Some blogs are designed to broadcast information or announcements about resources and services.Laguardia Community College Library in New York City and their “What’s New Library Blog” is a good example. Although the blog itself is not visually stimulating, it is quite functional. The sidebar offers many options to the user including: CUNY Resources, Programs and Workshops, Career and Job Search Information, Research Guides, Units and Services, Faculty Resources, etc. The blog offering is providing the interface to many varied information paths for both students and faculty.
However, I really had to search for the link to this from the library’s home page…there is a very minor hypertext heading imbedded in a listing called “About the Library”. It seems to be an afterthought in comparison to the other pieces of information on the homepage. Also, calling it a “What’s New Library Blog” does not sound very appealing. In spite of these shortcomings, it is only one link away from the homepage, which is a navigational plus and it has lots of potential. I could see making use of this blog.
Another example of a blog used to make announcements to its community is that of Simon Fraser University Library. This blog is very accessible …it’s both on the library homepage and is more comprehensive on its own page…just one link away…therefore very integrated with the rest of the library information. Although I find the presentation on the second page very plain, its ease of use and simplicity allow the user to very quickly find a line item that might be of interest. Each line item is expandable should the reader want more information on that announcement. It seems to be updated quite frequently. My one question is: since the second page only has two items more than the home page, is it really necessary? I suspect the second page grows as the university year advances. If that’s the case, I might suggest to make the second page more attractive and appealing. A dynamic list of events is a very worthwhile service in an academic environment.
