ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ A pril 2000 / 299 College & Research Libraries news Why am I dreaming in html subtitles? Words of wisdom for new Webmasters by Lynn Rebbeor Shay and Sherman Hayes A lmost every library is providing online service, Web accessed data, and a pres­ ence on the almighty Web. Key to this innovation is the “great and pow erful Webmaster” in each library. Well, there are a lot of Webmasters out there. We have found very little guidance and “tricks of the trade” related to this important new position. Thus our noble effort to document a Webmaster’s Words of Wisdom. • Webmaster selection/draft. Be care­ fu l when they ask for volunteers— you may become a Webmaster! The path to this prestigious work is unclear as the new “position” evolves. We have seen for the first time, some ads for actual “Webmaster” positions. How­ ever, most libraries combine / it with other duties. One les­ son is to make sure that you get more money, definitive authority to do the job, and a title is good because the outside world at least knows you are in this business. The field is so new, there are no clear studies on how one can get out of being the library Webmaster. • The title. It is not good practice for the Webmaster to take the word “master” in their title too seriously. You need task forces, com­ We mittees to help, coordinators who assist if you are in a large institution, and even manage­ b ment support of the Web design and mainte­ nance process. Who is on these various committees is critical to your success and health as a Webmaster. The page incorporates the diver­ sity of information and knowledge in your library and represents the diversity and knowledge of all employees in the library. People will surprise you with actual good ideas! As Webmaster, be prepared to manage an ever changing set of committees and task forces. You may be in charge, anyway that is what your title indicates, but you need to accom m odate the needs of almost every staff member when it comes to the functions of the page. • Webmaster as artist. In design, everyone is a self-pro­ claimed artist. You can’t win with colors. You can’t get unanimous consensus on type­ face or bells and whistles. In the end, the organization and layout is really the key com­ ponent, so we suggest you compromise on art and then change it later when they are not looking. (Just kidding!) • KISS. “Keep It Simple Stupid,” although a cliche statement, has some real value in About the authors Lynn Rebbeor Shay is assistant manager o f reference and information services and library Webmaster a t the University o f North Carolina a t Wilmington, e-mail: shayl@uncwil.edu; Sherman Hayes is university librarian a t the University o f North Carolina at Wilmington, e-mail: hayess@uncwil.edu mailto:shayl@uncwil.edu mailto:hayess@uncwil.edu 300 / C&RL News ■ April 2000 design o f Web pages. There is a great temp tation to show off your facility with neat ani mation, multiple colors, banners, and, o f course, the infamous “blinking dots.… ” While you may b e thrilled with your fancy look, the reality holds that most people who look at your page are waiting precious sec onds (or to them minutes) for it to load. • Design, design, design. While most people start with worrying about the look o f the page, the true creative design work is in structuring the page to help people effec tively get where you want them to go and even more so, to get where they need to go! In the “Webmaster trade,” you need to worry about how many clicks it takes to make a satisfied customer. There are really som e important issues re lated to how people approach information. (You thought this article was going to be all fluff!) 1. Remembering the goals of the page, how many point ers to other subpages can you and should you link from the first page? 2. Should you use lists with individual links or pull down menus? 3. Or should you use both? 4. As a wider audience gets used to search engines, should you include that feature? 5. How prominent should your internal “stuff” b e versus the outside content o f the Web? Do cataloging rules and internal proce dures (important as they are) need to b e your lead entries? 6. Color choices need to b e tied to goals o f instructing the patron about your page and what it can accomplish. • “A little dab will do you.” Don’t over design. In today’s online world, the customers are using a tremendous variety o f connecting machines, service providers, and they even vary in their own skill levels. We have proxy servers that allow our students, faculty, and staff to access our page and its contents any time, anywhere from the Web. The design of the page for this type o f access is very differ ent from a library that has machines in clear helping distance o f the reference desk. • Thoughtful sharing. You don’t need to recreate the wheel. Now there was an un com mon cliché! Look at other institutions for good ideas to build on and watch for prac tices to avoid. • Content, content, content. The real challenge o f Web page design is deciding on the content that needs to b e included and deciding the best ways