Comparative Analysis

Comparative Analysis of the Athens and Columbus Public LibraryWebsites

Introduction

Group Three analyzed the web presence of two public library

systems in Georgia: the Athens Regional Library System (ARLS) and

the Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library System (CVRLS) serving

the Columbus area. Both public libraries provide comprehensive

services to populations over 150,000 with multiple branches and

maintain websites with more than 50 pages.

Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library System’s stated

mission is to “be a vital and dynamic community resource that

promotes universal literacy, encourages open access to ideas, and

facilitates the enrichment of cultural experiences. Its vision

statement says that “the Library will be the center for literacy

development and intellectual growth that teaches and encourages

its customers to access, evaluate and use print, electronic, and

other informational sources so they can transform information and

ideas into usable knowledge.” The main branch library is located

in Columbus, with eight other branches serving the surrounding

communities. The library contains 380,000 volumes, serving a

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total population of approximately 276,000 residents. According

to the 2005 annual report the library circulation increased to

over 1 million loaned items or 5.66 per capita, almost 17% more

then the Georgia average of 4.84 per capita. In the last five

years, usage has doubled. In 2003 it received a $15,000,000

endowment and in 2005 opened a new, 100,000 square foot main

library in Columbus (CRLS Strategic Plan).

Athens Regional Library System is comprised of eight

libraries and five resource centers. All of the center’s hours,

locations and contact information are conveniently located on one

web page: http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/arls/directory.html.

The library system provides resources and educational programming

for the citizens of Athens-Clarke, Franklin, Madison, Oconee, and

Oglethorpe Counties. This area includes the communities of

Athens, Winterville, Lavonia, Royston, Danielsville,

Watkinsville, Bogart and Lexington. The mission of the library

system is to “provide information and gateways to resources which

will address the issues and needs of the community, as well as

preserve the history and culture of Athens-Clarke County.” One

expressed goal is to “encourage a lifelong love of reading within

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a safe, exciting, interesting environment.” The library system

serves a total population of 175,000 library patrons (Athens

Regional Library System).

Methods

We chose to compare the Athens and Columbus library websites

based on the following similarities:

Both serve similar sized populations

Both provide similar library services to their patrons

Both are intended for public use of all age groups.

Both are non-profit public libraries.

Both have more than one page on their website.

Both represent comprehensive library services.

Both contain current information, a clear indication of

regular updating.

Neither site requires software/hardware/multimedia to access

its content.

The group leader developed a wiki for communication among

group members and tasked everyone to develop a list of five to

fifteen criteria that could be used to heuristically evaluate the

two websites. After everyone had made contributions to the list

on the wiki, the suggestions were combined into one list and each

group member used it as the basis of his/her evaluation (See

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Appendix A). Each member then individually evaluated both

websites and noted the differences and similarities between the

sites, as well as the sites’ positive and negative attributes.

Again, these findings were grouped into a comprehensive list that

was used for both this research and the presentation.

Literature Review

When patrons enter a library, they can browse the shelves,

search the catalog, or ask a librarian for help. But when the

doors are closed or when they just can’t get there, patrons are

often finding many of those same services through the library’s

website (Norlin, 2002, p.1).

Today almost every library is faced with the challenge of

developing a website that provides an abundance of information

but in an organized, non-cluttered atmosphere, similar to the

atmosphere of the traditional brick and mortar library. Norlin

recommended using the KISS acronym for “Keep It Simple, Stupid”

to ensure the library website meets the needs of its users.

She said that even though simplicity is not always easy to

achieve, it is important that the website appear simple and have

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a consistent look and feel throughout since consistency leads to

familiarity. She further noted that if users interpret the site

as being simple and easy to use, they will return (Norlin, 2002,

p. 12).

Although he was not specifically speaking about libraries,

Nielsen declared that the most important page on any website is

its homepage. He called homepages “the most valuable real estate

in the world,” and the company’s “face to the world.” His

suggestion for increasing the usability of homepages, and thus

driving more users to the site was to help them find what they

need by giving them a clear starting point for the main tasks

that they can accomplish on the site (Nielsen, 2002).

