1	Simmons College LS 434: Medical Librarianship Spring 2004 Using the WWW to develop a multi-functional library website
2	Instructor Mary McKeon Blanchard, MSLS Associate Director for Library Services 617-638-4253, mamckeon@bu.edu
3	Class goals Examine the Alumni Medical Library’s multi-functional website Use established Web collections as an alternative strategy to general search engine searching for locating resources on the WWW Improve medical information retrieval skills using the WWW Evaluate Web sites for validity, source, content, and currency of information Use medical/health print resources to identify websites Practice search strategies using government, professional association, commercial, and NGO produced websites
4	Functions of the Alumni Medical Library’s Website Serves as a digital representation of the physical library Provides access to resources such as online tutorials, web subject links and e-journal and e-book titles not available in the library Expands access to library services & resources from remote locations and to multiple simultaneous users Serves as a gatekeeper in limiting access to licensed resources by requiring authentication with kerberos password or OVID user name and password Supports licensing agreements by enabling remote access and limiting use by BUMC/Charles River campus or simultaneous users
5	Functions of the Alumni Medical Library’s Website Provides general library and circulation information Serves as a department newsletter Supports reference services Supports Interlibrary Loan Service
6	Functions of the Alumni Medical Library’s Website Supports user education/curriculum support activities Provides information about computing resources Provides access to electronic resources Supports collection development activities
7	Functions of the Alumni Medical Library’s Website Supports outreach grants/ NLM-funded grants: Family Medicine Residency online course CBAIOP website *MHIN website
8	"Demonstrate MHIN Website:" Demonstrate MHIN Website: http://med-libwww.bu.edu Discuss redesigned Alumni Medical Library Website: http://med-libwww.bu.edu
9	HTML versus Cold Fusion/ SQL HTML very labor intensive as static pages each require updating if information changes HTML skills required to make any changes Cold Fusion is database-driven and information only needs to be updated 1x in order to update multiple pages Cold Fusion tables may be updated without SQL knowledge
10	HTML versus Cold Fusion/ SQL HTML link-checking is very labor intensive as each page must be checked Cold Fusion links may be run through a link-checker AML website HTML pages were independent and internal search engine did not integrate HTML pages effectively Cold Fusion tables allow subjects to be assigned to resources and display will integrate web resources
11	HTML versus Cold Fusion/ SQL Subject pages display on redesigned Cold Fusion AML website: • Book call numbers • E-book titles • E-journal titles • Subject-specific websites • Indexes and Knowledge databases • Professional Association/Organization websites • Government websites
12	Use reliable Web collections to identify quality medical/health websites MEDLINEplus http://medlineplus.gov Identify Organization and Association Websites and Government Agency/Department Websites MLANET http://www.mlanet.org Medscape http://www.medscape.com Medical/Health Sciences Library Websites: explore the web links collections
13	Use medical/health print resources to identify websites & resources Professional journals such as the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Medical Reference Services Quarterly Professional news sources such as College & Research Libraries News Specialty publications such as Medicine on the Net Search MEDLINE for medical journal articles identifying and evaluating topical websites
14	"Information need:" Information need: HIV/AIDS surveillance reports Consider Who might produce or publish that information? U.S. government agency Centers for Disease Control How to approach the search? Go to the CDC’s Web site and look for “surveillance reports”
15	"Information need:" Information need: latest HIV/AIDS treatments Consider Who might produce or publish that information? How to approach the search? First consider Who needs the information, a professional or a consumer? a researcher? a social worker? an administrator? a patient? a caregiver? A partner or loved one?
16	Challenges to Developing and Maintaining a Library Website Time required to perform traditional library functions plus time to develop and maintain a website Staff skills required include knowledge of HTML, Cold Fusion/SQL or other database-driven programs Additional skills needed include education technology skills: online tutorial development, web design Technical Services staff role expands to include maintaining e-book and e-journal records in the library catalog Library budget implications of e-journal and e-book collections
17	Evaluating Internet Resources Acknowledgements: Jan Alexander & Marsha Tate Wolfgram Memorial Library Widener University Chester, PA www.science.widener.edu/~withers/evalout.html
18	World Wide Web Created in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN, a physics laboratory in Switzerland Their goal was to provide shared documents and graphics more easily on the Internet Browsers navigate the WWW and are simple to use because one user application communicates with many servers, and one server can support many user interfaces Mosaic was released in 1993 by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) as the 1st WWW browser program Netscape Internet Explorer
19	URL -- Uniform Resource Locator
20	URL Domain Names provide valuable information about the producer/publisher of a website
21	Evaluating Internet Resources Once you find a Web site, you have to determine whether the information is relevant. What are some of the criteria that you could use to evaluate Internet resources?
22	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #1: Content Accuracy Disclaimer Completeness
23	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #2: Credibility A site should display the name & logo of the institution responsible for the information, as well as particular authors. Disclosing sponsorship can assist users assess motivations of information providers and potential conflicts of interests.
24	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #3: Currency The date of the original document on which the information is based and the date of posting on the Web assists users to judge timeliness.
25	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #4: Site Evaluation Sites should indicate whether the information provided has been subject to review Is the site fact-checked or verified in some way? Is the information accurate and factual? Or, is the site sponsored by the agency that produces the informational content?
26	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #5: Design, Software requirements Do you find the perfect site only to find that your computer doesn’t have the appropriate software to view/manipulate the site? Does your browser alter the appearance of the page? Can you tell whether the software has limited the amount of information on the page? Does the site have a “text only” version for low-level browsers?
27	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #6: Purpose, Target Audience, Point-of-View The best web sites are clearly focused on their purpose and target audience The point-of-view or agenda should be stated or made obvious. The purpose of the site should be clearly stated, and the information provided should be appropriate to that purpose or mission.
28	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #7: Disclosure, Profiling, Confidentiality Web sites request and use information for purposes of which the user may be unaware. Users must be informed if any information about them is gathered or used by the Web site.
29	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #8: Internal Search Capabilities An internal search engine with an easy user interface is highly desirable. It should be capable of keyword or search string searching.
30	Evaluating Internet Resources Criterion #9: Evaluation of Quality of Links The person/s responsible for link selection should have the expertise and credentials to critically evaluate their appropriateness. The site “architecture” or design of pointers to linked sites is important for ease of navigation. The content of links should be accurate, current, credible, relevant. The content of the originating site is enhanced if it includes links to high-quality sites.
31	Evaluating Internet resources Criterion #10: Style & functionality Is the site organized clearly and logically? Is the site well-written? Is the site easy to navigate? Do the links work? Does the site have an internal search engine?
32	Evaluating Internet Resources: Challenges Blurred distinction between advertising and the actual information/ Infommercials Is the advertising provided by same organization that provides informational content? Does advertising bias informational content? “Infommercial” Web sites Is informational content mixed with entertainment or advertising?
33	Evaluating Internet Resources: Challenges Site alterations, updates Does a site suddenly change? Is information moved around? Is the site altered without notice? Is the information archived? If this is the case, attempt to verify information using other sources.
34	Evaluating Internet Resources: Challenges “Teasers” & limited free-of-charge access Does a site contain only “teasers” -- leading you to think the information is comprehensive when it actually is not? Does a formerly “free” site suddenly require a fee-based subscription? Are certain sections or pages of a site restricted to paying customers only?
35	Evaluating Internet Resources: Challenges Privacy & confidentiality Is the information you input about yourself confidential? Does a site “sell” your email address to advertisers? Does a site require registration? If so, how do you determine what is done with the information you’ve provided?
36	In-Class Exercise in Computer Lab
37	End Of Slides