Library web site relationship with parent institution site

[Michelle Conkas]

Hi everyone,
 
We are in the process of moving our Library web site into our parent
institutions content management system. We are the last area of the
university to do so, and have struck some problems in control over the
web site layout and design.
 
The university's site is here: http://www.usc.edu.au/. All sub-sites
are currently lists of links made up of lower level directory
structures, eg.: http://www.usc.edu.au/Students/Current/
 
We are writing a proposal to allow us to vary our home page from other
sub-sites, as we believe that the Library's web site is quite different
in purpose to most of the other web pages of the university, and that we
are a destination in and of ourselves, and have much more complex
transactions on our site than other sub-sites.
 
Our marketing department, who control the whole site, are concerned
that if we are allowed to vary our templates, then everyone else will
want to follow suit. We agree that we should fit into the university's
look and feel, with basic colours and identifying banners (although I
think the 2 banners are far too large and confusing for clients who
enter into the library's site and expect to be in an independent site).
 
It has also been suggested that much of our content on our site is for
internal staff and students, and so perhaps should be on a Intranet or
portal, rather than a public site. We are strongly fighting against this
suggestion. We feel our site should be an information tool for more than
just our internal clients, and is not just a marketing tool for
visitors.
 
Any tips on how to approach our need for independence and uniqueness?
Any studies or papers that have been published on this topic?
 
Thanks,
 
Michelle
 
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Michelle Conkas
Systems & Digital Resources Coordinator
University of the Sunshine Coast Library
Ph: (07) 5430 2801
Fax: (07) 5430 2811
E-mail: mconkas at usc.edu.au
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