannot be found during the study due to the very common problems of Webnavigation

Provision of general basic information should not be the only major functionof Web site as is the case in three academic libraries in Malaysia Asacademic library Web sites are becoming an important navigational devicesin the organisation of information they should act as a source of informationfor teaching research and study for their universities staff and students(Stover 1997)

The information professionals and library users have also indicated that themajor function of Web site should go beyond general basic information Thisindication is based on their questionnaire survey whereby they rated thecontents of Web sites are updated or refreshed on a regular basis as the mostimportant criterion for evaluating academic library Web sites in Malaysia

The findings of the Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) show that sixlibraries have not provided OPAC of the library through a Web interfaceProvision of OPACs should be seamless access as the informationprofessionals and library users have regarded seamless access as veryimportant criterion in their questionnaire survey

Link to other Internet resources can be very useful to the library usersTherefore those library Web sites that do not have links to other Internetresources should be encouraged to organise Internet resources for libraryusers The questionnaire survey has also shown that links to relevant Internetresources gained the means of 425 and 395 among the informationprofessionals and library users respectively

Similar to UK academic library Web sites dead links are also found in someof the academic library Web sites in Malaysia These dead links should beminimised as the results of questionnaire survey regarded the verification oflinks as a very important criterion

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Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

106

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Provision of interactive services is not common on academic library Websites in Malaysia These services should be widely developed for theconvenience of library users Library users will be encouraged to use the Websites on an ongoing basis if they know that many services can be donethrough the Web site

Academic library Web sites in Malaysia are also not aimed at providinginternal information resources into the Internet In addition to providinggeneral basic information emphasis in most cases is being put on accessingwhat is already available on the Internet rather than adding to the informationcontent of the Internet This emphasis is evidenced by provision of electronicdatabase services largely focus on external electronic database

Although Clyde (1996) has mentioned that an English version is virtuallyessential if the Web site is to be useful to the people who might visit it thequestionnaire survey has shown that this criterion in a very low ranking ofimportance compared to other criteria This finding can be attributed to thelarge number of Malaysian academic library Web sites that are developedusing English and also that most of the library users are bilingual

Another criterion technical service departments are embedded in the Websites is also ranked very low in terms of importance Informationprofessionals and library users have perceived the embedding of technicalservice department as one of the lowest important criterion This perceptioncan be attributed to the fact that technical services on the Internet seem to beintended for a narrower audience and do not directly served the libraryusers

In analysing the provision of technical services none of the academic libraryWeb sites in Malaysia provide information or issues related to acquisitionscataloguing serial and preservation The absence of technical servicesinformation contrasts greatly with the academic library Web sites in Americaand Europe where there is an abundance of information about the technicalservice departments in these libraries A few good examples of technicalservice department on the Internet are the Princeton University LibrariesCatalog Division Home Page at httpinfoshare1princetonedulkatmandulcathomehtml the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) LibrariesTechnical Processing Online Tools (TPOT) at httptpotucsdedu and theCornell University Library Technical Services Manual at httpwwwlibrarycornelledultsmanual (Harizan and Low 1998)

Although Stover (1997) and Kroeker (1999) has advocated the need foracademic library Web site to support teaching role of the universityprovision of instructional materials and teaching techniques throughcollaboration with faculty has not yet been embedded in academic library

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Evaluation of Academic Library Web Sites in Malaysia

Web sites in Malaysia The necessity of academic library Web sites inMalaysia to provide such instructional support is still in question as theinformation professionals perceive it as the lowest important criterion and thelibrary users rate it as the third lowest important criterion

One of a top ranking criteria date of last update should always be present ispresent in most of the main pages of academic library Web sites in MalaysiaHowever they have failed to provide it in their information content Onlythree libraries have incorporated date of last update into every Web page oftheir Web sites All Web pages should have an indication of when the page islast updated since the information professionals and library users haveregarded it as one of the most important criteria

Title of the Web site should be descriptive for search engines to get the mostimportant content indexed is also a criterion that is in the top ten ranking ofboth the information professional and library user groups However thefindings on marketing techniques show that academic library Web sites inMalaysia have not attempted to create a good meta tag description statementfor search engines The libraries should include the keywords likely to beused by people searching for the Web page if they aim to increase the numberof visitors to their Web sites

Existing literature clearly discourages the creation of Web pages that aredifficult to navigate Most of the academic libraries in Malaysia have takeninto consideration this Web page design principle when designing their Webpages Thus their Web pages with image files do not take a long time to load(to appear completely on the computer screen)

By identifying 8 underlying criteria evaluated of academic library Web sitesin Malaysia the eighth factor instructional support can potentially bedropped as most of the academic library Web sites have not incorporatedinstructional materials and teaching outlines of lecturers into the academiclibrary Web sites

CONCLUSION

This study confirms what other empirical studies found in other countriesAcademic library Web sites in Malaysia are mainly providing generalinformation of the library and their services There is lack of informationorganisation in most of the Web sites The stability of Web servers should beof the greatest challenge for academic library Web sites in Malaysia as theyhave to offer their information services around the clock

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Lee KH amp Teh KH

Based on the findings academic library Web sites in Malaysia have not comeup to expectations as virtual expressions of the quality levels of the academiclibraries There are very strong expectations of these Web sites becausepeople would expect information professionals as one of several professionsvying for leadership in the information age to organise and presentinformation in a way that best fits the users attention and knowledge

REFERENCES

Child D 1970 The Essentials of Factor Analysis London Holt Rinehart andWinston

Clyde LA 1996 The library as information provider the home page TheElectronic library Vol 14 no 6 549-58

Comrey A 1973 A First Course on Factor Analysis London AcademicPress

Harizan A and Low KK 1998 Technical service and the World WideWeb building the NTU library cataloging home page The Electronic Library Vol 16 no 6 387-92

Kroeker B 1999 Changing roles in information dissemination andeducation expectations for academic library Web-based services SocialScience Computer Review Vol 17 no 2 176-188

Stover M 1997 Library Web sites mission and function in the networkedorganisation Computer in Libraries VoU7 (NovemberDecember) 55-7

108

Lee KH amp Teh KH

Based on the findings academic library Web sites in Malaysia have not comeup to expectations as virtual expressions of the quality levels of the academiclibraries There are very strong expectations of these Web sites becausepeople would expect information professionals as one of several professionsvying for leadership in the information age to organise and presentinformation in a way that best fits the users attention and knowledge

REFERENCES

Child D 1970 The Essentials of Factor Analysis London Holt Rinehart andWinston

Clyde LA 1996 The library as information provider the home page TheElectronic library Vol 14 no 6 549-58

Comrey A 1973 A First Course on Factor Analysis London AcademicPress

Harizan A and Low KK 1998 Technical service and the World WideWeb building the NTU library cataloging home page The Electronic Library Vol 16 no 6 387-92

Kroeker B 1999 Changing roles in information dissemination andeducation expectations for academic library Web-based services SocialScience Computer Review Vol 17 no 2 176-188

Stover M 1997 Library Web sites mission and function in the networkedorganisation Computer in Libraries VoU7 (NovemberDecember) 55-7

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