The Johnson County Library, which consists of a Central Resource Library and twelve neighborhood libraries, is a popular destination for many online users and patrons in the physical world. According to its website, “In 2006, over 2.5 million people visited library locations, and over 2.3 million people visited the Library’s website from their homes, offices and other locations outside the Library.” After reviewing the library’s OPAC, it is not difficult to see why this library and its website have attracted so many visitors.
The library’s website showcases an impressive array of effective web design techniques and interactive Web 2.0 features. Such techniques range from the pop-out tiles on its home page (which were chosen as the preferred design by library patrons in an online survey) to slideshows, drop-down menus, and the library’s blog and other postings that constantly solicit patron feedback and comments. The site’s developers have not only created a website that is easy to navigate, but they have found a way to include tremendous amounts of content and information in a way that does not clutter any of its pages. The library’s site contains detailed information about each of the library’s physical locations, but it also does an excellent job of notifying patrons of how useful the library can be in the virtual world. (For example, please see the listing of services on the “Need it Online Now?” page.) The library’s website also appears to do a fine job at making its information accessible to special needs users. The site contains a description of the designers’ efforts to (i) make the site accessible to the color blind and low vision patrons and (ii) test the site’s design to make sure it will display correctly on most web browsers, text-only readers, PDAs, and JAWS screen readers.
The library also appears to be very responsive and concerned about local community needs. It has dedicated a page of the website to Community Issues Forums, which are meetings held at the library to “give citizens the opportunity to effectively discuss and debate important issues that affect us all.” The page describes prior and upcoming forums, gives community members the ability to comment on all postings, and provides a bibliography of books relating to forum topics. The website even features a PollDaddy.com poll where users can vote for their preferred topic for the next community forum.
The library’s concern for the local community is also evident in the myriad of resources and tools it has made available to users through the website. The website contains (i) an entire page of RSS feeds for library news, library jobs, research tips, business news, and items of interest to teens and children, (ii) a calendar of events page for activities occurring in the libraries, including a free online archive of audio recordings and podcasts of such events, (iii) a service called Homework Help for math, science, English, and social studies that children can access seven days a week, (iv) LiveChat reference service, and (v) a Teachers’ Lounge page to assist area teachers in obtaining books, scheduling in-class presentations by librarians, and creating suggested reading lists for classes.
The library has made it easy for patrons to search the online catalog by placing a search box with a drop-down menu on the library’s homepage. Patrons can perform simple, traditional searches for words or phrases, author, title, and subject, but also more advanced searches for series, periodical title, library, format, collections, age level, and publication year. Patrons can also search by call number and the current status of the item (e.g., “at reference desk,” “assumed lost,” or “on seasonal display”). The OPAC provides detailed information about each search item that is retrieved, which often includes images of the book, a summary and review of the book, and a catalog record with numerous subject terms and information on the library holding the book. Each record also contains helpful links for patrons who wish to find other books by the same author or on the same topics. If any item is not available in the Johnson County Library, the OPAC offers patrons several alternative links to search for the item in other libraries or to request the item by Interlibrary Loan.
A unique feature of the library’s catalog and website are the numerous recommended reading lists and best seller lists. Such lists are located in the library catalog itself and on a separate page entitled “Find a Good Book,” which allows registered users of the site to search for books based on plot, series, author, and various literary genres, such as Adventure, Chick Lit, Food, Faith & Inspirational, Gentle Reads, and Multicultural Fiction. The most impressive and most useful feature of such reading lists for patrons is that the title and author of each book in the reading list typically is hyperlinked to the library’s catalog.
While one can always think of features to add to improve an OPAC, such as the addition of MARC Cataloging Records or additional metadata, it is difficult to find much to criticize about the Johnson County Library’s OPAC and website. They are quite remarkable.
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