More of Nielsen’s recommendations for the homepage included:

using a single style sheet for all pages to ensure familiarity as

the user navigates the site; emphasizing the site’s high-priority

tasks; including a search input box; and beginning link names

with the most important keywords.

A website’s colors are also major considerations of how well a

site is designed. D’Angelo and Little recommended using no more

than four colors per screen to provide visual consistency.

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Relying on marketing tactics, they also advised indicating action

with warm colors and emphasis with bright colors (D’Angelo and

Little, 1998).

Navigation is another important aspect of any library’s

website. Krug (2000, p. 59) suggested good web navigation

representing the site’s hierarchy can compensate for the lost

feeling many users experience when using the web. Other purposes

of good navigation, according to Krug, are to reveal the content

of the site, tell users how to use the site, and provide an

overall good impression of the site.

Another essential facet of good web design is labeling of

contextual links, headings, navigational system choices, and

index terms (Rosenfeld & Morville, 2002, p. 80). Rosenfeld and

Morville called labeling the “most difficult aspect of

information architecture,” but they noted two ways of ensuring

labels are less ambiguous. One of their suggestions was to

compile content into subsites targeted at specific audiences.

Another guideline was to ensure labels are consistent in style,

presentation, syntax, granularity, comprehensiveness, and

audience (Rosenfeld & Morville, 2002, p. 93).

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Besides the design of a website, a library must also focus on

its content. There are many ways a library can provide patron

services via its website, but some specific recommendations

include: internal search engines, online reference services,

stable links to other Internet sites, access to the online

catalog and other databases, basic information about the library

(hours, staff, collections, etc.), and timely updates (Stover,

1997).

As libraries today face competition for customers, i.e.,

patrons, from booksellers and other ecommerce sites, it is

important for libraries to maintain websites that reflect the

needs of their users. Although much literature is dedicated to

designing productive websites, much of the information can be

summarized by two important criteria: 1) the site should be easy

to navigate, and 2) it should provide the user what he is looking

for.

Discussion

Without a doubt, the single greatest difficulty in designing

a web interface for a public library is the heterogeneity of the

user community. Users’ ages range from preteen to the elderly;

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computer skills from the novice, first-time user to the highly

sophisticated, skilled user; subject matter from the

poststructuralist’s deconstruction to home construction. The

challenge for the web designer is to ensure that all communities

are well served and that all can locate desired information with

minimum difficulty. In our study of the Athens Regional Library

System (ARLS) http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/ and the

Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library System (Columbus Library)

www.thecolumbuslibrary.org, we discovered distinct differences in

the abilities of the two sites to meet the needs of the

communities that they serve. In general, our findings can be

grouped into four general areas: page layout (design, colors, use

of screen real estate), navigation (use of bars and hyperlinks),

labeling (both of links and headings) and library services

(community services and calendar of activities).

Even the most casual perusal of the two websites shows

striking differences in their approach to information

architecture. Overall ARLS’ approach is superior in nearly every

way, but both sites could be improved with some simple changes in

labels and layout. Neither employs a particularly effective color

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scheme, but whereas ARLS’s color scheme seems random, that for

Columbus Library is simply unappealing. Little is done to draw

the user in and much space is wasted or misused.

ARLS evidences a significantly better use of screen real

estate, with contextual links to the most important search tools

(including Pines and Galileo), a reader’s corner, a drop-down box

with frequently asked questions, a link to a plain-text version

of the main menu, and sections for news/events specific to each

branch. The lower left-hand portion of the screen is reserved for

information on an upcoming event with an accompanying photograph.

Other than the header and navigation bar, the Columbus Library’s

site is almost exclusively devoted to upcoming events. The

jumbled and confusing navigation links make the Columbus site

much more difficult to use. The fix for Columbus is a major

reordering of the navigation tools and changes to label names.

This is discussed in detail below but essentially Columbus crams

too much into the left task bar and doesn’t organize this

information, leaving the bulk of the page to promote two major

upcoming events with large photos above a random list of small

hyperlinked events and features.

