[Web4lib] RE: [Publib] re: database marketing

[Robert L. Balliot]

Greetings Sara,

A CMS can help to make sure your data is consistent.  However,
most public libraries do not have enough original or changing
content to warrant their use.  They don't fix broken links.

The problem that you mention with using a spider such as
Zoom, is actually the problem that they solve.  You can have
a million pages or more on a thousand different servers
and index all according to a locally generated
weighted algorithm.  You set the start points - which is
demonstrated with the category search options of All, Morris County, 
Library Blog, and Library Resources:

http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/morristown-library/search.asp

This process has many advantages over the free embedded search
engines such as Gigablast or Google.  Although those services
are easier to set up, you have to rely on what has been
indexed by those engines and when their spider visited your
site to show any results. Some pages may never show up. With
a strong understand of XML and Google's API, you can shape
results in a similar way.  But, you first need to be able to
generate an XML sitemap. 

I think you have a great website with an exceptional amount
of locally generated content for a public library.  I am
not being critical of your work, I am just using it to 
demonstrate a process.  I will be using three case studies
to show all twenty of the SEO Web Development methods I
advocate for library site designs.  Hopefully, the information
will be useful and can help libraries maintain their funding
for databases.  My processes are based on two years of very
successful competitive corporate web design.  

There is no reason libraries should not compete too!

*************************************************
Robert L. Balliot
Skype: RBalliot
Bristol, Rhode Island
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/contact.htm
*************************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: Sara Weissman [mailto:Sara.Weissman at mainlib.org] 
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2008 1:27 PM
To: Sara.Weissman at mainlib.org; publib at webjunction.org;
web4lib at webjunction.org; rballiot at oceanstatelibrarian.com
Cc: havensa at oclc.org; alutzke at fortlibrary.org
Subject: RE: [Publib] re: database marketing

>>You have 39 broken links
Now *that's* useful ...
The problem with trying to use Zoom? our web site is spread across three
different 
servers ...but, when/and/as/if we do indeed consolidate all this (and
probably move 
to CMS at same time) ...Zoom might be interesting to use. Thanks for
bringing it to 
our attention.

--------
Reference Dept
Morris County Library
http://www.mclib.info
(973) 285-6969