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Minutes - 13 May 2004

Present: Hennig (chair), Duke, Edelman, Quirion(minutes), Skuce

1. Changing top-level categories to Ask Us! and Help Yourself.

Feedback from Reference and Instruction committees has been positive, so WAG decided to go ahead and make this change. Although the Ask Us! Button will not appear on the top-level page, it can be used on other pages. The SSI's for Ask Us! hours will be maintained. The filenames of the old images in the page headers will stay the same, but the directory names will be changed. New templates for Ask us and Help Yourself have been developed. Nicole will ask Marion to develop an icon for subject experts.

Due to this change, some sections of the web site will have to move. Virtual reference will go into Help Yourself, Reserves will go into Borrowing + Ordering. New page locations will go into the htaccess file, so users who have book marked the old URL's will be able to get to the new pages, and links will still work. WAG would like to make the change to from Research Help and Subjects + Courses to Ask Us! and Help Yourself soon behind the scenes first, and make it live on the same day as the new home page. Nicole will get in touch with MacKenzie to get any more comments from Steering Committee about the new page. Marion will have ask/help changes done by May 23rd.

2. New Home Page

Hecht designs is working on the photo stripes, they need to scan some of the images again at a higher resolution. Consider photos of Preservation Services, DIRC, 24 hour room for photo stripe as well. Nicole will mail those images to Hecht Designs. Nicole will ask Hecht for coded page by May 26th.

Dummy text for spotlights in About-test/news/spotlights will be planned. The How Do I… link to FAQ could also just link to Help Yourself. In the future, we'd like to include screen shots or image in hot topics, etc., to add visual interest. A change will be made to list Faculty first in the list of Alumni, etc.The Site Search will also be added to the top of the new home page.


3. Quick Links Menus

Feedback indicated that the items we wanted separate into other menus (like special services, order forms, etc.) would be too segregated, so the Quicklinks on the home page have been reorganized. Document Services will be the default link under the More Quicklinks pull down menu because it's heavily used. The Quicklinks menu in the footer of every page will include all visible Quicklinks on the home page, those listed in more Quicklinks, and the order forms.

After discussion, WAG agreed to include the Digital Thesis Library in the More Quicklinks menu on the home page, listing it with Archives and DSpace, as “MIT Theses Online.”

In the Quicklinks menus, Barton will be listed as “catalog: Barton.” Title keyword is now the default for the Barton quick search on the home page.

4. Planning Brown Bag Lunch

The brown bag lunch on May 27 th is planned to solicit ideas form staff about how the home page can be used to market our services, and to get content ideas for new home page sections such as tip of the week, hot topics, featured service, How do I…, photo stripes, spotlights. To generate discussion, WAG will make list of marketing features, ask people for feedback. Stephen will take notes.

Sample questions for brown bag:

  • What should How Do I… link to? (Existing information navigator, circulation FAQ, etc. )
  • What should editorial process be for marketing and branding? Nicole will discuss this with Heather. WAG would like to see Darcy's role in the news and spotlight to be more of implementer and not decision maker about priorities.
  • How to publicize new home page? (Via IS&T newsletter, grad student newsletter, tech talk? Bibliotech in fall.)
  • Ask for volunteers to help with testing new page on their own computers

WAG will also prepare an email that people could send to their groups to let their communities know about the change.

Nicole will bring Fizzy water & Dessert. Stephen will bring cups, forks, knives. Darcy will bring little plates, napkins, a cake knife and the projector from Hum.

Nicole will put all files onto her computer and just show them in case wireless fails. WAG to arrive early for setup.

5. Usability Testing after home page has been coded

The new home page will have to be tested/de-bugged on a variety of browsers and platforms prior to release. Problems will go back to designers for fixes. Solicit volunteers to help with testing on their own computers during brown bag lunch.

WAG discussed whether to do another usability test with volunteers prior to making the new home page live. Scheduling after we receive coded page would be difficult as would finding volunteers after classes have ended. The Ask Us/Help Yourself changes would have to be made on both the old and new site first. WAG agreed to do another round of usability tests after the new home page is live, and address problems as they arise. We'll plan the next usability test at our June 16th WAG meeting.

6. Preview link to new home page for staff and the public.

The preview site will probably not be ready until Memorial Day or first part of June. A form should be created to solicit feedback from users (responses going to WAG). After the new home page is coded, WAG will try to do a few more informal usability tests. After the May27th brown bag lunch, WAG will send preview link to staff, and we hope to have a preview link available for the public by June 4th.

WAG would like to launch the new home page as soon as it is coded and debugged, possibly on June 14th or15th . Nicole will talk to Hecht about timing.

7. Updates/Other

  • When do we have to redesign the whole site again?

We're moving in the direction of making small changes over time, such as home page this year, subject guides next year, and the second level pages after that seems like a good approach. After the site uses style sheets, the look of the site can be changed more easily. Changing the home page and altering two of the top level categories, (Research Help to Ask Us and Subjects + Courses to Help Yourself) should keep the site looking fresh.

Next meetings:

Thurs., 6/2/04 2-3:30, Barker Conference Room
Wed., 6/16/04 2-3:30, Barker Conference Room

http://libstaff.mit.edu/webgroup/minutes/20040513.html


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