Reference Web Sites at Other University Libraries

WHY REFERENCE WEB SITES?

[Note: this page was prepared six years ago for a specific purpose, and in the meantime a large proportion of the sites have changed URLs, changed designs or vanished. Noting that fact makes more sense than trying to correct this.]

A reference Web site is an html-based page (or system of pages) that provides potentially useful information by assembling hot links to online tools (a few sites also include citations to paper tools). There are hundreds of "ready reference" Web sites that vary in size and design, most of them created by reference departments in university libraries.

Web search engines like AltaVista can find the same content. Web surfers have their own "bookmarks" for useful Web sites. Why then are so many librarians committed to creating reference Web sites?

Should we be looking for (or creating) an ideal "best" reference Web site? I think not.

There is no "best" site, but keeping these ideas in mind can help the user find the best site for a specific question.

THE DESIGNER'S DILEMMA

This does not mean that all reference Web sites are the same -- rather, it means that Web site designers have to make valid design and selection decisions.

There is a familiar aphorism (Wexelblatt's Scheduling Algorithm) that says you can

A variation for reference Web site designers would be

A good reference Web site designer must choose the first element (if not, the result is an unusable site). That means a choice between listing the full contents on the site's initial page, versus including as many helpful resources as possible.  The first option leads to a simpler but smaller site; the second option leads to a larger site, in which clear labels, logical grouping, and navigation tools play a critical role.

ASSESSING WEB SITES: THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Alert librarians and users can gauge the potential utility of given reference Web sites for specific situations, by keeping in mind these ideas and some simple principles.

To save time, users should work with the smallest, least complicated collection of URLs possible.

By asking a few simple questions, users can estimate the size and complexity of unfamiliar reference Web sites:

Don't use a hand grenade when a fly swatter will do -- or vice versa.

ASSESSING QUESTIONS

Reference Web site users also should ask two questions about their own information need ("question"):

Taken together, this paired process of assessment -- of the Web site and the question -- determines the kind of reference Web site that is most likely to provide the answer, after a minimum of looking.

Q1: Is the information common or obscure?

Q2: Will the user recognize likely sources by name?

 IF: The information is likely to be commonly available on most reference Web pages... IF: The information is likely to require the use of unusual or obscure sources...
AND: ...the user is likely to recognize the name of a potentially useful resource site when s/he sees it's name... USE: Simpler, smaller Web sites with their contents merely listed in alphabetical order. [1] USE: Larger, more complicated Web sites with their contents listed in alphabetical order OR with keyword searching capability. [3]
AND: ...the user may need guidance in order to recognize an unfamiliar but relevant Web source, when encountered on the reference Web page... USE: Simpler, smaller Web sites with  their contents grouped by subject, format or topic. [2] USE: Larger, more complicated Web sites with their contents grouped by subject, by Dewey number, or some some other system of explanation and context. [4]

SOME REPRESENTATIVE SITES (GOOD AND NOT-AS-GOOD)

[1] EASY QUESTION, KNOWN SOURCE: Simpler, smaller Web sites with their contents merely listed in alphabetical order.

Two representative sites (simple and to-the-point) that work well:

Two simple approaches that don't work as well, for two different reasons (for comparison):

[2] EASY QUESTION, UNKNOWN SOURCE: Simpler, smaller Web sites with  their contents grouped by subject, format or topic.

These sites are an elaboration of simple sites like those in group [1]: subject-based structures have been added, which help the user move around on the page. Representative sites include:

Adding structure tempts designers to include more and more sites on a single page.  At some point, the length and load time become awkward. An example:

[3]  HARD QUESTION, KNOWN SOURCE: Larger, more complicated Web sites with their contents listed in alphabetical order OR with keyword searching capability.

There are several solutions to navigating very large collections of Web tools. Keyword search capacity allows the user to query the site, about tools with known or predictable names. Most sites like this use subject categories too (see type [4]).

[4] HARD QUESTION, UNKNOWN SOURCE: Larger, more complicated Web sites with their contents grouped by subject, by Dewey number, or some some other system of explanation and context.

If large reference Web sites don't rely on keyword search engines, they must have subject categories that make sense to the user. Annotations can help.  Here are some strong or representative sites.

By subject categories:

By Dewey Decimal numbers (or similar schemes):

Two well-known non-university, "non-profit" sites (for lack of a better phrase) are worth keeping in mind. Useful because of their size and strong organization, they are also sometimes disappointing or confusing because they include a good deal of popular material:

A MENAGERIE OF EXOTICS

Finally, here are a few unusual reference Web pages with innovative, idiosyncratic or experimental approaches.

Page prepared by Steve Sowards for Second Hour training, GD/SSHR, 6 March 1998.

Page created (and links checked) on 9 March 1998; updated on 17 November 1998; modified 5 March 2004.

URL = http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/staff/readyref/websites.htm