Library Website Comparison
LSC 548
Authority
| Name of Web Site | Regis College Library | Boston College Library |
| What is the URL? | http://regisnet.regiscollege.edu/library | http://www.bc.edu/libraries |
| Is there a recognizable sponsor of the web site? Who is it? Will it be possible to find background information about this sponsor? | There is no recognizable sponsor, however, this is clearly stated on the bottom right of the Library home page: | Same as the other library site, no recognizable sponsor but clearly a part of Boston College.
Maintained: University Libraries |
| Has descriptive information about the sponsor been provided, either on the opening page or via an ìabout usî link? | There was no "about us" link. However, there is a link to the homepage of Regis College. | Again there was a link to the homepage of Boston College and a BCinfo link. |
| Is there an address, phone number, or fax number provided for the sponsor? | YES, see above. | Within the Boston College home page site there was a page devoted to: Question, Comments and Requests that provided a lot of contact information. |
| Is a personal author identified for the information, articles, or documents presented at the web site? | There is a "contact webmaster" link. |
Sheila Fehlman is listed as the Library Web Manager. |
| If an author is identified, is it clear what his/her credentials are? | NO | NO |
| Is there a way to contact the author? | There is a way to contact the web master. | There is a "contact us" link. |
| Will it be possible to find background information about the author? | Could probably contact her and ask her... | Anything's possible. |
Scope and Purpose
| Does the content appear to be fact or opinion? | Fact, this pertains to all library services at Regis College. | Fact, this pertains to library services at Boston College. |
| What is the scope or purpose of this web site? | The purpose of the site is to provide library resources 24 hours a day, to inform. | Through Library locations and digital services, the Boston College
Libraries will strengthen learning and research by providing: personalized
services, collections in all formats, seamless access to information
regardless of its location, and leadership in the use of networking
technology. Library staff will: help users through direct contact in service
areas, help users through email and the World Wide Web, provide access to
onsite collections, provide desktop access to printed information in new
forms, provide new forms of information available only digitally, and
ultimately provide a virtual service point at every user's computer. The
Library's work processes and user services will improve through: advanced
integrated library systems, future generation Internet applications,
operating procedures simplified by staff analysis and redesign, and learning
from experience. The Libraries will: foster student learning and faculty
development in the networked environment, build and make accessible strong
collections in traditional and digital formats, digitize our own holdings
and promote digitization of Boston College scholarship, provide increasing
access to digital information elsewhere, adhere to principles of preserving
scholarly resources for the future, be mindful of emerging national
standards for digital libraries. The Libraries will provide instruction and
consultation to facilitate faculty and student transition to the fully
networked academic environment. Continual staff development will provide
Library staff with the professional and leadership skills needed to provide
21st century service to increasingly diverse users.
|
| Does the information presented here seem to be complete and comprehensive? What is included? What is excluded? | Yes, complete, comprehensive, inclusive. Included is, the library catalog, powered by Sirsi; Databases: Subject specific and General; electronic book resources; Online Reference resources; links to assorted Library services; other services and Subject guides; Library hours. | Yes, see above. |
How can you tell? Is the scope described
|
It is described on the Library home page, at the top. | In the vision statement. |
| How does this site compare to similar information elsewhere? | It seems to be comprehensive, and a 'good' site, however, there is something about the layout, style that I don't really like. | This site is detailed, and very informative. Head and shoulders above other College Library sites. |
| How is this database structured? | The main site is html. The library catalog is powered by SISI. | All templates validate to the XHTML 1.0 specification. Pages
having valid code will render optimally under the various browsers/operating
system combinations. Valid code is a stepping stone to ensure Web
accessibility. QUEST
is the front end to the libraries' primary computer system, ALEPH500, an
integrated library management system developed by
Ex Libris, Ltd. The new system
provides a standard Web interface to library catalogs and databases, and
provides users with more streamlined access to a variety of library
services. |
| Are there links provided to other sources of information on this same topic? Is it clear how these links are selected? | I am not sure if this question is applicable, but there is a "Information Literacy Tutorial," which aims are similar to the Regis College Library. Also, there are various academic links. | I don't think this question is applicable. |
| Are the links reliable? Do they get you where you need to go? | All the links I tried were working., useful and no fees were required. | Site owners & maintainers use a Web site management tool, which was built in-house, called WebIT. WebIT has a "Validate Pages" option which allows site owners to validate their entire site with the click of a button. Behind the scenes, WebIT runs the W3C's html validator, and if any errors are found, a link is provided to the content owner to view the results page which lists the errors) that are on the page. |
Accuracy
| How accurate is this information? | Appears to be accurate. | Appears to be accurate. | ||||||||||||
| How can you tell? | The content was comprehensive in scope, and the information can be easily verified by references, through my own knowledge, and the information is readily available elsewhere. | The content was comprehensive in scope, and the information can be easily verified by references, through my own knowledge, and the information is readily available elsewhere. | ||||||||||||
| When statistics and other factual data are presented is it cited so that one can verify it? | Not Applicable | NA | ||||||||||||
| Are tables, charts, and graphs clear and easy to understand? | Not Applicable | NA | ||||||||||||
| Is there any bibliography? |
|
Bibliographies for selected topics and themes are available |
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| Is the document generally well-written? Free of spelling mistakes and typographical errors? | It appears to be, well written that is, and free of mistakes. | WebIt runs a validator program on this site. Free from errors. |
Objectivity
Check the domain to ascertain possible reasons for
the provision of this information
|
edu.
Education |
edu.
