2. Case Study: Promoting Literature through the Internet using the Public Library Web-site

3. During the Case Study I will cover:  Brief introduction to Hillingdon’s Web-site and how long it has taken to develop  Why we offer this service  The services we do offer (inc. promoting literature) with examples  How well the site is used  Difficulties / Problems encountered  What we’d do differently if doing it again  Future Developments  List of Web-sites worth visiting

4.  Hillingdon Council’s Web-site first launched in 1997  Prior to this Library Service’s Leaflet on ‘Project Earl’  ‘Brochure-ware’ web-site  Re-development of Library Web-site launched in November 1999, together with Web Front-End to the Library Catalogue/Community Information Database (GeoWeb) and Free Access to the Internet in all 17 libraries

5. Social Inclusion:  Part of our contributions to the ‘People’s Network’  Making information about Library Service available to everyone  Providing Free Internet Access to everyone  Organising the content of the Internet by pointing to useful links  Encouraging Lifelong Learning  Part of Hillingdon’s Strategy for meeting government targets to make all government & local government services available electronically  It allows interactivity in line with Council policy  Provides a modern way of communicating with the Service

6. Accessibility:  Web-site provides access to some of the Library’s Services 24 hours a day:  Pointers to information through Useful Links  Provides information about the Library Service  Access to GeoWeb - renew / reserve items as well as the Local Community Information Database Promotion of Library Services:  Web-site promotes Hillingdon’s Library Services within library buildings, the borough generally and anywhere

7.  User-friendly and welcoming Home Page  Pulls together the strands of why we’re offering the service  Provides a useful starting point for training purposes  Moving away from ‘brochure-ware’ towards ‘interactivity-ware’ providing:  Details of Library’s Services  A Gateway/Portal of Useful Links  Making content available  Seamless integration with other Council Services - the fact that our web-site is firmly embedded into the Council’s frame- based web-site, allowing easy access to information

14.  General Resources  Fiction & Poetry Sites  Online Bookshops  Publishers  Internal Links  Write a Review  Help choosing your next book  Book Promotions in Hillingdon  Search the Library Catalogues  Hillingdon’s Home Page

15. Morton Grove Public Library - http://www.webrary.org/rs

16.  Building the People’s Network - Creating Content and ‘interactivity-ware’:  Online Review Form  Help Choosing Your Next Read  Summer Reading Activities - Children & Adults  Monthly ‘New Fiction Titles’  Any Book Events

22.  Author Voting Form for Children - some of the top authors included:  Rowling, J.K: Harry Potter books  Jacqueline Wilson books  Lucy Daniels books on Animal Stories  Help Choosing Your Next Read - (relatively new area of web-site):  For John Grisham/Richard North Patterson Readalikes we recommended:  Scott Turow, Steve Martini, William Diehl, Dexter Dias, Alan Derschowitz, Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci, Kathy Reichs, Phillip Friedman

23. http://www.tased.edu.au/library/readalik/index.htm

25. Technical problems encountered:  Constraints imposed by Council’s Policy to use frames and Flash software, which older browsers do not support  MS Frontpage 98’s proprietary coding not compatible with older versions of Netscape browsers  Technical understanding of how to make forms interactive Practical problems encountered:  Some staff resistant to use ICT to help promote literature, even though it is seen as a benefit  Resistance from public using Internet  Difficulty in contacting publishers over use of book covers  Keeping content constantly up-to-date

26. What would we have done differently?  Involve different teams within the Library Service in the development of Web-site as early as possible  Web page development is still a relatively new skill to many librarians so training needs to be undertaken, for individuals, on HTML for content creation  Involvement + Training = Interest + Motivation :-)

27. Literature Promotions:  Develop Children’s Area  Make it more interesting and more ‘child’ orientated  Interactive-ware - child feedback forms and the Library Service responding to their comments/reviews - best author/title of month etc  New additions to book stock - monthly for diff. age groups  Include activities - Half-term, Christmas, Easter, Summer  Continue to develop adult promotion area  New stock purchased - Videos/DVDs/Books etc  Promote the interactive forms / links with Catalogue  Develop Themed Lists - (from Help Choosing Next Book to Read idea) - expand to non-fiction/non book materials

28. Other Developments:  Local History Museum Photos  Various views of different areas of Borough - now and then  Potential changes to fit in with the new Corporate Style, for example:  Contact information of Manager responsible for each Service Area  Each page should have contact details and a refresh date  Develop Community / Tourist Information  Links to neighbouring council’s Community Information Databases

29. Useful Resources: Guidelines / Tips for Successful Web-sites Net Notions for Librarians - Guidelines of Imaginative Web Content for Public Libraries - http://www.ds.dial.pipex.com/harden/netnotes.html Website design guidelines for public libraries - http://www.tiac.net/users/mpl/guidelines.html Tips for a successful website - http://www.headstar.com/egb/tips.html 1999 UKOLN Report of a Workshop Running a Public Library Website - http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/public/events/running/report.htm Earl - http://www.earl.org.uk - Best of the Web Awards Collecting Internet Resources: the issues for UK Public Librarians - http://www.earl.org.uk/policy/issuepapers/collect.html The Big Idea feature from the LA: Putting imagination online - http://www.la-hq.org.uk/record/r199809/litdev.htm

30. Some Useful Book Related Web-sites: Hillingdon’s Book Promotion Area of Web-site- http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/library/books.htm UKOLN’s ‘Stories from the Web’ - http://www.storiesfromtheweb.org Branching Out - http://www.branching-out.net (Reader Development) Lit-Net’s List of Literature Sites - http://www.lit-net.org/extsites.htm Public Library Web-sites - UK and American: Hillingdon’s Web-site - http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/library/index.htm Robert/Sheila Harden’s List of Public Library Websites - http://www.ds.dial.pipex.com/harden/weblibs.html - in particular the Winners of Earl’s Best on the Web Awards 1999 Morton Grove Public Library - http://www.webrary.org/rs Readalikes - http://www.tased.edu.au/library/readalik/index.htm