Managing subject guides with SQL Server and ASP.Net

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report on the content management solution for 50 subject guides maintained by librarian subject specialists at the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries. The Web Development Librarian designed an SQL Server database to store subject guide content and wrote ASP.Net scripts to generate dynamic web pages. Subject specialists provided input throughout the process. Hands-on workshops were held the summer before the new guides were launched. The new method has successfully produced consistent but individually customized subject guides while greatly reducing maintenance time. Simple reports reveal the association between guides and licensed resources. Using the system to create course-specific guides would be a useful follow-up project. Skills learned in training workshops should be refreshed at regular intervals to boost confidence and introduce changes in the system. The advantages of centralizing content and separating it from presentation cannot be overstated. More consistency and less maintenance is just the beginning. Once accomplished, a library can incorporate Web 2.0 features into the application by repurposing the data or modifying the ASP.Net template. The now-organized data is clean and ready to migrate to web services or next-generation research guides when the time is right. This paper uniquely reports on an SQL Server, ASP.Net solution for managing subject guides. SQL Server includes data management features that increase application security and ASP.Net offers built-in functionality for manipulating and presenting data. Utmost attention was given to creating simple user interfaces that enable subject specialists to create complex web pages without coding HTML.

Introduction

Subject guides are like snowflakes. At first glance, they are very much alike, but each one is as unique as its subject matter and creator. Subject guides must accommodate the research requirements of any subject and the priorities of any librarian subject specialist, a task that seems, at times, like herding yaks with a sling shot. Librarians at the University of Nevada, Reno value both customization and control over the guides they build as well as the contribution of a common template to ease of use.

This paper is about making subject guides flexible yet consistent, current, easy to maintain, accessible, and fast-loading. It is not about whether subject guides are still worth producing. They will continue to lead users to the good stuff until the good stuff is free. Meanwhile, expensive indexes and journals remain unfamiliar compared to widely-used search engines. And they are difficult to use, compared to almost anything else, particularly Google and Google Scholar.

Unfamiliarity with resources and searching techniques can make subject guides intimidating for novice researchers. For this reason, some traffic is deliberately siphoned away from our subject guides by links to EBSCO's general indexes, Academic Search Premier and Masterfile, on the web page that lists all of the subject guides. Finding "a few good articles" should not require beginning researchers to make tough or unnecessary decisions about selecting databases, and success with these user-friendly databases builds confidence as well as basic research skills.

Subject guides are usually the focal point in library instruction classes offered by UNR library subject specialists. Students who have attended library instruction tend to use subject guides more frequently, according to a case study conducted at San Jose State University ([11] Staley, 2007). Reference librarians often use them when working with individual researchers at the reference desk, although everyone is acutely aware that most users are reaching them remotely as self-help resources.

The subject guides (www.library.unr.edu/subjects/) and other helpful research tools, such as electronic journal lists, course-specific help, style guides, and the Library's "Ask Us!" service are prominently featured on the UNR Libraries home page (www.library.unr.edu/). While thoughtfully consolidated "help" resources lead to increased usage and awareness ([1] Arnold et al. , 2004), it is certain that we could do a better job of making the guides and other tools available on social networking sites. However, in order to do that quickly enough to keep pace with major trends in technology and flocking behavior, subject guide content must first be organized and managed. This goal, maintenance issues, and the ever-present struggle to promote costly licensed resources, drove the project from literature search to completion in about two months.

What other libraries are doing

User-centered subject guides have begun to move from the isolation of the library web site to popular social networking sites where users congregate. Librarians sensitive to the information gathering styles of today's students are looking at social software to let users tag resources with their own words and access them from popular gathering places like MySpace (www.myspace.com/) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/). Some libraries are using online services such as LibGuides to assemble subject guides with built-in Web 2.0 features, such as tagging, comments, and IM widgets ([8] Kroski, 2007). Libraries offering their LibGuides on Facebook have found a way to bring research resources to users.

