Iqbal Ahmad AnsariFaculty Librarian

Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University), Dayalbagh , Agra-282110, (UP)

Ph No. 9450427212, E-mail. iqbal360@gmail.com

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In the present scenario the librarian should think towards extending the facilities to the users apart from his institution by marketing their services.

Library Website page reflects characteristics of an academic institution.

It provides an opportunity to the library to propagate its services and facilities to the academic community worldwide.

The home pages of libraries are increasingly used as an integrated interface designed to deliver detailed information about a library as well as to provide access to all computer-based services offered by the institution.

A library home page is a web page meant to serve as the primary gateway to a library web site. This welcome page is the first or front page of the library’s web site. Good design is essential for effective presentation of content.04/08/23 17:04 2

To collect detailed information about collection, staff, and different sections of the Library;

To use comprehensive guidelines for designing library web page and also to illustrates the features of some selected web site designing software;

To design a model website Library using web designing software;

To host library web site on the web using service providers and also to provide anywhere and anytime access to the user regarding the library collection staff, library membership, library rules;

To submit the URL of library web site to different search engines viz. Google, Yahoo etc for retrieving information about Library from these search engines.04/08/23 17:04 3

Librarian-administrators and Web developers should collaborate to make library web pages easy to locate from the library’s home page.

In order for users to become aware of available library services and resources, it is essential that the library web pages be easily accessible, or findable.

The library web sites can have features like have Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) along with their answers.

Library web sites have library calendar listing events or show information for forthcoming events, Web forms for inviting feedback.

Libraries may also use bulletin boards, threaded discussion forum and listservs to help promote and evolve web-based library services. The Library web sites should offers events such as seminars and workshops in their home pages.04/08/23 17:04 4

The page should have a sensible title that includes the keywords likely to be used by people searching for the page.

Graphics and photographs can make a page very attractive, especially when they are chosen carefully for the information that they convey as well as for their visual appeal.

For users from outside the country, a short explanation in English would be helpful even if all the other information on the page is in the national language.

Links to other Internet resources can be very useful to the users of a library home page. If a link can be provided to the online catalogue of the library, this is often a useful service.

Other features that are important include the provision of a ‘way out’ of the page an indication of when the page was last updated and a postal or street address for the library.

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Use a style sheet for visual consistency across related documents.Use small graphics to identify all of the documents on a web site.Offer a short and simple home page.Provide active links to mentioned documents.Avoid ‘monster’ graphics, as well as using many little graphics; sparingly use bold, italics, blinking, etc.Provide navigational aids for users; provide hot buttons for shortcuts.Use a minimum of text in list or menus.Use a Markup language that is readable by future maintainers of the web site or page.Check the finished document with a variety of browsers, both textual and graphic.Use a copyright statement or indicate the latest date of update.Provide a statement of status when a document is in progress.Include a section highlighting new information, content, etc.Provide an indication of restricted access when appropriate.Include a warning statement when links will need to large documents or images.

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Site StructureSequential structure

information is presented in a linear manner from start to end.

Hierarchical StructureInformation is arranged as a progression from concise to detailed topics.

Web structureA Web structure represents complex relationships among various information chunks or Web pages on a Web site.

 

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Site Navigation It is common for web users to jump from page to page on the web by clicking links . The most common navigational element is a hyperlink, which is either text or a graphic that a user can click to move to another page or to a different part of the same page. It includes-

MenusMenus provide the user with a choice of links to various parts of the web site. The links that have already been clicked by the user are displayed in a different colour, to provide context.

Path LinksA path links is an ordered sequence of links, with each link representing a segment of Web site that the user visited before reaching the current segment. The path link is usually displayed on the top or bottom of pages so that the user has a context.

Web Page Design and LayoutLayout of Web pages creates the user experience on a site. Web pages in the site should be visually appealing and informative.

 

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1.CONSISTENCYProvide a Help link on every page: place a Help link in the upper right corner of every pageUse consistent design elements: across all pages of your Web site use fonts and colours consistently for a uniform and professional appearance.

