Intranets should provide quick and easy access to organizational information. The University of Alabama Libraries' intranet was only partially satisfying this basic expectation. Librarians could use it to find forms, policies, committee assignments, and meeting minutes, but navigating the libraries' intranet was neither quick nor easy, and it was…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to examine the various features and components of web-based online public access catalogues (OPACs) of IIT libraries in India with the help of a specially designed evaluation checklist. Design/methodology/approach: The various features of the web-based OPACs in six IIT libraries (IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT…

Libraries today face an increasing challenge: to provide relevant information to diverse populations with differing needs while competing with Web search engines like Google. In 2009, a large group of libraries, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, joined with Innovative Interfaces as development partners to design a new type of…

This article details the process of upgrading and expanding an existing academic medical library intranet to include a wiki, blog, discussion forum, and photo collection manager. The first version of the library's intranet from early 2002 was powered by ColdFusion software and existed primarily to allow staff members to author and store minutes of…

With the growth of Web 2.0 library intranets in recent years, many libraries are leaving behind legacy, first-generation intranets. As Web 2.0 intranets multiply and mature, how will traditional intranet best practices--especially in the areas of planning, implementation, and evaluation--translate into an existing Web 2.0 intranet infrastructure?…

Library intranets require flexibility and efficiency and enhance the internal communication and collaborative nature of creating and organizing the institution's information. At the University of Houston Libraries, the focus was on public services, so little attention was given to the intranet--the tool every department relied on for quick access…

Oregon State University (OSU) libraries, where the author serves as lead programmer, have developed a tool to make it easier for librarians to build and maintain interactive course assignment pages (ICAPs) and subject research guides (SRGs). That tool, Library a la Carte, enables librarians with minimal technical expertise to create dynamic…

This article presents a case study in user-centered design that explores the needs and preferences of undergraduate users. An analysis of LibQual+ and other user surveys, interviews with public service staff, and a formal American with Disabilities Act accessibility review served as the basis for planning a redesign of the Brown University…

In the early 1990s, numerous academic libraries adopted the web as a communication tool with users. The literature on academic library websites includes research on both design and navigation. Early studies typically focused on design characteristics, since websites initially merely provided information on the services and collections available in…

Smart librarians have always valued their relationships with users and other librarians. The creative force of those relationships is empowered via Web-based social networking, collaboration, and sharing. At Stony Brook University Health Sciences Library in New York, students, faculty, clinicians, and residents expect the latest refinements in…

Explores the possibility of considering the creation and maintenance of reference librarians' personal Web sites as part of their professional duties. Reviews a sample of personal Web sites and the results of an e-mail survey targeting such sites and their creators. Examines three home pages to provide more detailed information about site…

In July 1997, the University Library at the University of Nebraska at Omaha adopted a new structural model for Web site development--the publishing metaphor. Rather than relying on an individual expert (the Webmaster) or a WebTeam comprised of a few individuals, the model permits everyone in the organization, regardless of position or Web…

Describes ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan Internet Accessible Database), software that examines the current state of interlibrary loan borrowing requests at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Topics include system requirements, user procedures, staff procedures, copyright clearance, OCLC, and future developments. (LRW)

Journals Online News (JON) is a World Wide Web site created and maintained by the Collection Development Team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) Libraries in order to speak with the UTK community about journals-related issues. Its primary function at present is to provide UTK faculty and other interested parties with the latest…

What would it take for libraries to provide their patrons with the same kind of success in finding information using their resources as they achieve with Google, and as quickly? This author asserts that the answer is not that complicated: be more like Google, and then move beyond Google. With the technology available right now, this is not an…