At the University of Houston, librarians are considering "building subject guides collaboratively with users" ([3] Coombs, 2006). If they can find new ways to deal with the problems of security, spam, and authority inherent in open projects that use wikis and blogs, it will be a significant step forward. At least two libraries have created attractive subject guides with MediaWiki software: St Joseph County Public Library (South Bend, Indiana), and Ohio University Libraries. However, the SJCPL Subject Guides (www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page) are editable only by librarians, and Ohio's Biz Wiki (www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/index.php/Main_Page), though editable by students and faculty as well as librarians, requires the user to request an account.

Even more thought-provoking is a fundamental and largely unaddressed problem exposed in a study of "Internet subject guides in academic libraries" ([7] Jackson and Pellack, 2004), namely, high levels of duplicated resources in subject guides, mingled with selected resources deemed "locally important". The article points out that many of the unique local resources, if discovered by librarians who create subject guides, would be useful at other institutions. This finding is an indicator of uneven quality in subject guides. Much depends on the interest, personal philosophy, and commitment of individual subject bibliographers. In the not so distant future, social bookmarking and the wisdom of the crowd may change all that. In the meantime, it is necessary to organize our data, reach out to users, and find better ways of making subject guides.

Moving from static to data-driven subject guides

The UNR Library's static subject guides were revised and consistently formatted in 2000. Over the next six years, they drifted apart like continents and evolved independently. The most obvious deviation was a variety of menu verbiage. Saying the same thing twenty different ways makes for a confusing user experience! Since subject specialists had complete control over their pages, many versions of database descriptions, some quite outdated, were scattered throughout the subject guides.

The experience and enthusiasm to develop a solution for managing database metadata and other subject guide content sprang from prior success in developing a suite of data-driven electronic journal web pages using SQL Server and ASP.Net. The subject guides were a more challenging project than electronic journals because of their diversity. In contrast to electronic journal pages, which are very much alike, the subject guides have customized menus, links, and content. Manual updates are neither cost effective nor reliable, particularly with a growing collection of over 300 databases. Using simple web forms, SQL Server could instantly update all subject guides, and one ASP.Net template could eliminate 50 web pages.

The University of Nevada, Reno has a Microsoft Campus Agreement that makes enterprise-level software available to University departments and students at low cost. Our tools of choice are therefore SQL Server and ASP.Net technology, which work well with the Library's Windows servers running Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Of course, the principles of relational database design remain the same, whether the system in use is SQL Server or something else. Other libraries have created dynamic subject guides with commercial software such as Cold Fusion ([2] Bills et al. , 2003) or Oracle ([5] Dupuis et al. , 2004), and open source systems running LAMP (Linux-Apache Server-MySql-PHP) ([2] Bills et al. , 2003). A well-documented system at Georgia State University combines the popular MySql database with Microsoft's classic Active Server Pages technology ([6] Goans et al. , 2006). Open University contributes valuable insight into the process of evaluating, and rejecting, a commercial Content Management System (CMS) for managing subject guide content ([12] Wales, 2005).

Identifying data issues

The subject guide data presented some challenges. First, the type, number, wording, and order of content sections listed in the top-level menu varied from guide to guide. There are, indeed, several standard sections in most guides, but many more sections clearly reflect individual priorities, experience, and the unique needs of the target audience, usually a particular academic department. Second, items listed in any content section might be licensed resources or individual selections, and items within sections are not usually in alphabetical order, but ranked by perceived usefulness.

A high level of uniformity is tempting because it makes programming and content management simpler, but it may result in an inflexible system that serves neither the information needs of users nor the priorities of subject specialists. A planned balance between standardization and accommodation is the wiser direction for both users and developers because it extends the useful life of project design.

The primary challenges of converting to managed content for subject guides were, therefore:

- to preserve the meaning and order of guide sections while reducing their number;

- to include both internal and external links in the top menu on each guide;

- to mix items for licensed resources and discretionary content in any section;

- to allow subject specialists to add and edit "other resources" not on the master databases list; and

- to permit any desired order of non-standard sections and items.

In short, the subject guides would need to be consistent enough to be understood and adaptable enough to be tailored for each discipline.

