[WEB4LIB] Library "Splash" pages

[Kevin W. Bishop]

Hi Tami,

Although ultimately it may not be your decision, I just wanted to point out 
that users tend to despise splash pages and prefer to get straight to the 
information they've come for in the first place.  (And perhaps this is 
particularly true with library sites?)

Jakob Nielsen's latest publication, _Designing Web Usability_, addresses 
this issue directly in chapter 4:

4. Site Design

       The Home Page
       How Wide Should the Page Be?
            Home Page Width
->   Splash Screens Must Die
       The Home Page Versus Interior Pages
            Deep Linking
            Affiliates Programs

See: http://www.useit.com/jakob/webusability/

Instead, JN suggests:  "1.Place your name and logo on every page and make 
the logo a link to the home page (except on the home page itself, where the 
logo should not be a link: never have a link that points right back to the 
current page)."



-kb


At 07:42 AM 9/15/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Our college is for the first time (believe it or not) implementing a theme 
>throughout the college site.  Of course, our library has its own look and 
>feel, with its own "home page".  Now, however, development would like to 
>implement the college theme with a "splash" page for the library.  I came 
>across one site one time but I don't remember whose it was, that had a 
>college or university splash page and a link that said "connect to the 
>library's home page here".  I am looking at similar sites.  Please respond 
>to me with urls of sites that have similar structures to this or other 
>with any other ways of dealing with a college design theme, leading into a 
>separate library theme.  Thanks.
>
>--
>Tami-Jo Eckley
>Electronic Services & Media Librarian
>Manhattanville College Library
>Purchase, New York 10577
>http://www.mville.edu/library
>______________________________________
>
>--

_________________________________________
Kevin W. Bishop, Campus-Wide Info. Sys. Coord.
Libraries and Information Services
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
<bishopk at rpi.edu> | <http://www.rpi.edu/rpinfo/>