Herabelle M. Villanueva Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan

1. LIBRARIANS AS WEB DEVELOPERS:
GAUGING THE BEST TECHNOLOGIES IN
ACCESSING INFORMATION
Herabelle M. Villanueva

2. •Hi! I’m Hera.
• What do I do?
• I teach Computer Science
• Free time = arts, reading, developing, writing

3. •Web Dev’t and I.
• Ongoing XU Library Website Project
• The old website is Hard coded.
• Hard to update, add new pages/content
• Loads really slowly
• The design is cluttered
• Hard to navigate
• Etc.

4. •I’m trying to revamp this…

5. •…to this.

6. Outline
• Why Librarians? Why Web Development?
• What Technology?
• 5 Things to Ask before Choosing?
• Other things to consider
• What to Do from Here.

7. WHY LIBRARIANS? WHY WEB
DEVELOPMENT?

8. AN EXPERT KNOWS ALL THE
ANSWERS - IF YOU ASK THE RIGHT
QUESTIONS.
-LEVI STRAUSS

9. •“What’s in a Library?”
Everybody Else (CS People included):
“BOOKS! Research Materials!”
Librarians: “…its more than just books.”
The Point?
An expert knows all the answers - if you ask
the right questions.
A Librarian knows what’s in the Library.
If someone asked you…

10. •Philippine Internet Statistics
•Global Rank: 16 (2014)
•39,470,845 Internet Users in the
Philippines (Approx. 39.43% of the Population)
(http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/philippines/)
•Why Web Development?

11. • Are your audiences…
• Elementary & High School Students?
• College Students?
• Professionals?
•Why Web Development?

12. •Why Web Development?
• Why NOT the Library? Many Options, Limited Time
• I have no idea if what I’m looking for is there.
• It’s too far away.
• “Your deadline is near, your classmate is far. Google is
your friend.”
• Why Go Online?
• Almost everyone has an internet-capable device,
almost every other building has free wifi.
• A lot of the people I want to reach are on the net.
• It’s easier than “Physical Marketing” (Manual Labor)

14. •Why Web Development?
• CROSS-PLATFORM: Internet + Device =
web access
• ACCESSIBILITY: You can access it
anywhere (with internet of course)
• REACH: The WEB is where a chunk you
your audience is.
• MULTIMEDIA: Not limited to text or static
content.

15. •Why Librarians? Why Web
Development?
• A Librarian knows what’s in the Library.
• You HAVE what your audience needs.
• A good chunk of your users are on the Web.
LIBRARIANS who KNOW WHAT PEOPLE NEED
+ a TOOL for REACHING PEOPLE

16. • There is no single approach to choosing
tools.
• The following tools require no coding. 
• Online Catalogs, Databases &
Subscriptions
• Social Media
• Online Website Builders
• Web Content Management System (CMS)
Using the Technology

17. •Online Catalogs, Databases and
Subscriptions
• Powerful search cataloging systems and
databases linked to organizations,
publications, etc.
• Why? Gives easy access to listings and
other electronic resources.
• Both Paid and Free (Open Source)
Subscriptions.

18. • CATALOGS (From
Sourceforge)
• DATABASES AND
SUBSCRIPTIONS
• ACM Digital Library
• Bookboon.com
• BOOKS 24x7
• IEEE Digital Library
• Scopus
• Etc.
Online Catalogs, Databases and
Subscriptions

19. •This will involve:
• Data Migration from the old catalog to the
new one.
• If there is no old catalog database:
• MANUAL ENCODING (which is unavoidable
when starting from scratch)
• Online subscriptions are renewed
annually
• Money Involved.

20. •Social Media
• Allows you to interact with your audience
through comments, liking/sharing of
stories and experiences, etc.
• No coding.
• A good platform for marketing
• Makes sharing & posting information easy.
• Wide Audience Range
• FREE!

21. •Social Media
• Why?
• Not everything you want to share belongs
in a catalog or in an online database.
• Experiences & Stories
• Events & Milestones
• Connections & Conversations
• Build trust & familiarity, is visible, is easy to
share, creates new connections and
relationships

22. •Social Media
• Popular Platforms:
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Youtube
• Blogger
• Etc.