Exactly how much consistency in headings is necessary for a good user experience is arguable, so decisions were based on whether significant meaning would be lost when a heading was collapsed into a more generic group. For example, the top level menu choice "Selected Web Resources for [Subject]" could be reduced to "Selected Web Resources" on any subject guide without losing the intended meaning.

An added benefit of content management is reporting. We did not have a clear idea about which databases were most valued by subject specialists, useful to one or two areas, or likely to be included on most subject guides. Managing the data would provide an opportunity to create useful reports.

Several other issues that affect database design or presentational coding required attention:

- Most subject guides include a link to an electronic journal list for the corresponding subject area. Some guides have no equivalent journal list, and interdisciplinary subjects may have two links.

- Many subject specialists link to University departments or other organizational units from the subject guides. Zero to four such links appear on the subject guides.

- Several subject specialists are adamant about including an image to spice up their pages. To accommodate this preference, an optional column for "bling" was added to the database. These images appear at the top of the left column of the subject guide.

Preparation of existing subject guides

The first task was to analyze the menu structure of the subject guides. A list of the top menu choices on each subject page showed considerable deviation from the first attempt at standardization in 2000. Menu items that meant the same thing but varied slightly in wording or unnecessarily referenced a specific subject were "collapsed" into a more generic heading. The number of menu headings was reduced from 130 to 60 without changing their meaning or the intent of subject specialists, who reviewed the list of changes.

Subject guide menus contain two types of section headings: those which lead to internal links on the subject page itself, and others, to external web sites. Generally, it is preferable that internal links be listed first. In order to give authors control over their pages, a standard order was established for the most common links, but subject specialists are free to order other menu links as they wish.

The standard subject guide section headings and their order are:

Best Resources for Finding Articles.

Additional Resources for Finding Articles and Other Information.

Electronic Journals for [subject name supplied by query].

Library Catalog - Books and Other Library Materials.

Selected Web Resources.

Including the Library Catalog in this list is somewhat controversial. After all, there is a link to it in the standard web page header. Nevertheless, many users focus on the subject guide menu and do not pay attention to the page header. Neglecting to include the Library Catalog may cause these users to overlook helpful resources. After further deliberation, subject specialists may decide to drop this link from the menu. This decision would be aided by a brief usability study.

Most subject guides link to an auxiliary page of "Selected Web Resources". Several guides formerly included long lists of web links in the main guide page without the expected companion page. With the approval of the Web Advisory Committee, a group with oversight of web-based services that includes the Web Development Librarian, new auxiliary pages for selected web resources were created if there was a group of four or more web links on the subject guide. Doing so cut development time and put the focus on the most important database and web resources. The rationale is that students are more likely to find useful research material when they have a selected list of top quality sources rather than too many choices, which can overwhelm.

For the same reason, lists of print reference resources in three subject guides were appended to their auxiliary web pages, which were appropriately re-titled: "Selected Web Resources & Library Collection Highlights".

A related benefit of the subject guide review process was careful checking of content on the companion "Selected Web Resources" pages. The Web Development Librarian reviewed each page, checked and updated links, and contacted subject specialists with questions. Pages that had not been maintained for a long time contained references to web sites that had changed in character or purpose. These issues were resolved in collaboration with the subject specialists as data for each guide was entered into SQL Server.

The last thorny question was whether to leave lists of NetLibrary electronic books in several subject guides or move them to external pages. Since they have stable links and are underused licensed resources, they were entered into the database and appear in the subject guides rather than on auxiliary pages. As eBooks increase in number and gain more use, the question of whether non-reference titles should remain on subject guides merits further discussion by the Library's Web Advisory Committee.

Designing the database

With page content more consistent and streamlined, it was time to design the backend SQL Server database.

Page sections

The final list of subject guide section headings was entered into a "sections" table in the SQL Server "db" database. To limit uncontrolled growth in the number of sections, subject specialists may select as many sections as needed for a particular page, but must request a new section heading. We value the independence of subject specialists and respect their professional judgment, so new sections are added without undue fuss, but the moments spent on reflection counteract a tendency to drift into uncritical variation, which leads to chaos.