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Overall the ARLS site shows a significantly better use of

screen space than Columbus but is aesthetically unappealing,

seeming too busy and too crowded. Part of this problem results

from the jarring use of colors for box borders and backgrounds:

purple, burnt orange, green, black, yellow, and gray.

Furthermore, some of the overcrowding results from redundancy.

For example, the link to Friends of the Library could easily be

joined with that for how to support your library. Similarly, the

rather unappealing photograph that serves as the link to Readers’

Corner could easily be eliminated, with the hyperlink being

associated with the heading for the Readers’ Corner. Furthermore,

the catalog quick search box belongs logically with the links for

the various search tools. Making these few changes (along with a

consistent color scheme) would open the space so that the screen

would appear less cluttered, thus making the site appear more

organized and inviting.

While both sites could improve their use of screen real

estate, ARLS vastly outshines Columbus in its organizational

structure and its deployment of a navigational tool. A good

example is the two sites’ catalog search function, an essential

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component to any library’s site. The catalog quick search box is

one the most useful features on ARLS’s site. This feature is a

simple and intuitive Google style search box which will be

familiar to most users. In one step, a patron can complete a

search for an item without having to navigate past the homepage.

This is a great feature for any website but particularly for a

library’s site since it gives users immediate access to a

library’s most important tool: a list of its holdings.

The Columbus site’s search function is far less intuitive. A

similar search of the Columbus site requires going to a link

labeled “Library Catalog” and choosing between two options:

“Inside Library” and “Outside Library.” The problem here is these

refer not to some characteristic of the search tool but to the

physical location of the person doing the search. “Inside

Library” does not, as many members of our group thought, refer to

search of the library’s holdings but is a link for use by patrons

standing inside the library! To outside users this is a dead

link.

Clicking on Columbus’ “Outside Library,” and entering the

search criteria works well but interestingly, ARLS’s quick search

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seems more effective. For example, entering the terms “Gone”

“With” “Wind” results in 38 hits for Columbus, of which the first

three have nothing to do with Margaret Mitchell or her novel;

Mitchell’s novel does not appear until the ninth item (behind an

Earth, Wind, and Fire album, among other things); with ARLS, all

of the first six items relate to Mitchell or her novel, with the

novel being the third item listed. A simple fix for Columbus

would be the addition of a search box on the home page similar to

ARLS.

One area in which the sites differ is in how they have

organized the global navigation bars. ARLS groups their links

into six logically clustered drop-down boxes, one of which is the

Home link. The Columbus Library’s menu consists of seventeen pop-

out links, including the home link. The ARLS site is consistent

in its use of the global navigational bar, with the bar appearing

on all pages except those which are made up of pdf files.

Ideally, such files would either be converted to html format so

that they too could carry the navigation tool or would be moved

to a local navigation tool which noted that links would open such

files.

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The problems with the ARLS website are, however,

insignificant compared to those with the Columbus website. Some

of the seventeen choices on the menu could have been combined to

reduce the number of options, thus making selection simpler.

Furthermore, many of the links are to external sites but do not

warn the user of that fact. When practical, external links should

carry a warning to let users know that the linking site is not

responsible for the content of the linked site and to provide

instructions on how to return to the original site.

While ARLS is fairly consistent in its use of topical

organization, Columbus uses a hybrid organizational pattern in

which items are organized by topic and by audience. Columbus

attempts to cluster related navigational topics together and to

distinguish them through a subtle change of background color in

the left task bar. Thus, for example, the section of the global

navigation tool organized by audience (kids, teens, parents)

rests on a slightly darker background than does the more task-

oriented section that includes “Using the Library.” Though it

may be helpful to use color to distinguish sections of the

navigation bar, the change in color may be too subtle to catch

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the eye of the average user. Furthermore, such color changes may

not be particularly helpful to persons who have vision problems.

That many of the links from the global navigation bar are to

external sites suggests part of the organizational problem with

the Columbus page. It seems that the developers of the page

confused the purpose of global and local navigation, merging the

two into one tool. Columbus should consider adding a global

navigation bar across the page, just under the header and moving

the following links: “Home”, “About the Library”, “Programs and

Events”, “Library Branches”, “Using the Library” and “Outreach

Services” to this bar.

