[Web4lib] city swallows library website

[Jami Haskell]

Hi,
I have been following this thread with interest. My library is currently
under the threat of being absorbed into the county web CMS and we are
fighting against this vehemently -- believe me, abhorrent urls are the least
of our worries!

We're especially worried about existing within the parameters of problematic
county global navigation which is confusing to our users and the
implications of site searches that that return results for other departments
that have nothing to do with finding information or using resources. In
addition, Issues like adding interactive content features, enabling user
feedback, and embedding virtual reference resources from every page are also
in jeopardy if we are forced to be subsumed by the county CMS.

I agree Robert's point about the difference in intention between library
sites and municipal sites -- they support an entirely different purpose.
Unfortunately the county web site that wants to swallow my library is not a
center of community or a resource meant to expose users to new and useful
information - it is poorly designed repository for tax forms and public
notices. As such, it serves it's needs, but it certainly does not serve
those of my library.

I have proposed a compromise that the library maintain a 'gateway' page on
the county's web site -- a page that provides links to our resources,
information about our locations/hours, contact information for our staff,
and links to our 'real' site. That way - folks who want to access the
library from the county page are able to find useful information and folks
who want to explore the library are able to do so in a more user-friendly
environment. I'm hoping this flies *crosses fingers*!!

Thanks for everyone's comments. I'm finding them to be really useful and
interesting, as always
Best,
Jami






On 5/7/07, Leo Robert Klein <leo at leoklein.com> wrote:
>
> Dan Lester wrote:
>
> >
> >    >For an example of absolute hell in unusable URLs, point your browser
> to:
> >
> >    >http://cityofchicago.org
> >
> >    >Then click on any of the links.
> >
> > Well, did they take lessons from ALA and take it a step further?
> >Or did ALA use Chicago as a model?
> > After all, we know where ALA lives.....
> >
>
>
> They did it to be "first in the nation" in length of URL.  As you can
> see most of the content is taken up in those strings.  The actual pages
> are pretty light.
>
> The mayor probably designed it himself.  Can't wait till the site hits
> Archive.org .
>
> LEO
>
>
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>
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