Page metadata

A table named "subjects" was created to hold page metadata, the standard content appearing in each subject guide's page header and left navigation column. This table has only a few data fields, always referred to as "columns" in SQL Server. Three related tables were added to accommodate predictable variations in the content of page metadata:

subjDept, which stores external links to related University departments or administrative units. Zero to four such links appear in the left navigation column of current subject guides.

subjRelSubj, which stores links to related subject guides. A link to "Other Subjects" which leads to the main subject guide list is standard, but several interdisciplinary guides include one or two links to specific "Related Subjects."

subjEj, which stores a link to an Electronic Journals list directly associated with the subject guide, if one exists, plus additional links to related Electronic Journal lists. Zero to two such links are used on current subject guides. These links display in the guide's top level "sections" menu if the "Electronic Journals" section is selected for the page.

Page metadata from the subjects table is the "parent" data table in an ASP.Net dataset that is retrieved when a user clicks a subject guide link. The dataset object temporarily caches the parent table and child tables for page sections and page items. Disconnected datasets are useful for displaying hierarchical data, but there is some processing overhead involved. To reduce the complexity of the dataset and the amount of code needed to handle "databinding" when the subject guide is rendered, brief character data returned from the subjDept, subRelSubj, and subjEj tables listed above is stored in output variables instead of child tables. That is, table rows are simply concatenated and returned to the web page as character strings that are written to the page where needed. This strategy requires one call to a single stored procedure that contains four queries, one to populate the data table and three to return the output variables. In this case, we were able to add scalability to the application by moving small amounts of related data to separate tables, and retrieve it without affecting performance in any significant way.

Page items

The next step was to decide how to store and present items listed in the subject guides. As noted, links to licensed resources may be mixed with discretionary additions by subject specialists in any page section. A single "resources" table was created to store records for all resources listed on the subject pages. Licensed databases and other important resources that appear on the master databases list were flagged as such using a "bit" (yes/no) column.

Relationships between the data tables were established by building a data diagram in SQL Server. It is easier to illustrate the relationships between subject guides and section headers, and between items, subject guides, and page sections than to explain them. The data diagram for the completed "db" database is shown in Figure 1 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.].

In the data diagram, a key symbol appears next to one or more columns in each table that comprise its primary key, a value that uniquely identifies each row. Lines connecting the tables indicate the type and direction of one-to-many relationships. The end with the key is the "one" side of the relationship and the infinity symbol is the "many" side. The tables shown in the middle of the diagram and under the Subject table are "bridge tables" or "linking tables" that resolve many-to-many relationships to manageable one-to-many relationships. For example, each subjID (representing a subject guide) in the subjects table can have many related sections in the subjSection table. Each sectID in the sections table, which stores repetitive details about each section header, can have many related sectIDs in the subjSection table.

The diagram also shows that a resource item may be attached to any subject guide, and to a particular section within the guide. The assumption is that a particular resource would logically appear once on a given subject page. It is theoretically possible, though not the norm, to list an item in more than one section of the same subject guide. The subjectItem table, which tracks items associated with guides, has one record for each unique ItemID, SubjectID, and SectionID. These three columns taken together form the Primary Key of the itemSubject table. There is another column for sectionRank, which makes it possible to assign any desired rank order to items within a single page section, and to change it at will without affecting other sections. The altDesc column can store an "alternative description" for this instance of the item on a subject page, but it has not yet been used.

In two unusual cases, subject bibliographers chose to list an item from the master list of databases in more than one section of the same page with different section-specific descriptions. In order to keep data retrieval simple, the few duplicate entries required were created as "other resources" which do not appear in the master list of databases. The "Finding the News" subject guide is the best example of this issue. This particular guide was very unlike all other guides, and its successful inclusion in our group of managed guides may be the best evidence that great flexibility can be achieved in a simple system.

Retrieving and maintaining data

The data entry web forms call ASP.Net scripts that instruct the web server to open a connection with SQL Server and transmit user input for processing by "stored procedures". User input might be data that updates a subject guide, adds an item to the database, or changes the order of items on a page. Stored procedures are queries or other processing instructions stored in the database. They eliminate the need to transmit text queries over the internet, where they could be intercepted and expose the server to SQL injection attacks.