The three groups of audience-centered links (all but one of

which are external links), might be better combined into one

which could be headed something such as “links for kids, teens,

parents.” That link could then lead to a child page which would

make hyperlinks available, as well as provide the needed

information and warnings regarding external links. The exception

is the “Teen” link which opens to a list of events for teens (and

which is unnecessarily repeated as a title and subtitle). The

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events for teens can be moved to special events in the universal

navigation bar.

In short the Columbus site needs significant overhaul

through the changes described: consolidation and relocation of

the global navigation system, the addition of a search box on the

home page, along with the addition of such basic informational

links as “Support,” “Contact Us,” and “Site Index” to the upper

right hand corner of the header will make the site easier to use.

Unlike those for Columbus, the links for the Athens website

are well organized and effectively presented. Thus, for example,

under the clearly labeled heading “Research & Locate,” users can

quickly gain access to tools to search for books, articles, and

websites. Research & Locate also provides access to research

guides compiled by library staff, as well as

learningexpresslibrary.com which provides practice tests for the

GED, college entrance exams, and so forth.

As with the navigation system, labeling for the ARLS site

tends to be clear and intuitive, whereas that for Columbus is

often confusing and unnecessarily complex. Columbus even seems

unable to maintain consistent labeling of the organization

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sponsoring the website. The page title for the homepage is The

Columbus Library, The Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library

System. The header for the homepage lists only The Chattahoochee

Valley Regional Library System. The mission statement begins with

the words, “The mission of the Muscogee County Public Library.”

Neither the Columbus Library nor the Chattahoochee Valley

Regional Library is mentioned in the mission statement. Other

labeling problems include the rather inexplicable item on the

global navigation bar “Books, Movies, & Music” which links to two

pages: “Bookletters” and “Best Sellers and Great Books.” Since

the page for Bookletters is blank, users are left to guess at

what the library means by the term. Clicking on Best Sellers and

Great Books takes the user to a page that lists various best-

seller lists, including New York Times and Barnes and Noble.

Other labeling issues with the Columbus site include:

the rather awkwardly labeled “Downloadables,” which links

only to Netlibrary Audio Books (though users must go through

two steps--Downloadables and then Netlibrary--to reach the

page);

CLASS under Outreach Services is, in fact, not instruction

but is the acronym for Columbus Library for Accessible

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Service, the library’s service for blind and handicapped

patrons;

Reading Express Schedule under Outreach Services is never

defined; the linked page only gives the dates, times, and

locations at which it will take place; and

Several child pages (including that for the lecture on

Shakespeare) are not given titles in the metadata.

Particularly in consideration of the navigation problems of the

site, these and other labeling problems make using the Columbus

site difficult and unpleasant.

The one area in which the Columbus site excels is in its

promotion of events and activities. Virtually all of the free

space on the homepage is devoted to promoting such items as the

lecture on Shakespeare, a lecture series entitled “Worldviews,”

movies, and book clubs. The five subheadings under Programs and

Events in the global navigation bar include event calendars for

children’s activities at each branch. Athens devotes about a

quarter of its page space to promoting upcoming events;

information on events at each branch can also be accessed through

“Events and Classes” on its global navigation bar.

In regard to other structural or organizational issues for

the two websites, both use cascading style sheets to format their

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pages and, with the exceptions noted above, both make good use of

metadata (including page description and key terms). One

confusing aspect of the Athens site is in its definition of

“home.” Going to http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/index.html

takes the user to the homepage for the headquarters of ARLS, but

not to the homepage for the site. Since the homepage for the site

provides little value and tends to be easily confused with the

homepage for the library’s headquarters, the site would be

improved if the two were merged or the site’s homepage was simply

eliminated with the headquarters’ homepage being treated as the

homepage for the site.

