An analysis of American academic libraries' websites: 2000‐2010
| Date | 16 November 2012 |
| Published date | 16 November 2012 |
| Pages | 764-776 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471211282091 |
| Author | Noa Aharony |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
An analysis of American
academic libraries’ websites:
2000-2010
Noa Aharony
Department of Information Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Abstract
Purpose – The current study seeks to describe and analyze academic library websites in the years
2000 and 2010, as they appear both in the Internet Archive and in current library websites.
Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of 31 academic libraries homepages which
were selected from the ACRL accredited LIS schools was conducted.
Findings – Findings reveal that the content of academic library websites in the years 2000 and 2010
has much changed over the ten years, presenting an increasing use of e-journals and Web 2.0
applications, as well as a focus on library users, and a great use of graphics in websites.
Practicalimplications – The comparisondocumented in the paper should prove veryinteresting and
importantto librarians, informationscientists, LIS scholarsand students, presenting trends,changes and
innovations that haveoccurred within the scope of academic libraries over the last ten years.
Originality/value – This study presents a yet unexplored dimension: the comparison, focusing
especially on content, of academic library websites over a decade as they appear in the Internet
Archive in 2000 and in the present library website in 2010.
Keywords Academic librarywebsites, Internet archive,Content analysis, Academic libraries,Internet,
Digital libraries,Resources
Paper type General review
Introduction
The field of library and information science (LIS) has evolved dynamically in recent
years and now includes subjects such as information technology, information society,
social information science, user studies and information ethics and law (Zins , 2007).
Also, because of technological innovations coupled with digitisation efforts, many
libraries provide websites that reflect their various current activities. It is thus
interesting to trace the changes and developments that academic library websites have
undergone over the last ten years, as expressed through the library websites
themselves. The current study seeks to describe and analyse academic library websites
in the years 2000 and 2010, as they appear both in the Internet Archive and in current
library websites.
The library website
According to McGillis and Toms (2001), a library website reflects its virtual public
face, acting as a front door to the collections, services, and, to an extent, its staff. Many
users visit a library’s virtual website more often than they visit its physical location
(Connell, 2008). The phenomenon of library websites first appeared in the 1990s. As
Mosaic, the first browser, was launched in 1993, academic health science libraries
began developing their websites (Brower, 2004). In 1996 the library website at the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
30,6
764
Received June 2011
Accepted July 2011
The Electronic Library
Vol. 30 No. 6, 2012
pp. 764-776
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640471211282091
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