Other stored procedures contain queries that simply retrieve subject guide content for display in the browser. All public and staff interaction with SQL Server is accomplished via ASP.Net web forms. The data itself is automatically backed up at intervals specified in SQL Server's "Maintenance Plan" for the "db" database.

For security reasons, designated users, not "everyone" is granted permission to execute stored procedures. Public web pages are assigned to a different user than administrative pages. Login information for each database in use on the public web site is contained in a separate XML file named "web.config" which cannot be viewed or retrieved in the browser.

From a developer's point of view, it is easier, and therefore more encouraging, to create and test scripts that retrieve and display data before working out the more complex data entry forms. That is, data entry (creating, revising, updating, and deleting, or CRUD) involves sending a lot of data back and forth, not just fetching fields that match a query.

The Web Development Librarian developed scripts to display a typical subject guide, and then entered data for three existing guides in simple administrative web forms in order to gain a user's perspective and work out the desirable flow of options and actions from one form to the next. Once the scripts and stored procedures worked properly to retrieve and display data for the three test subject guides, conditional expressions and additional code for handling deviations from the common presentation were added and tested. Subject specialists provided feedback during this process to ensure that features necessary to serve a particular user group were not lost. At this time, the "bling" option was added to the database for several subject specialists who felt that their guides looked too plain without a special image. We agreed that enough visual interest could be added by a single image or element with a maximum width and a standard position at the top of the left navigation column. Two examples are shown in Figure 2 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]. The image on the left appears on the Basque Studies subject guide. The search box on the right promotes the Oxford English Dictionary on the English, Literature, and Linguistics guide.

User-friendly data entry forms were then created for library faculty, with ease of use as the primary goal. The forms use checkboxes and selection lists where possible, with text entry required only for adding new items or editing existing items. No HTML is ever required, but simple HTML is permitted, if need be, to format a special entry. Presentational formatting is handled by the ASP.Net scripts and a style sheet.

All of the initial data entry for the subject guides was input by the Web Development Librarian over a period of several weeks. There were two reasons for doing this: first, the entire group of subject guides could be switched to the data-driven model in a short period of time, after convenient summer training; and second, the process of data migration was a golden opportunity to find and address remaining problems or anomalies in the existing content of the subject guides. They would at least be functional and as clean as possible before library faculty took over maintenance.

Maintaining the subject guides

Adding a new licensed resource to the library catalog and SQL Server database is a team activity. Tasks are divided between Technical Services, the Web Development Librarian, and librarian subject specialists. When a new licensed resource becomes available, a staff member in the Serials department e-mails the title and URL to key personnel in the Catalog department, the Innopac server administrator, the Web Development Librarian, and any Subject Specialists involved in selection of the resource.

A senior cataloger creates a bibliographic record for the new resource. The Electronic Resources Access Librarian creates a Resource Record in the ERM (Electronic Resources Management) module of the Innovative Interfaces integrated library system (ILS) to serve as the archival record for licensing information, vendor contacts, and other resource metadata. The Innopac server administrator creates an entry for the domain, if needed, in the proxy server's Web Access Management (WAM) table. The Web Development Librarian adds the new title to the SQL Server database, along with its URL, a short description, and several data elements needed to describe the database on the "Databases by Title" list and subject guides. All of these steps are completed within one day.

Subject specialists are notified that the new database is ready for selection using the web maintenance forms. Of course, subject specialists may subscribe to the RSS feed for new databases to keep up with additions. They may then add or delete licensed resources on their subject guides by using the subject guide management forms shown below.

Subject guide management forms

The Subject Specialist begins every maintenance task from a web page that contains a forms menu and brief information about using each type of form. There are two types of tasks: Working with page sections, and working with resources. The forms menu is shown in Figure 3 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.].

To add or delete top level menu items, referred to as "page sections," on each subject guide, the subject specialist clicks "Select sections". The link opens a new reusable window for working with the data entry forms, and loads the "Select Sections for Subject Page" form (Figure 4 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]).