to guide your patrons to that content. Surprise! That is what librar ians have b een doing forever. Skills that are m ost critical to this task are the skills o f librarianship we all, hopefully, share. People mistakenly want to start with the “sizzle,” but you really need to start with the “m eal.” A good Webmaster is first and foremost a good librarian who reminds people that this exer cise is part o f our core service delivery sys tem. • Crisis manager. Seldom do you have the luxury o f deliberate planning and thought ful re-design. Som ething happ ens— there needs to be a change on the page and b e cause it is computing, it must b e done now! A Webmaster needs to antici pate these m ini-em ergencies and even drag his or her feet on occa sion to determine if the world will collapse if this change is not made immediately. • Bilingual. You will need to learn a new language called html (or one o f its ever-expanding variations). The software has gotten better and you may not need to feel like a programmer, but you still need a feel for this language to be success ful. Lynn is taking Spanish now, and is sur prised that she can handle two new languages at once. People can tell you what they think they want (what the university librarian wants is not always clear, but one does have to listen and try to help him o r her), but it is still up to you, as Webmaster, to translate that into this coding language to make the page happen. • Interdependence. No matter how in dependent you may think your library is, when it com es to Web pages, there is almost always a university or college Webmaster looking over your shoulder. The parent in stitution imposes standards, com m on looks, and connections to the university or college page that you must follow. This is really a very logical and sound practice, even if the university Webmaster doesn’t have a clue as to what the library does. Often, the library Webmaster is automatically part o f a cam­ pus-wide design committee. Our experience is that we have had to assert ourselves, our Web page, and our goals to make sure that the overriding promotional aspects of the uni­ versity page doesn’t do disservice to our ef­ forts. • C on sortia. If you belong to a consor­ tium, this, as in all things related to coopera­ tive ventures, will add new layers of complexity to the Web page. In our three- library-coopera­ tive life, we decided to have three separate Web pages. Ev­ ery library d o esn ’t have the same needs, equipment, and such. Fortunately, you can have individual pages and still do very creative connections betw een p art­ ner schools. • Prestige? You, as Webmaster, may get invited to important meetings when big shots want to stress the high tech nature of the Research topics As a final service to fellow library fac­ ulty seeking publishing topics, we offer our suggestions for needed research in this new area of library Webmasters. • Who are today's library Webmasters? D em ographics, back g ro u n d , training, strange work habits, computer health, and other profiles. • Are the library schools providing the skills necessary for the next generation of Webmasters? • Is there a dress code for Webmasters that has proven effective in getting pro­ motions? • Where does tire position “Webmaster” fit into today’s and future library organi­ zations? • Are libraries losing or will they lose these talented "not geeks really” people to the private business world? • How does the library Webmaster in­ terface with the greater university or col­ lege computing community? • How many Webmasters does it take to change a light bulb? • What careers paths do Webmasters choose after they quit being Webmasters? Or is retirement the only option? library. Be careful not to assume this high tech mantel too seriously. Everyone on the staff contributes to technology, not just the Webmaster. • Y ou ’v e g o t m ail! Web pages usually of­ fer th e u s e r an o p tio n to e-m a il th e Webmaster. Webmasters are ex­ pected to read the questions and comments. And do people ever comment. You do get mail. Some o f it is helpful, some will be weird. Many com panies have decided that the Webmaster is the person to receive information about their new products. Lucky Webmaster. • W eb ta lk . It is n o t r e q u ire d that Webmasters be geeks. They do have to fight against Web talk. Not everyone on the staff is html fluent, nor do they want to be. That’s w hy th e y s u p p o r t yo u in th e ro le as Webmaster. However, w hen you talk with other people on campus w ho manage pages or other librarians who are Webmasters, you should be able to quickly fall into the patter of html speak. • N e x t g e n e r a t io n W eb m a sters. Many o f the current W ebmasters w ere plucked from their staffs d u e to interest, or they m issed a com m ittee m eeting w h en the ap ­ pointm ent w as m ade. As a Webmaster, do not begin to think that you are so special that no o n e else can do this job. We have noticed that library school graduates seem to be m ore an d m ore Web savvy. In fact, k eep in g up w ith new graduates may be th e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n