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The Library website supports the discovery, finding, and research processes of the college. The Web Steering Group (WSG) provides leadership for the continuing oversight and development of the library's web presence, both our public web pages and the staff intranet.
Under the leadership of the Library Web Manager, the Web Steering Group works with the Web Roundtable and the Library Management Group (LMG) to define and prioritize projects for the Library website. The Web Steering Group is the committee in which management decisions concerning the web will be defined, while the Library Web Roundtable informs the WSG of needs, and implements decisions within their sites.
William Garrity, Chair; Director, Biomedical Libraries
David J. Izzo, Biomedical Libraries
Ellen T. Kanner, Web Services
Jennifer Kortfelt, Digital Library Technologies Group
Ann Perbohner, Kresge Physical Sciences Library
Sarah Tischer Scully, Jones Media Center
Karen L. Sluzenski, Feldberg Business & Engineering Library
Email members of the Web Steering Group
The Web Steering Group (WSG) provides leadership for the continuing oversight and development of the library's web presence, both our public web pages and the staff intranet. The group makes recommendations to the Library Management Group (LMG), coordinates working groups for the research and development of new initiatives, and coordinates the implementation of any web-related projects.
The Steering Group helps to create and approve web related policies, and suggests usability and assessment projects. In collaboration with the Library Management Group, the Steering Group prioritizes new projects and suggests appropriate members for task-based working groups.
To keep the Library website valid and accessible to new student populations and technology trends, continuous assessment, ongoing evaluation and critique of the overall library website will be performed on the Library website. This is achieved via focus groups, library surveys, and direct person-to-person discussion; all usability testing is done in collaboration with the User Assessment Group.
WSG will interpret user input from assessment activities and user feedback, and modify the function and design of the website to reflect user needs.
The WSG makes recommendations regarding the library website and creates working groups to devise solutions to address needs. The WSG approves proposed changes to the library website, especially those that affect user experience (such as design changes, navigational changes, etc.); they also monitor and guide the integration of external tools that comprise major sections of our website (such as wiki, LibGuides, Search360, etc.).
In general, WSG should remain aware of dominant themes for good library website design, some of these include:
• User-centered, integrated interfaces for fast and easy information retrieval
• Structured websites with minimum clicks for user-desired tasks
• Information content and services packaged to meet user needs
• Information seeking is the central focus of website design
• Integration of more user-centered resources into web design
• Structured website and tools for better integration with other information portals
• Conform to current information standards
Some of the tasks that WSG will address include:
• Ongoing assessment of the website
• Identify and integrate standard web tools and functions (e.g. sitemap, mouse-overs, online glossary, Web 2.0)
• Identify and prioritize desired enhancements to existing tools (e.g. staff directory, phone lists, hours).
• Identify needs for new tools, services, and functions; create functional specifications for their development.
• Eliminate browser problems
• Maintain printer friendly and accessible pages
• Create self evident and coherent error messages
• Eliminate library lingo as much as possible
The group reports directly to the Deputy Librarian. The Web Steering Group gives regular updates to the Library Management Group (LMG).
The group will communicate and work closely with current Library departments and any web-related working groups. The group will also communicate with both internal (staff and librarians) and external (Dartmouth College community) library users, and remain aware of any changes and requirements of the college web.
The group will periodically meet with the working groups of the major library ‘tools’ that fall under the library web “umbrella”. These include the Library Catalog Advisory Committee (LCAC); administrators of the LibGuides system; the Serials Solutions product management team; the current federated searching tool implementation team (currently WIT, the WebFeat Implementation Team); the image management teams; any digital library project teams; representatives for internal tools (most likely DLTG); and various committees.
The library website is one part of a complex information environment within Dartmouth College. To ensure that the website operates and interacts effectively, the Web Manager and the Web Steering Group needs to monitor and engage with existing related working groups and projects operating within this environment. Some of these include:
Dartmouth College:
• Dartmouth College web (re)design group ("HomeTeam")
• Public Affairs
Computing initiatives:
• Computer and network security initiatives
• Authentication and authorization
• Courseware (Blackboard)
• Media Server, streaming server, etc.
Computing departments:
• Dartmouth College Web Publishing
• Academic & Curricular Computing
Graduate and professional schools:
• DMS
• Thayer
• Tuck
• Arts & Sciences
and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
A website will be maintained by the committee to archive minutes, any corresponding documentation and track project management.
Meeting Notes (wiki)
Web Redesign Group - redesign completed March 2008
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