Education |
Is the subject controversial? If so,
|
No. | No. |
| Is the information free from advertising? | YES | YES |
Currentness
Are any of the following dates provided?
|
I did not see a creation, post or revision date... there was a "What's new at RCL" button but it wasn't in working order. Under the link "Reference Shelf" there was a "Today's News" link that connected the user to the major daily newspapers. | The library home page has an "updated date" located at the bottom but I couldn't find a creation date. The individual links have revision and updated dates. |
| When was this site last updated? How can you tell? Is there any information on how often the site is updated? | I don't know? I did not see any information in re to updates. |
Every page within the new site design has a standard footer with an "Updated" date. |
| What was updated? | NA | For example, "Research Guide: Business Statistics" link, updated April 4, 2004. |
| How does the creation of the database stay current? | The webmaster I suppose. | Boston College Libraries Systems Services develops new digital information technology applications and maintains ongoing information technology systems, products, and services for the libraries. |
| In cases where there is statistical data or factual data is it indicated when that data was gathered? | NA | NA |
| Does the information seem out of date? | No. | No. There are current job postings under employment at the college. |
| How stable is this site, its address and its information? Is it here today and gone (or moved) tomorrow? | Very stable, it is the Regis College Library. | I would say, extremely stable. |
Arrangement and Format
| How easy is it to find and use this site? | Fairly easy to find and use. | Looking at the left side of the page, there is a tan column used to
outline the content of the site, and provide a standard set of navigational
links. This standard left side navigation using tan shading is also used
throughout all departmental Web sites. All main site categories are presented in CAPS, and when clicked on, the left side navigation expands to show all of the subheadings. When you click on a link along the left side navigation, any subcategories will be within a lighter shade of tan. The page you are on is highlighted on the left navigation by a small maroon double arrow "ª", and the title text of the page you are on will be black. |
| How convenient is it? | It's convenient. | Very |
| How well-organized? | It could be better organized. | Very |
| How quickly can you usually get to this site? Get around the site? | Fairly quickly. | Vry quickly and easy navigatable. |
| How appropriate is the format of the database for its intended audience? | It's appropriate. | Very. |
| Does the information seem out of date? | No. | No |
| Are there any hardware, software, or multimedia requirements? | I don't think so. | Keyboard navigation requires a relatively recent, standards compliant browser (Netscape 6.x, Internet Explorer 5.x). Mac and Windows users will experience differences in the way keyboard navigation works. Adobe acrobat reader for some of the information available on the site. |
Design Considerations
| Does it function well with different browsers? | I tried it with Netscape and Internet Explorer. | I tried it with Netscape and Internet Explorer.
|
| Is too much filler used? | No. | No |
| Is it obvious when you leave to a different site? | Yes. | Yes |
Layout Considerations
| Enough white space? | Yes very readable, predominantly white space. | The site brings a visual design standard and a common navigation system to every page. The design and interface standards are integrated through a Universal Header, Standard Left Navigation, and a Standard Footer: All displayed on a background with plenty of white. |
| Overdone styles? | Very simple style, not at all overdone. | Across the top of this page there is tan and black Universal Header. The Universal Header is on every page in the site, and provides links to seven key areas: |
| Too many links? | There are quite a few links but I wouldn't say too many. | A real lot of links, a bit overwhelming. |
| Links with too many words? | No. | No. |
| Textual descriptions too brief or too long? | No, just about right. | Neither. |
| Use of color? | Tasteful and subtle use of color. | Tasteful, subtle. |
Graphics
| Do the graphics relate to the surrounding text? | Yes, there is one, a view of the college on the left side of the site. | In addition to the Universal Header, at the top of the "About the Libraries" link there are 6 graphics, the college, the library and some students, it relates to the text. |
| Do the graphics provide important information? | A nice view of the College...important...probably not. | Not really. |
| Does the size of the graphics relate to the page content? | Yes. | Not really. The pictures are very small. |
| Are pictures missing? | No. | No. |
| What is the quality of the graphics? | High quality. | Good quality. |
| How long does it take for the graphics to display? | Very quickly, no waiting. | No waiting. |
| Are textual descriptions of graphics provided when a text-based browser is used? | There is no textual description provided. | There is no textual description provided. |
| Are the textual descriptions appropriate? | NA | NA |
Help Information
| Is ìhelpî provided? | I found no link entitled "help." There was however, the standard FAQ link which answered standard library questions. | Yes. and Yes. |
| Is ìhelpî information easy to find? | FAQ | The "help center" link was provided within the " A to Z index" link and offered technical help. Library help was offered under a quick link on the home page called the "How do I...." Neither one of them was all that easy to find. |
| How helpful is the ìhelpî information? | Not that helpful. | Both contained a good amount of information. |
| If ìhelpî isn't provided, should it be provided? | Yes | It was provided. |
Feedback Information
| Are opportunities for feedback provided? | There is a "Suggestion Box" link. | |
| Are feedback opportunities easy to find? | It is listed under 2 other links: "Library Information" and "FAQ." | Yes there was a "Feedback Form" link within the "Contact Us" link. Fairly easy to find, just a little bit of searching. |
Overall Feel and Look
| How well organized is the site? | Well organized. | Very Well Organized. |
| Are the pages consistent from page to page? | Yes, same color, same layout, same photo. | Yes! |
| How easy is it to locate important information? | For me, fairly easy, I'm on the web, I'm familiar with libraries and their services...for someone not so familiar, it would be tougher and more time consuming, | For me, fairly easy, I'm on the web, I'm familiar with libraries and their services...for someone not so familiar, it would be tougher and more time consuming, |
| On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=poor, 10=superior), rate each web site. | 7 | 9 |
| Briefly describe why you rated each as you did. | I rated Regis a 7 because it was slightly above "average...5" in Authority, purpose and ease of use." However, it could use an overhaul in it's layout. Overall, it served its purpose well. | I rated BC a 9 because it is superior in it's purpose, content, accuracy, ease of use, layout, and information. Contains a lot of information. |