23. •This will involve:
• Posting of events and updates (but not
really catalog information)
• Inviting people to follow you online
• Linking and following related
pages/people/publishers
• Posting updates as soon as they come out
(or as soon as humanely possible)

24. •Online Website Builders
• Create your website online based on
existing templates
• No Coding
• Basic Website functionalities
• Includes Hosting
• Free!

25. •Online Website Builders

26. •This will involve
• Picking theme
• Customizing how the website looks
• Adding webpages to your site
• Managing the content of your web pages
• Note: The things you could do with free
builders are limited. Content is usually
static.

27. •Web Content Management Systems
• More complex but has more
functionalities than an ordinary website
builder
• Allows you to install plug-ins to your site
for additional features
• Calendars, Tickers/slideshows
• Fb/twitter integration, chat
• Off the Shelf, Proprietary, and FREE!

28. •3 Prices
• Off The Shelf: Purchase an annual license.
(Eg. Sitecore, Ektron, DotNetNuke)
• Proprietary (or Full Custom): Website is
customized and coded by large
organizations for you specific needs
• Free: Package is free, but some
customizations (eg. Plug-ins) require
payment. However, lots of plugins are
free, so there’s rarely a need to buy one.

29. •Some CMS’s:

30. •This will involve
• Hosting your website
• Customizing how the website looks
• Adding webpages to your site
• Managing the content of your web pages
• Customizing the site by installing plug-ins
• Assigning user roles (different types of
accounts with different access levels)

31. •5 things to ask:
• How much am I willing to SPEND?
• How COMPLICATED is the Website?
• Who’s going to UPDATE THE CONTENT?
• How will I HOST my website?
• How will I MAINTAIN the site? (Bugs)

32. • $$$
• Proprietary software
• hire a web developer
to create a
customized website
that fits your needs
• Use paid plug-ins;
more functional
websites
• Not that much…
• Maximize Free, Open
source technology
• Learn how to use the
technology
• For teachers: Student
Project
•5 things to ask:
How much am I willing to SPEND?

33. • Simple/Static content
(content that rarely
change)
• Social Media
• Website Builders
• No coding at all
• Complex
• Content Management
Systems
• Proprietary/Custom-
built website
• For more complex
functionalities, coding
is required.
•5 things to ask:
How COMPLICATED is the Website? (Functionalities)

34. • Only the site admin
• Website Builders
• Blog
• Multiple people,
authors
• CMS: enables you to
create different user
roles (built in)
• Custom built websites
can come with
different users roles,
but will probably cost
more.
•5 things to ask:
Who’s going to UPDATE THE CONTENT?

35. • You own a server/
hosting account
• CMS
• You can ask your web
administration to give
you a lot of storage
space.
• Note: Different
frameworks =
different server needs
• You don’t have a
hosting account
• Website Builders
• Or, upload a CMS to a
Free hosting website
• Usually limited
storage capacity =
limited content
•5 things to ask:
How will I HOST my website? (infrastructure/Server)

36. • All websites require
regular maintenance.
• Website builders and
social media are easier
to maintain.
• The provider (Eg. FB)
updates their websites
regularly. (eg. Against
attacks, malware)
• Hard-coded websites
are harder to
maintain. (Since
you’re dealing with
code)
• CMS’s require you to
do more maintenance
(eg. install Updates
and patches)
•5 things to ask:
How will I MAINTAIN the site?

37. • Have some of your future users evaluate
your design.
• You can either use a top-down or bottom-
up approach.
• Integrate your social media accounts,
school/community website and other
library services inside your website.
• Create your brand. Make sure it’s uniform
for all platforms.
•Other Things to Consider

38. • Explore your options. Try what you can.
• Embrace the technology.
• Educate other people.
• Extend your online presence.
•What to Do from Here?

39. THANK YOU! ^_^
Facebook.com/littlehera
villanuevahera@gmail.com
Twitter: @heravillanueva