The Duke University Libraries 2010-2012 Strategic Plan highlights understanding the user experience and the need to increase digital content, tools, and services. Because the Libraries’ web interfaces are the primary means by which we deliver digital resources and services to our users, their success is central to the success of our strategic plan. Accordingly, current members of the Web Interfaces Group (WIG) have proposed a new charge for WIG in response to our strategic plan and to assessment by WIG members since WIG’s creation in 2008. We believe the committee described below is the best means to ensure the Libraries’ web presence evolves strategically and in a deliberate and coordinated fashion.

Charge

WIG’s primary objective is to ensure the Libraries’ web presence facilitates a successful user experience. As an oversight group, WIG provides a strategic vision for the Libraries’ web interfaces and plans future interface development and the adoption of new web technologies. WIG serves as a single point of entry for all web interface project proposals.

Additionally, WIG is empowered to make decisions on proposed enhancements to existing interfaces and to develop appropriate strategies for incorporating changes in the most effective manner. It is expected that WIG will appoint an implementation team (WIGIT)  to assess and prioritize proposed changes; however, it is WIG’s responsibility to ensure the process for evaluating and prioritizing web interface changes is transparent and effective. WIG also ensures that needs assessment and other evaluative activities inform development. Finally, WIG is charged with communicating their work broadly and in a timely manner.

The group is responsible for ensuring the visual consistency (branding) and functional integrity in web-based interfaces that includes, but is not limited to:

• Libraries’ home page
• Libraries’ static content pages (Departmental pages, LibGuides, blogs, etc).
• Catalog search interface
• Digital collections search interface
• Article search interface
• Database search interface
• Journals/e-journals search interface
• OpenURL resolver interface
• ILL interface

WIG should seek ways to integrate web services with other information resources such as Blackboard, DukeMobile, DukePass, iTunes U, Flickr, YouTube, and Google. It is expected that the list of specific Library resources and related tools will change as we adopt new technologies to provide the best possible research experience in finding and using information resources. 

WIG members are expected to:

• Facilitate communication about technology efforts and tools, seeking and bringing perspectives from the Duke University Libraries and the professional school libraries, and sharing information and decision rationales with individuals throughout the Libraries through communication channels such as regular meetings, presentations, Library email listservs, and the Intranet.
• Make decisions regarding the development of Library web interfaces and ensure the process for evaluating community change requests is transparent and effective.
• Stay current and share information about international and national library web interface trends.
• Request the regular assessment of web services to ensure effective responses to user needs. Findings and analysis will be shared with the Library staff.
• Research new technologies to identify applications the Libraries can adopt and/or develop, or integrate with existing Library systems.
• Provide leadership and support for staff experimentation with new technologies to decide which have the most promise for meeting our users’ needs.
• Articulate guiding principles for moving forward with interfaces.
• Communicating strategic vision to the implementation teams.

 

Guiding Principles

1. Although the internet is the primary starting point for access to most of the Libraries’ resources, we cannot assume users access our resources from particular “landing” pages.
2. Duke faculty and students are the primary audiences for our web services.
3. Well-substantiated (qualitative and/or quantitative) information about library user needs, from multiple sources, will guide important decisions about web interface design.
4. Our ILS and other library systems in use present opportunities and challenges for web interface development. While we will continue to explore improvements in these systems, we must balance these needs with the need to allocate resources to a variety of tools and interfaces.
5. Different groups and individuals in the Libraries, including those in the professional school libraries, bring different perspectives to web design decisions. Diverse perspectives are valuable and need to be heard.
6. Individual projects and interfaces will conform to best practices for information architecture and interface design. 
7. The Libraries’ home page is part of an over-all marketing strategy and will be aligned with offline marketing efforts.