2. ORIENTATION AND NAVIGATIONLink to your library Web site directly from your institute’s home pageUse one navigation bar: Usually a navigation bar appears at the top of every page, as a series of buttons or tabs. By highlighting the tab or button correlating with the user’s current location on your library Web site, you provide a visual clue and keep the user from getting lost.

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3. HYPERTEXT AND LINKINGTreat links according to conventions: Underline links, and use a different colour to indicate links users have visited. Following these conventions helps users identify clickable links and any already visited.

4. PAGE LAYOUTUse page real estate wisely: try to minimize the amount of space the site’s logo and navigation bar occupy on the top of the page, so users can see more of the page’s main content without scrolling.

5. AESTHETICS AND GRAPHICSUse few colours and minimal graphics: Use only three or four matched colours in the design of your Web site to make it more aesthetically pleasing and prevent a circus-like appearance. Avoid or minimize use of animated or flashing or scrolling text, as many users find it annoying and distracting.

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5. AESTHETICS AND GRAPHICSUse few colours and minimal graphics: Use only three or four matched colours in the design of your Web site to make it more aesthetically pleasing and prevent a circus-like appearance. Avoid or minimize use of animated or flashing or scrolling text, as many users find it annoying and distracting.

6. FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF USEOrganize information in multiple waysOrganize information by type of material

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Cross-link information when possibleSometimes users enter an Online Public Access Catalog or OPAC, thinking it searches journal or magazine articles.•If your OPAC uses a federated search tool; users at this point may be in good shape.•If your OPAC doesn’t search across your library’s proprietary databases, by including in your OPAC a link to your library’s main e-journals page, you help users find what they want.

Minimize the number of clicks users must makePlace links to different types of research materials and sources (such as electronic journals, abstracting and indexing databases, or OPACs) right on the home page of your library Web site. Most users come to a library site wanting to do research, and the shorter their paths, the happier they are.

Explain details to help users select and access resources

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7. MATCHING THE SYSTEM AND USER ACTIVITIESOrganize your site based on users’ tasks and their frequency

Conducting research to find materials such as journal articles, indexes and books.Finding course materials such as lecture notes, reserved books, suggested links or other materials related to certain classes.Finding information about libraries such as locations and hours of operation.Getting help in using a library and library Web site.

Make your website search clearDo not use librarian terminologyEnsure good performance

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8. ACCESSIBILITYMake your site accessible

 9. USABILITY TESTINGTest your site for usability

Conduct a usability study and you can make sure your library site is meeting your users’ needs. The usability of your library web sites is measured time to time. Tracking usage and repeating usability testing, after website changes have been made, should indicate if improvements contribute to a better experience for your users.

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Now a day any one can download some freely available web site designing software and they can easily design a web site for their company, organization or personal web sites. Many freely available webpage design website many of the website designers made this job easier by introducing the free tutorial videos and any one can have their own website. Here some of listed web design tools help in design and development of library web site.

FrontPage XP BlueVoda NetObjects Fusion Web Studio 5.0 Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5 AlleyCode Kompozer Trellian Webpage , etc.

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• Following technologies are used in an attractive design and development for library website-

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• An effective web presence is all about engaging your customers across all the computing platform and devices they depend on. For nearly a decade college and university libraries have utilized available technology to develop a Web presence. Librarians are continuously refining library Websites to make them more content-rich and navigable. A web site reflects characteristics of a Library. It provides an opportunity to the library to propagate its services and facilities to the academic community worldwide. The home pages of libraries are increasingly used as an integrated interface designed to deliver detailed information about a library as well as to provide access to all computer-based services offered by a library. The pages are being developed in a variety of ways and for a range of purposes. The website designing software has filled a hole in the web design, world has made everyday people capable of creating a web page with great ease and expertise. The goal of a library website is to design web pages that contain even basic information to identify the library and their resources.

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