At least one of the contextual links for current events

proves problematic on the Columbus site. Clicking on

“Shakespeare: As You Like It; Patronage and Censorship” opens a

new page

(http://www.thecolumbuslibrary.org/programsevents/shakespeare.htm

) with information about the event. It also opens a pop-up window

(http://www.thecolumbuslibrary.org/SecondaryPage/secondarypage.ht

m) which contains a page-not-found error message.

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With the exceptions already noted, both sites do a

reasonably good job in serving the public within their

communities. If, in addition to providing access to information,

the functions of a public library include such activities as

making meeting space available, offering classes for community

members, promoting book clubs, and providing access to the

Internet, both libraries are succeeding in their mission.

Addresses and operating hours for branches are easily accessible

and special services (such as passport information offered on the

Athens site) are clearly detailed. Columbus Library’s site may be

more difficult and confusing to use, but even it ultimately

incorporates the essential functions of a public library.

Appendices B and C present images of the current versions

and revision recommendations of each website.

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References

Athens Regional Library System (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2007 from http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/

Chattahoochee Valley Library System Strategic Plan (n.d.). Retrieved April 10,2007 fromhttp://www.thecolumbuslibrary.org/PDFs/StrategicPlan.pdf

D’Angelo, J. & Little, S.K. (1998). Successful web pages: what are they and do they exist?

Information Technology and Libraries, 17(2). Retrieved April 10, 2007, from ProQuest Research Library database

Krug, S. (2000). Don’t make me think!: a common sense approach to Web usability.

Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Press.

Nielsen, J. (2003). Ten Most Violated Homepage Design Guidelines.Retrieved April 10, 2007,

from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20031110.html

Norlin, E. (2002). Usability testing for library websites: a hands-on guide. Chicago: American

Library Association.

Rosenfeld, L. & Morville, P. (2002). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web.

Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates.

Stover, M. (1997). Library web sites: mission and function in thenetworked organization.

Internet Librarian, 17(10). Retrieved April 10, 2007, from EBSCOHost Research

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Appendix A

Public Library Website Assessment Guide

Does the library have a mission statement on the site that reflects the needs of the communities served?

Does the site’s design use few colors and easy-to-read, consistent type fonts? Do the colors accommodate color blind users?

Is a consistent appearance maintained throughout? Are the graphics meaningful? Do the graphics support the intended message?

Have animation and frames been avoided? Are the graphics sized to allow the main page to load in

under 10 seconds on a DSL connection? Does the site have a similar look and feel on all major web

browsers? Does the page display with minimal scrolling at 800x600? Does the page print completely or is the right handside cut off?

Does the site have any provision of mobile web browsers on cell phones?

Is the essential language at a 6th grade reading level? Is all grammar and spelling correct?

Is the site organized into logical chunks of information? Are chunks of information small enough to avoid excessive scrolling?

Do all links work properly? Do links connect to appropriate content?

Are labels understandable and clear? Do they clearly reflect the content?

Are the primary services of the library prominently displayed and labeled clearly?

Is the global and local organizational structure logically understandable and work properly? Do child pages relate to the main headers?

Is metadata included to assist with finding the site? Are alt tags provided for images? Can the pages be displayed

as text-only? Is the site friendly to assistive technology? Is the minimum type size 12 point to assist older readers?

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Is there any provision for non-English speakers? Is a search feature provided to allow for an accurate,

complete search of the site’s content? Is there a site index?

Do the page footers offer links to other pages in addition to essential data about the site?

Are there sufficient breadcrumbs to prevent the user from leaving the site with no clear link to return? Do hyperlinks change color after they have been clicked?

Is the site current? Does it provide users with up-to-date, relevant information about library events and services?

Does the site have specific content for important user groups such as kids and teens?

Does the site utilize any so-called Web 2.0 features such asblogs? Are these used effectively to extend the library’s mission and services? Is there a direct form link provided for reference? Is chat reference available?

(Research-Based Web design & Usability Guidelines, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2006.)

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Appendix B

Current: Athens Regional Library System

Proposed Revisions: Athens Regional Library System

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Appendix C

Current: Columbus Library

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Proposed Revisions: Columbus Library

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