The project
As the Internet has grown, the great libraries of the world have become accessible from the web browser. How should the great national libraries use the new communication channel connecting their vast collections not only to their own citizens, but to the entire global internet audience?
In the fall of 2003, K+A was engaged by the Département de la bibliothèque numérique at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) to analyze the public web sites of three major English-language national libraries and compare them with the web site of the French national library. Along with the BnF site, we analyzed the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the National Library of Australia.
Our approach
Detail of web site comparaison table
The main focus of the analysis was strategic. Web-accessible database software and content management systems make these large sites possible. Yet technology is only a part of the story. Strategic issues are shaping the digital libraries of the 21st century. What are national libraries communicating on their website? Why are they doing it? What are they preparing to do next? We looked closely at the kinds of information available on each web site, the intended audience for this information, and the relationships between serving the audience that visits the physical library and the remote audience that uses information on the website.
The solution
We gathered information about all the digital collections and services available on the current websites of the four libraries. This information was categorized and presented in tablular form to further analysis and discussions with the client. The final table, Overview of Four National Library Websites, contains a comprehensive list of resources, distingushing online catalogs with bibliographic content from those with digital content, locating diverse features such as digital pedagogical collections and website archives on each site. The table facilitates comparison of similar resources across the four sites.
Changes on major home pages over the past three years
A history of the Home Pages for each library was gathered and analyzed. The graphical and logical evolution of the Home Pages were presented in a series of images, illustrating the way each institution has modified its discourse over the past three years.
Finally, a set of maps were created, showing the structure and content of each of the four library websites. To do this, we customized the visual language used in previous isometric maps, developing new symbols that could apply to all four sites.
British Library web site feature
These complete maps were then used to develop further illustrations of features on specific sites. For example, the pages linked to Services for Researchers on the British Library could be shown distributed across the structure of the entire website.
The result
The final report was presented to the BnF Internet Committee in December 2003 in the form of a slide presentation and printed maps. The revision plan for the current web site which followed is described in the Redesign of the Home Page case study.