The subject specialist selects one of the subject pages from the dropdown list to open a data entry form. This form lists available sections and whether they are internal or external links. Sections already in use are displayed in a highlight color, along with their rank order, or position in the menu. New sections can be added by selecting their checkboxes. Clearing an existing checkbox removes an old section and its associated items from the subject page when the form is submitted. The top part of the sections list for Computer Science is shown in Figure 5 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.].

When this form is submitted, the database updates the subjSection table, which has one row for each unique Subject ID plus Section ID. The selections shown in Figure 5 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.] are therefore represented by two rows in the database. The subjSection table is important for associating each subject guide with its menu sections, but very small, since each row contains only three numbers: the SubjectID, the SectionID, and the SectionID's rank order.

As soon as the database table updates are complete, the form for ranking sections loads in the edit window. This form shows the rank order of previously selected sections, and a rank of "1" for new selections. In Figure 6 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.], note that the Computer Science page has sections for Electronic Books, Software, and New Books, in addition to the typical menu items for Best Resources, Additional Resources, Electronic Journals, the Library Catalog, and selected Web Resources.

After the order of sections is updated, the subject specialist may view the edited subject guide in the browser.

Working with resources

Subject guide sections are edited infrequently, but subject specialists often want to add, delete, and rearrange resources listed on their guides. The procedure for selecting or deleting resources from the master list of databases also begins with selecting a relevant subject guide, as shown in Figure 7 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.].

The list of licensed databases loads in the edit window, with each currently-used item highlighted in beige and its page section pre-selected in the dropdown. Rank in section is shown, but not editable on this screen. The subject specialist checks resources that are to be added to the page and clears the checkboxes for any items to be removed. An appropriate page section is selected or changed using the dropdown menu, which lists section titles linked to bookmarks in the subject guide. That is, each section title shown on this menu lacks a URL in the sections table, and is, therefore, an internal link (see Figure 8 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]).

After revising resource selections, the subject specialist may adjust their order in each page section. Items with the same numerical rank within a section will appear alphabetically. An easy way to create an alphabetical list is to assign each item a rank of 1. Beige rows denote licensed resources, and green rows, discretionary items not in the databases master list. In Figure 9 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.] the green row is a medium gray.

Adding and editing discretionary items

Subject specialists also use web forms to add or edit important niche resources that are not in the databases master list. The forms are not meant for adding long lists of links to web pages. For that purpose, an auxiliary "Selected Web Resources" page is compiled.

The sequence of forms for working with discretionary, or "other," resources leads the subject specialist through the process. As shown in Figure 10 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.], the first step is to determine if the item has already been entered in the database (see Figure 11 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]).

If the item is not found, the subject specialist can go to a simple web form for adding a new resource, as shown in Figure 12 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]. The form has input boxes for the URL, title, and description of the item, plus checkboxes for indicating if it should be displayed with a full-text icon, an "Open Access" symbol, or a "New!" graphic. It is up to the subject specialist to decide whether these optional elements are needed, depending on the context of the item on the subject page. For example, if the item is listed in a section comprised of open access items, adding the symbol for open access may be unnecessary.

The "Edit a Resource" link leads to an identical form, which is not shown, for updating discretionary items.

Upon adding an item to the database, the user may immediately associate the new resource with any subject guide. After selecting the guide, a single-item selection form lets the user to pick an existing page section for the item. Using the scaled-down selection form is easier than picking the new resource from a complete list of available items. An example of the single-item form is shown in Figure 13 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.].

The new item is added to the Electronic Books section of the Computer Science subject guide, with a rank order of 1. The ranking form for all items on the page is automatically displayed, allowing placement of the new item within its section, as shown in Figure 14 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]. As before, items from the Other Resources list are highlighted in light green, to distinguish them from items in the Databases A-Z list.

The long form for selecting "other resources" for a specific subject guide from a complete list of such items is identical to the form for selecting licensed resources. Previously selected "other resources" are highlighted in light green. As before, a ranking form appears after the new selections have been committed to the database. After the rank order of items is updated, feedback on the success of the update is provided, along with a link to view the edited page (Figure 15 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]).

