Library Web Ecology: What You Need to Know as Web Design Coordinator

Citation

Mason, D. (2011), "Library Web Ecology: What You Need to Know as Web Design Coordinator", The Electronic Library, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 150-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471111111514

The internet is with us, and for libraries nothing will ever be the same again. Libraries are not going to be wiped out by Google and the like, but they do have to respond to the threats, opportunities and challenges that the online information revolution has brought.

This book is designed to guide libraries and librarians through the second phase of the Internet revolution. Libraries have already responded: the thrust of this book is that they cannot just respond in the ad hoc, organic, unplanned way they have so far. Libraries must adopt a consistent policy and must plan how they integrate their traditional strengths with the new information environment.

The basic problem is that there are so many easy to use tools now available: blogs, portals, Skype, discussion boards, video vaults – if not planned and integrated properly the result will be a mishmash of badly designed and confusing interfaces. Most libraries already have some form of web presence, but these were mostly built for a static internet, Web 1.0. Redesigning them to upgrade to Web 2.0 requires careful planning.

Erdman shows how the typical library can go about adopting and adapting the new technologies. The book goes systematically through all the steps needed to create a vibrant dynamic website and to make it easy to keep up to date.

The process starts by re‐examining the role of the library in the community when there are so many competing forms of information. The job of web coordinator involves guiding and leading others, being a project manager, an innovator and developer while still balancing the needs of staff, administrators and patrons. These varied demands usually fall on people who never trained for it so the step‐by‐step guide assumes little knowledge while still being comprehensive.

The tone of the book is friendly yet authoritative. It covers all the steps in creating a web culture, encouraging participation, planning and budgeting, branding, and identity. The latter part of the book covers the actual nuts and bolts of building the web‐presence, with good up to date advice on languages, protocols, standards and everything else a web coordinator needs to take into account.

The book finishes with an excellent resources section. This lists recommended books and online resources, classified by function. All in all this is an excellent guide to how libraries should be addressing the challenges ahead.