Beyond HTML. Developing and re‐imagining library web guides in a content management system
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830610652095 |
| Pages | 29-53 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Author | Doug Goans,Guy Leach,Teri M. Vogel |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THEME ARTICLE
Beyond HTML
Developing and re-imagining library web
guides in a content management system
Doug Goans and Guy Leach
Georgia State University Library, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and
Teri M. Vogel
Science and Engineering Library, University of California,
San Diego, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose – To report on the content management system designed to manage the 30 web-based
research guides developed by the subject liaison librarians at the Georgia State University Library.
Design/methodology/approach – The web development librarian, with assistance from the web
programmer, designed a system using MySQL and ASP. A liaison team gave input on the system
through rigorous testing and assisted with the design of the templates that control the layout of the
content on the guides. A usability study and two surveys were also completed.
Findings – The new system met and exceeded the baseline expectations for content collection and
management, offering a greater control over appearance and navigation while still offering
customization features for liaisons. Improvements are planned for the templates in addition to better
promotion of the guides on the library web site. Initial and ongoing training for the liaisons should
have been more effectively addressed. Despite their observed and future potential advantages, the
CMS model has not been universally adopted by academic libraries.
Practical implications – Regardless of the technology involved, libraries preparing for a CMS
transition must give at least as much attention to user issues as they do to technical issues, from the
organizational buy-in and comprehensive training to internal/external usability.
Originality/value – This paper contributes to a small but growing collection of CMS case studies. It
covers the technical, functional, and managerial developments of a CMS, while also addressing the
practical user factors that sometimes get lost in the process.
Keywords Content management,Academic libraries, Databasemanagement systems
Paper type Case study
Background
In 2000 the Georgia State University (GSU) Library had a FrontPage-based web site
with minimal login security, site architecture planning, and administrative and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
The authors wish to thank programmers Robert Tairas and Jackey Hong for their invaluable
work on the GSU Library’s content management system. They also want to thank the GSU
Liaison Librarians (past and present) who have been involved this project.
Elements of this paper were the basis for two poster sessions, the first at the American
Chemical Society National Meeting in August 2004, the second at the National EDUCAUSE
Conference in October 2004 (see www.library.gsu.edu/scholarship/posters/).
Library web
guides
29
Received 1 September 2005
Revised 1 November 2005
Accepted 15 November 2005
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 24 No. 1, 2006
pp. 29-53
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830610652095
editorial processes in place. A single librarian served in the role of network coordinator,
server administrator and web site manager. At the same time about 15 liaison
librarians, including the government documents librarian, were fulfilling their charge
to develop web guides for their assigned subject areas. There were no policies or
guidelines in place to assist the liaisons in meeting this responsibility, nor was any
formal FrontPage training available. Administrative, technical and personnel support
were minimal, and no editorial control was in place. Liaisons were given complete
control of their guides as well as direct, barrier-free access to manage their pages on the
web server. The content on the resulting guides and how that content was displayed
was extremely inconsistent, which contributed to a lack of organizational voice and
credibility.
The web guides were extremely diverse on a visual level. Each librarian, as well as
the student assistants and support staff who also worked on the pages, used different
fonts, colors and layout designs. Navigation was hampered by the lack of agreed-on
guidelines for content arrangement and labeling. While some librarians utilized their
previous experience with FrontPage or other web editing programs, others had never
created a single web page. The lack of any training system to address these differing
web page and site-building skills among the librarians was also a factor affecting the
quality and consistency of the guides.
Since there was no clearly defined or communicated mission for the library guides,
the liaisons had different ideas about their purpose. There was no agreement or even
discussion about how many guides a librarian should create or even what kinds of
content should be included. For some departments or disciplines there was a single
guide for all users. For others, multiple guides were developed to support general
research, specialized subject areas, and individual classes, each guide a mix of new
content and material copied over from other guides. Some guides were extremely
content-rich while others had nothing more than a librarian’s contact inform ation.
Time, existing workloads, and even enthusiasm also had an impact on the quantity
and quality of guides created by each librarian.
Serious technical and administrative problems with the liaisons’ guides that went
beyond their visual and content variability also existed. The minimal security
implemented with the FrontPage system, intended to allow many librarians to publish
content quickly and easily to the live web site, eventually backfired when the liaisons’
sub-web was accidentally deleted. Most of the liaison guides were restored through
backups and browser caches. This disruptive event revealed serious weaknesses of the
system, while leaving some liaisons reluctant to put additional time and effort into
these activities beyond what was minimally required.
In response to the growing nature of library web content and the issues surrounding
the FrontPage working environment, the library’s first web development librarian was
hired in 2000. Implementing web site security for FrontPage authors and exploring
web site infrastructure development were among the first steps he undertook to
improve the library’s web presence. He also built MySQL applications to mana ge the
lists of databases and electronic journals as well as several major photograph
collections for the special collections department.
While the web development librarian was making these significant and sorely
needed improvements to the library’s web infrastructure, the liaisons’ share of the web
site continued to grow. The liaisons, including those hired to fill new positions,
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