ACTIVITY

Effective library website design

Criterion (Adapted from this presentation and this article):

1. Promotion
2. Ease of navigation
3. Content
4. Segmentation
5. Reference services
6. Feedback
7. Analytics
8. Connectivity

  
Evaluation of Newcastle Region Library's website:

1. The homepage features upcoming events, such as author visits and school holiday activities at the libraries. Promotion is handled quite well. 

2. Navigation is basic, with the Search function only searching the council website, not the library's catalogue. This does not seem particularly user-friendly, as the average new user may not know to click on "Catalogue" first. The below search for "harry potter" returned no results.

Image courtesy of The City of Newcastle

3. Content is handled well, with library services, hours and programs easily located.

4.  The site is broken down into logical areas, so segmentation is also satisfactory.

5. Reference services are located in the Information & Research area. Most reference services are only offered at the main library branch, so are less relevant for their online presence.

6. There is no designated feedback area, only a Contact Us option. It is not simple to find the area to suggest the library purchase a particular item (located in Books and Reading - which makes no sense if a user wishes to suggest a DVD or CD be purchased!).

7. I have no way of establishing whether the library utilises Google Analytics or similar. It has no published information on the number of users accessing the site.

8. While this is an anecdotal observation, I have often found the catalogue down, particularly on weekends. This is very unhelpful as the library is closed most of the weekend.

Overall, the library's website is basic and feels as though not a great deal of thought has been given to it. The library also has no social media presence, which is consistent with their current approach to their online presence.