A L A A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e N e w O r l e a n s , L o u i s i a n a J u n e 24, 2006.

1. The Library Web Site in a Joint-Use Library: A portal for manyby Harriett MacDougall and Valentina MayzAlvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology CenterNova Southeastern UniversityFt. Lauderdale, FL A L A A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e N e w O r l e a n s , L o u i s i a n a J u n e 24, 2006.

2. Background information - Understanding the institutions in order to understand the users • Nova Southeastern University • Over 26,000 students - #7 in private, not for profit, colleges and universities • Over 90% of the students are in graduate or professional programs • Over 86,000 graduates since 1964 • Long term commitment to distance education and online learning • Over 62% of students have permanent residency in Florida • The university is located centrally in Broward County, Florida

3. Background information - Understanding the institutions in order to understand the users • Broward County, Florida and Broward County Library • Population was 1.6 million in 2000, ranking Broward 15th largest county in the U.S. • Based on forecast the population will be 2.55 million in 2030 • Racially and ethnically diverse, with projections of white non-Hispanic populations down from 58% in 2000 to 33% in 2030 • Broward County Library has a $60 million budget with 37 libraries • Flagships in the county libraries are the Main downtown library, the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 5 regional libraries, and the Alvin Sherman Library, a joint-use facility with the Broward County Board of County Commissioners

4. The Alvin Sherman Library - a joint-use facility with the Broward County Board of County Commissioners • Brief history • 1998 - discussions began on the idea of a joint-use library • Spring 1999 - Broward County passed $140 million bond issue for new libraries • June 1999 - the joint-use library was approved • Lawyers drafted 54 page, 40 year agreement • December 1999 - Broward County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of this agreement • Agreement assigns funding for construction and ongoing support, designates NSU ownership, and defines library staff as NSU employees

5. The Alvin Sherman Library - a joint-use facility with the Broward County Board of County Commissioners • Construction of the joint-use library • Began in Summer 2000 • Joint-use library opened on October 8, 2001 (14 months later) • Total cost: $44 million

6. Joint-use library features • At 325,000 square feet, it is largest library building in Florida

7. Joint-use library features • Five stories high

8. Joint-use library features • Electronic compact shelving for 1.4 million volumes

9. Joint-use library features • 14 e-classrooms with one devoted to youth

10. Joint-use library features • 80-seat café in library

11. Joint-use library features • All wireless with laptops checked out

12. Joint-use library features • 22 study rooms, conference rooms, exhibit spaces

13. Joint-use library features • Full service public library services within building

14. Joint-use library features • Seamless services to public and academic patrons with one reference desk, one circulation desk, and services open to all users

15. Gains from the joint -use library • Broward County gained: • a high tech library • a research library with highly trained staff • extended library hours • access to research databases - and to knowledgeable staff to assist in using them • library services in a central location in Broward County

16. Gains from the joint -use library • Nova Southeastern University gained: • ability to plan a larger library • expanded services to users with a full public library • additional positions to serve users • additional funding to expand collections and services

17. Gains from the joint-use library • Both institutions gain by being able to provide added and improved services to their users • They realize from their collective efforts what the County and the University could not achieve individually

18. The users • Potentially all the students, faculty, staff of NSU - over 30,000 people • Potentially all the residents of Broward County - over 1.5 million people • Use studies thus far show: • 36,000 library cards have been issued to Broward County residents • 52 - 54% of all circulation is by Broward County residents • The greatest increase in circulation is for DVD's/other non-print media • 40% of reference queries are from Broward County residents • Reference questions continue to grow • Use of electronic resources by the public is 2 - 3% of the total use, but total use of electronic resources is growing rapidly

19. Challenges of understanding the users and serving them • All types of library users - academic, public, distance - all ages from infants to grand parents - many cultures - with a strong emphasis on Hispanic users • All library employees must study institution, library, and the users • Special challenges for Library Web Administrator, who must study all of the users in order to provide entrance/portal to many

20. Before trying to design a website that represents your library... • Forget who you are – become your user. In our case: • NSU local students • NSU distance students * • NSU staff & faculty • NSU alumni • Broward County adults • Broward County teens • Broward County kids * we try to think of all patrons as distance users.

21. Before trying to design a website that represents your library... • Study the organizational culture of your institution. In our case: • Resistance to radical changes • Difficult to get decisions made quickly • Mixed feelings about joint-use library • Collaboration challenges

22. Before trying to design a website that represents your library... • Build relationships. In our case: • With librarians – seasoned and new; top-level and entry-level; at all campus libraries and at Broward County Library • With staff – systems, circulation, student workers • With patrons – via phone, email, and live reference transactions (hard to cultivate with our large distance student population) • With university’s IT department – attending meetings, asking questions, offering help when needed

23. Before trying to design a website that represents your library... • Assess the technology, staffing, and support available. In our case: • Technology: Macromedia MX suite, Photoshop, FTP, limited access to ColdFusion & Oracle • Staffing: a part-time web librarian, some cooperation from 3 other department representatives (oh, and me!) • Support: lots of it from our library director and heads of most departments

24. Before trying to design a website that represents your library... • Assess information needs of all users – both library staff and patron groups. In our case: • Patrons wanted an easier site to navigate • Web-based content for public patrons needed to be more prominent • Staff needed more efficient ways to update content and inform users of important issues and events • Everyone wanted a more attractive, functional web site

25. Before trying to design a website that represents your library... • Prioritize your goals, but be realistic. In our case: • Without a Content Management System (CMS), portal-based content had to be created via flat pages • A dynamic tool to provide access to electronic resources by patron type was our primary need • A broader but centralized navigation scheme was imperative • Good visual design was a critical factor for the virtual space to reflect the physical space

26. Getting things done • Web committee dynamics • Usability was challenging to test with such a diverse library audience, and we needed a new Web site now! • Server cleanup issues – old files remained unclaimed... • Old content revisions: who did what? • New content creation: who does what? • Database of e-resources: a homemade CMS for one part of our site • Graphics, database design & development, requesting site content, etc. • Launch date constantly postponed

27. Before: an outdated design and flat navigation...

28. After: an updated look with a central navigation scheme

29. We could only offer lists by subject and by vendor to NSU patrons due to labor intensive process of making updates But not to public patrons – they just got alphabetically ordered lists Before: flat pages for listing e-resources to patrons...

30. Before: 14 broad-subject lists for NSU patrons only

31. After: 30+ narrowed subject lists for ALL patron groups…

32. ... with brief descriptions listed on page

33. ... and a homemade admin. module that makes updates a breeze

34. Other improvements: portals for NSU patrons

35. Portals for Public Patrons

36. Lessons learned • We can make more sense online if patrons see the content that only pertains to them • We need to implement dynamic, portal-based content management • Users are more likely to send feedback if they have a complaint – don’t take it personally • Less really is more – go for short and simple language

37. Where do we go from here? • Recruit help to conduct usability testing • Simpler design (especially for navigation) • Less graphics, more CSS and W3C standards-compliance • Pursue the CMS dream more seriously – our library needs this! • Find ways to empower (and force) librarians to be in charge of their content

38. Closing note... • This presentation will be available online at www.nova.edu/library/ala • Feel free to contact us if you have any questions! Harriett MacDougall Library Director 954-262-4606 harriett@nova.edu Valentina Mayz Web Administrator 954-262-4605 mayz@nova.edu

39. Thank you!