 

Membership

As a group, WIG members should collectively possess the following skills or experience in order to make the best informed decisions in a timely way:

• Strong understanding of information-seeking behavior
• Expertise in user interface design 
• Ability to determine technical feasibility, resource requirements and systems architecture
• Thorough knowledge of campus-wide Library user functional needs
• Understanding of the role of the Libraries’ web presence in meeting Library marketing and development needs
• Understanding of staff technology needs and Library business workflows
• Knowledge of academic tools in use and under development at Duke to ensure integration of the Libraries’ resources with other academic resources
• Experience and ability to help conduct evaluation and assessment, including planning and implementing usability testing and reporting on findings

To ensure that the group has this set of skills, the proposed members include:

• The head of the Digital Experience Services (chair)
• The head of Digital Collections
• A representative from ITS for ILS/Library enterprise applications
• A representative from DPD for cms/interface/usability understanding
• A representative from CIT for non-Library academic tool integration
• A representative from RBMSCL to represent staff members’ needs and patrons’ and information-seeking behavior
• The director of Communications to communicate and market web interfaces changes and enhancements to staff and patrons
• Two representatives from public services to represent community information needs, functional needs, and information-seeking behavior
• The head of Information Technology Systems (ITS), serving as EG sponsor  

All representative members are appointed for one year, with the possibility of extending the appointment if desirable.  It is expected that all members will reach out to designated liaisons in the professional schools to solicit feedback and to understand any special needs those groups have around web interface issues. At times, WIG may ask others to meet with the Group for a period of time around specific projects or web access enhancements.

   

Evaluation and Assessment

WIG reports to the Associate University Librarian for Information Technology Services who evaluates WIG’s membership and effectiveness annually, including the work of any WIG subcommittee or implementation teams. It is expected that WIG will present their work regularly to the Libraries Executive Group to solicit feedback and will employ diverse methods to solicit and respond to feedback from community stakeholders.

 

Web Interfaces Group Implementation Team (WIGIT)

An implementation team will be appointed by WIG to help fulfill WIG’s charge to assess and prioritize proposed web interface changes in a transparent and timely manner.

 

Scope

Modeled on the Digital Collections Implementation Team (DCIT), this team assesses, approves, and establishes priorities regarding change and development requests for most of the Libraries’ web-based interfaces. The team is responsible for the following:

• Libraries’ home page
• Libraries’ static content pages (Departmental pages, LibGuides, blogs, etc).
  • Catalog search interface
• Article search interface
• Database search interface
• Journals/e-journals search interface
• OpenURL resolver interface
• ILL interface

 

The DCIT, which has been in operation since January 2008, is responsible for the following:

• Digital Collections home page
• Digital Collections collections interfaces (Tripod)
• Digital Collections backend architecture (Trident)
   

Process

Both teams are expected to work in accordance with WIG’s guiding principles and to solicit feedback, advice, and diverse perspectives frequently. They will work with WIG create a central point of information regarding current, proposed, and completed changes to assist with their need to communicate broadly and with transparency. 

Membership

The WIGIT will have, at minimum, staff serving in the roles described below. Additionally, representatives from the Libraries’ Development Office, RBMSCL and Technical Services may be helpful. The appropriate staff from the professional school libraries will be included as needed on a project-specific basis.  Finally, ITS will be expected to help ensure communication about and training for major implementation projects and/or significant enhancements to current interfaces.

• Project coordinator (from public services): Provides updates to WIG and Library community on current and future projects; convenes and coordinates implementation team meetings; serves as contact point for staff (and patron) input on desired fixes/enhancements/proposals to the interface. We expect this role to require significant effort, potentially 15-25% of an FTE.
   
• Assessment coordinator (from public services): Manages assessment of proposed changes; ensures requests have appropriate assessment measures; and in consultation with others develops assessment guidelines for proposed projects. We expect this role to require modest effort, potentially 5-15% of an FTE. One staff member could act as both project and assessment coordinator.

•  Application developer (from ITS): Performs application updates/enhancements/fixes; performs the majority of web development tasks (CSS, JavaScript, HTML structure, etc.); provides technical consultation on proposal feasibility. While this role requires significant effort, it is within the current scope of duties for ITS Applications Developers.
   
•  Interface designer (ITS): Provides interface design expertise and user interface consultation (visual mockups, information architecture review and proposals). While this role requires significant effort, it is within the current scope of duties for ITS Interface Designers.

 

Charge & Membership

Membership