After reviewing "the page you made" in the working window (Figure 16 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]), the subject specialist can switch to the instructions page window, which is still open, and select the proper form.

Training and documentation

The new subject guides were launched in June 2006, well in advance of the flurry of fall semester revisions. None was in immediate need of updating, so subject specialists had plenty of time to practice using the new system. A one-hour hands-on workshop offered in three sessions was held for subject specialists to practice editing and updating their pages. In total, 12 subject specialists attended these sessions and worked on individual sandbox pages and two library faculty members were coached individually. Only one minor glitch occurred in the next year. One subject specialist unchecked everything on the edit sheet but new selections. Fortunately, deleting selections does not erase item data. The page was easily restored by reselecting items from a backup copy of the output. Over time, a few subject specialists forgot how to edit their pages, but refresher workshops are planned during winter break in 2008, and will be offered near the beginning of subsequent semesters.

Backup copies of the script pages are maintained, and SQL Server documentation for data tables, indexes, and stored procedures is available on the web for any Library staff member who needs it. Current documentation is produced by passing the name of a database to an ASP.Net web page that queries SQL Server about objects in the database. The output includes summaries of table structure, indexes, and stored procedures, and is a very handy reference.

Reporting

For the first time, dynamic reports are available on the association of licensed resources with various subject guides. One report shows the subject guides associated with each resource, and the other report displays a compressed list of all items on each subject page in order.

Conclusions

After a year and a half of active use the content management system for subject guides has proven to be stable, versatile, and easy to maintain. Future development, which is inevitable and desirable, will be accomplished with less staff time, building upon an organized dataset instead of static web pages. Users have benefited from consistently presented and up-to-date information. The completion of this SQL Server/ASP.Net project and related ones for electronic journals, the staff directory, and new books have eliminated hundreds of individual web pages from the library web site, freeing staff to work on more interesting and pressing tasks in the management of electronic resources.

Some Web 2.0 features have been incorporated into the subject guides, but attention must be paid to important trends. An RSS feed for new databases is automatically created from items with a "new button". Social bookmarking links are part of the ASP.Net template page, and all of the new subject guides were added to del.icio.us when they were launched.

With organized data management in place, it is possible to repurpose the data for other venues or for special parts of the library web site. For example, a new style sheet is attached to the Basque Studies subject guide for presentation on the Basque Library site. The same content management solution could be used to create course-specific as well as subject-specific web pages if these pages at the University of Nevada, Reno were more alike than different, and had a set of common elements. A follow-up project would save time for subject specialists who conduct library orientation classes.

As the lines between databases, journal packages with dedicated search engines, and electronic reference works become increasingly blurred, the ability to apply different scripts and templates to the same data will be more important. All three types of resources are included in our database, but they can be easily identified for spin-off applications. For example, the Library's Electronic Books web page contains a list of electronic reference books identified by a bit (yes/no) column in the SQL Server database. We also developed an additional ASP.Net subject guide template that adds a search box for a MetaLib "Quick Set" to the left navigation column. The Library anticipates launching MetaLib 4 as a federated search tool with Innovative Interfaces' Encore product in 2008. The template was designed to work with MetaLib 3, but we expect that it can be revised to work with MetaLib version 4.

Finally, we need to pay more attention to small screen devices ([13] West et al. , 2006). Some things will never fit comfortably on a cell phone screen, but the world of popular devices and their convergence is happening rapidly. It may not make sense to develop an interface for PDAs, which are being eclipsed by smart phones with bigger screens and by ultra-portable PCs, such as the eeePC, that may have half-height displays. The breathless pace of technological change reaffirms our commitment to web standards as the way to accessible web services for any web device. As Jakob Nielsen reminds us, Web 2.0 features can help users, but also hurt them by introducing more complexity to the interface. Adding features that do not matter to users can take the focus away from core services ([9] Nielsen, 2007). To find the right mix of "rich" features, we will have to encourage the participation of users and listen to them.