a l c h a lle n g e fo r W ebmasters. Hey, som eone needs to say that the library schools are doing a good job in this area o f the Web world. • N e v e r d o n e ! The Web page has a continuing life. You have the privilege of w o rk in g o n a p e rm a n e n tly u n fin is h e d product. It is never d o n e and can always be im proved, a d d e d to, red esig n ed , u p g rad ed , o r re­ colorized. Your library will ad d new elec­ tronic sources, new procedures, change its hours, add staff, etc. etc. etc. Be careful to avoid change for ch an g e’s sake. Would you redesign a p rinted docum ent daily? Since everyone thinks they are a designer and a w annabe Webmaster, the suggestions never (continued on page 311) ' C&RL News ■ April 2000 / 301 C&RL News ■ A p ril 2000 / 311 tra n sp o rta tio n in E u ro p e, an d lo d g in g and b o a rd fo r a p erio d n o t to e x c e e d 14 c o n s e c u tiv e days. L arson plan s to u s e th e grant fo r travel to R om e an d Paris to g a th er re s e a rc h at th e V atican Library an d P arisian arch iv es fo r his study, “D o c u m e n tin g th e D issem i n atio n o f th e G reg o ria n C alen d ar R eform in F ra n c e D u rin g th e Wars o f R e lig io n .” Jo h n Cullars, ch a ir o f th e W estern Eu r o p e a n S p e cia lis ts S e c tio n (W E SS), said, “J e f f r y L a r s o n ’s is a f a s c in a tin g b i b li o g ra p h ica l study that w ill b e o f in terest to historian s o f th e R efo rm atio n and C ou nter- ( “J o b Shadow Day … ” continued fr o m p a g e a c tiv ities to a fo rm at that b e s t w ork s fo r them . • W ayne State U n iversity (WSU)— De troit. WSU’s undergraduate library hosted 60 middle- and high-school students. This initia tive is especially important for the Detroit area since current hiring data revels that minorities only represent 9% o f academic librarians and less than 12% o f all students enrolled in Li brary Science programs. The students spent the better part o f the day at the library. The librarians at the Under graduate Library thought this was such a suc cessful event that they are considering pre senting their summary in an extended format, such as a poster session at an ALA or ACRL conference. Jo b Shadow Day participant Kia Drake, a ninth grader at Detroit’s Martin Luther King high school said, “W hen MLKing’s 9th grade CPLA (College Prep Liberal Arts) students at tended the Wayne State Undergraduate Library trip, at first I thought it was going to b e boring, but w hen w e got there it was interesting to see all o f the college students at work. I learned (Why am I dream ing … continued fr o m p a g e 3 0 1 ) end . (S in c e you c h a n g e th e p a g e, it is easy fo r o th e rs to su g g est w o rk fo r y o u .) Finding a balance b etw een bein g over w helm ed in W ebm aster land, and actually thoughtfully improving the page is a difficult part o f the job. Check out our “perm anently unfinished product” at http://library.uncwil. edu. R efo rm a tio n an d o f R e n a is sa n c e F ra n ce, in clu d in g h isto rian s o f s c ie n c e an d o f s o c ia l a ttitu d e s , th e lib r a ria n s w h o a s sist th e m , a n d t h o s e w h o a s k th e m s e lv e s , ‘W h e re did th e m issin g te n days o f our ca le n d a r go?”’ H e has serv ed as th e ed ito r o f th e R o m a n c e L angu age s e c tio n o f R e feren ce R e views Europe, an d is th e fo rm er ed ito r o f the W ESS N ew sletter. T h e aw ard w ill b e p r e s e n te d at th e W E SS G e n e r a l M e m b e rs h ip M e e tin g o n M onday, Ju ly 10, at 1 1 :3 0 a.m . d uring the ALA A nnual C o n fe r e n c e in C h icag o . ■ 6) that the library is not just books and being quiet, but it is about learning new things. I learned how the library runs all o f the time and how much fun it would b e to work there. I had fun playing on the Internet looking for different references. This trip was fun and I would love to go again.” It’s not too early to start planning As the ALA Divisions Jo b Shadow Day contin ues to develop, w e hope that the groundwork shared by this year’s participants will b e use ful for an increasing group o f library partici pants. ACRL encourages all libraries to start plan ning n o w for n ex t y ear’s J o b Shadow Day on February 2. T h e J o b Shadow Day Plan ning Kit d ev elop ed for this y e a r’s partici pants will b e updated for 2001 and will re m ain o n our W eb site at www.ala.org/acrl/ jobshadow .pd f. Q uestions should b e directed to Margot Sutton, ACRL J o b Shadow Day coordinator, (8 0 0 ) 545-2433, ext. 2522; e-mail: m sutton@ ala.org. ■ A lth o u g h w e h a v e c h o s e n to ta k e a s lig h tly h u m o ro u s ta c k o n th is s u b je c t ( w e k n o w , y o u a re u n c e r ta in o f th e h u m o r ), it is r e a lly a g r o w in g a r e a o f s e r v ic e a n d d e s ig n in e v e r y a c a d e m ic l i b ra ry . P le a s e s h a r e w ith th e g r e a te r lib ra ry c o m m u n ity y o u r sto r ie s o f W eb s u c c e s s e s a n d fa ilu r e s s o th a t a ll c a n b e n e f it fro m y o u r w o rd s o f w isd o m . ■ 29 http://www.ala.org/acrl/ http://library.uncwil