Information Gateway: UW Libraries' new Web site

The University Libraries has constructed an entirely new format for its presence on the World Wide Web, dubbed the Information Gateway.

The product of a team effort that began last spring, the Information Gateway is an attempt to organize the University’s information resources from the user’s point of view. “When our groups began this project, our only instruction from Betty Bengtson, director of University Libraries, was to organize the material functionally, not bureaucratically based upon the structure and hierarchies of our unit,” says Paula Walker, assistant director and special assistant to the director.

The resultant structure not only takes different categories of users into account, it allows users to customize the Web pages that they see by adding to and subtracting from the basic pages. The Information Gateway is available from the same URL that has been used for the Libraries home page: http://www.lib.washington.edu

“The pages are still evolving,” Walker says. “As the volume of resources available on the Web grows, new features will be added to our pages. Our goal is to improve services and to provide new and powerful capabilities for our customers.”

A number of teams worked on different aspects of the project, including graphics, accessibility, features and services, and content. The teams took the additional step of testing their concepts in the “usability laboratory” of Judith Ramey, associate professor of technical communication. In these tests, an individual—a faculty member, staff member or student—was asked to find a series of things—such as a book, a journal or an electronic publication—contained within the Information Gateway, and an observer took note of the path that the individual took, as well as any problem in the wording on the various Web pages.

Although the Information Gateway contains many features that were formerly available at the Libraries’ Web site, it also introduces a number of new wrinkles. Individuals can put holds on books over the Web or get a list of the books they have checked out. Renewing books has been made easier. And a pilot project will allow individuals to request that a book be delivered to the library that is nearest the user. “Although we’re looking at this service as a pilot project,” says Walker, “we’re committed to making it work. We’ve seen it is very successful at other institutions.”

Some services that have existed for a while will probably become more popular with their enhanced visibility on the Web. One example of this is likely to be Zephyr, a service that allows individuals who are interested in a particular topic to have a permanent search “on file” for the catalog or Current Contents. When new items are found meeting the search criteria, the individual is notified through e-mail.

For new library users, the site features an online tutorial. And for academic Web site developers, the site contains pages developed for specific classes by librarians working with teaching faculty.

The Gateway also boasts increased desktop access to Web-based databases and full-text databases.

“We expect to continue developing Web access throughout the year,” says Walker, “and we will continue to employ usability testing in our development efforts.”

People interested in learning more about the Information Gateway or who wish to be involved in future usability testing should contact Walker at 616-8513 or by e-mail at pwalker@u.washington.edu. ¶