Internet Reference Services Quarterly

Information Technology and Libraries

Library Journal

New Review of Information Networking

Library Hi-Tech

Reference & User Services Quarterly

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox

Information Technology and Libraries

Library Hi Tech

Library Journal

References

1. Arnold, J.M., Csir, F., Sias, J. and Zhang, J. (2004), "Does anyone need help out there? Lessons from designing online help", , Vol. 9 Nos 3/4, pp. 115-34, available at: www.haworthpress.com/web/IRSQ (accessed January 3, 2008).

2. Bills, L., Cheng, R.J. and Nathanson, A.J. (2003), "Subject web page management without html coding: two approaches", , Vol. 22 No. 1, p. 4, available at: www.lita.org/ala/lita/litapublications/ital/2201bills.cfm (accessed January 3, 2008).

3. Coombs, K. (2006), "Planning for now and then", , Vol. 131, October 15 (Net Connect), pp. 2-3, available at: www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6375463.html (accessed January 3, 2008).

5. Dupuis, J., Ryan, P. and Steeves, M. (2004), "Creating dynamic subject guides", , Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 271-7, available at: www.informaworld.com/smpp/content∼content=a713735218∼db=all∼order=page (accessed January 3, 2008).

6. Goans, D., Leach, G. and Vogel, T.M. (2006), "Beyond HTML: developing and re-imagining library web guides in a content management system", , Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 29-53, available at: www.emeraldinsight.com.10.1108/07378830610652095 (accessed January 3, 2008).

7. Jackson, R. and Pellack, L.J. (2004), "Internet subject guides in academic libraries: an analysis of contents, practices, and opinions", , Vol. 43 No. 4, pp. 319-27, available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=14079418&site=ehost-live (accessed January 3, 2008).

8. Kroski, E. (2007), "A librarian's guide to creating 2.0 Subject Guides", available at: oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2007/a-librarians-guide-to-creating-20-subject-guides/ (accessed January 3, 2008).

9. Nielsen, J. (2007), "Web 2.0 can be dangerous", , December 17, 2007, available at: www.useit.com/alertbox/web-2.html (accessed January 3, 2008).

11. Staley, S.M. (2007), "Academic subject guides: a case study of use at San José State University", College & Research Libraries, Vol. 68 No. 2, pp. 119-34.

12. Wales, T. (2005), "Library subject guides: a content management case study at the Open University, UK", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 112-21.

13. West, M.A., Hafner, A.W. and Faust, B.D. (2006), "Expanding access to library collections and services using small-screen devices", , Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 103-7, available at: www.ala.org/ala/lita/litapublications/ital/252006/2502jun/contenta/communications.pdf (accessed January 3, 2008).

   

Further Reading

4. Dean, C.W. (1998), "The public electronic library: Web-based subject guides", , Vol. 16 Nos 3/4, pp. 80-8, available at: www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/07378839810305918 (accessed January 3, 2008).

10. Rethlefson, M.L. (2007), "Tags help make libraries Del.icio.us", , Vol. 132 No. 15, pp. 26-28, available at: www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6476403.html (accessed January 3, 2008).

Appendix

About the author

Araby Greene is the Web Development Librarian at Getchell Library, University of Nevada, Reno and can be contacted at: [email protected]

  

Illustration

Figure 1: Data diagram showing table relationships in the SQL database

  

Figure 2: Two examples of "Bling"

  

Figure 3: Forms menu

  

Figure 4: Select sections menu

  

Figure 5: Select sections menu

  

Figure 6: Form for ranking sections in a subject guide

  

Figure 7: Editing resources starts with selecting a subject guide

  

Figure 8: Form for selecting licensed resources

  

Figure 9: Form for ranking resources selected from the databases master list

  

Figure 10: List of forms for working with discretionary items

  

Figure 11: Determine if the item is already in the database

  

Figure 12: Form for adding a discretionary item to the database

  

Figure 13: Single-item form to associate a discretionary resource with a subject page

  

Figure 14: Assigning rank order to a new item

  

Figure 15: Feedback on a successful update and link to edited page

  

Figure 16: The page you made is immediately available for review