Library Web Design - Evaluating and Citing Other Electronic Sources on Your Website

Your library's website can be a great tool for Reference research; you can construct your own online "reference collection" for the benefit of your patrons. But, without careful consideration, your library can accidentally recommend websites with either political, racist, or religious subtext or (even worse!) invalid information.

Evaluating Sources

Before recommending other websites, it's best to verify who wrote the document, the author's credentials, and the affiliated organization. One way that this can be done is by "decoding" the web address. A document's web address (URL) can be broken into four parts:

Example:	http://kdla.ky.gov/research/asklib.htm
	http://	the Protocol - how your computer received the information ("http" refers to HyperText Transfer Protocol, which transfers the contents of a web page into a browser for viewing; "ftp refers to File Transfer Protocol, where entire files are transferred from one device to another and copied into memory)
	kdla.ky	the Server name - the address of the machine (server) holding the information. (It often takes the form of the institution's name.)
	.gov	the Domain name - the type of institution creating the information
	/research/	the Path name - where on the server the information is stored
	asklib.htm	the File name - the document itself

To find out the source of the document, delete the path and file name. Normally, this will bring up the organization's home page.

http://kdla.ky.gov/research/asklib.htm > http://kdla.ky.gov = Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives homepage

If that does not reveal the document's origin, look at the domain name. Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top level domain (TLD) or type of institution it belongs to. There are only a limited number of such domains.

.gov - Government agencies
.edu - Educational institutions
.org - Organizations (nonprofit)
.mil - Military
.com - commercial business
.net - Network organizations

Domain names containing ".com," ".net," and ".org" may be registered without restrictions; the other four have limited purposes that must fall under guidelines set by an authority, known as a Sponsor.

Keep this in mind when evaluating sources.

For more information about domain names and contacts, visit the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers registry page.

 

Another important aspect of determining material controversial is to look at the website's "About Us" or "About" page. Many times the integrity of an organization can be ascertained in its description or mission statement. Always look for possible bias - be it political, religious, or product-related. Seemingly authoritative sources can be sponsored by partisan organizations.

Not all web pages posted on respected academic sites are sponsored by the institution; they may, in fact, be the personal web pages of staff or students. Always check first for a disclaimer or some identifying language either on the page or through a link that determines whether or not the organization stands behind the research.

When dealing with possible controversial material, ask yourself:

• Is this site striving for objectivity?
• Does the research cite other sources? Are they credible?
• How up-to-date are the sources and/or the document itself?
• Is this a "scholarly" source or intended for the average non-expert reader?
• Who is the intended audience: primary school children, secondary students, university level post-graduates?

And, finally...

Often, hoaxes and baseless rumors circulate through email as "news reports" from respected sources more quickly than true information. These seemingly accurate sources are usually posted on the Web via listservs or online communities without researching validity. Even more often, hoaxes remain in circulation so long that they begin to be accepted as fact. Visit these sites if you question information or sources:

• Hoaxbusters by the Computer Incident Advisory Capability at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
• HoaxInfo.com at http://hoaxinfo.com/
• Urban Legends Reference Pages at http://www.snopes.com/
• Computer Virus Hoaxes by Symantec AntiVirus Research Center at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html

 

Citing Sources

There are several guidelines and styles for citing works correctly, and as the web evolves no one uniform style has yet been adopted for online resources. No matter which style is chosen, each has common elements:

• author's name
• title of the work
• date the information was last revised
• date the information was accessed
• URL of the website

MLA - Author. Title. Date of publication. Date of access URL.

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Kentucky as a Commonwealth. Jan. 2004. 26 May 2004 http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYCommonwealth.htm

APA - Author. (Date of publications). Title. Retrieved date of access, from URL.

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. (2004 January). Kentucky as a Commonwealth. Retrieved May 26, 2004, from http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYCommonwealth.htm.

Chicago - Author. Title. Date of publication. URL (Date of access).

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Kentucky as a Commonwealth. January 2004. http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYCommonwealth.htm (26 May 2004).

 

How do I find this information?

It's not easy to find all the information needed for a citation. Unlike print materials, online publications do not filter through an editor or publishing house, often going straight from the author's PC to the online community. Here are some tips on finding citation information:

Author

• If author information is not listed at the top of a document, check the bottom or follow any links to the website's homepage to search for authors information. Another link that may be useful is "About Us," found on many institutional websites.
• Try to distinguish the author of the content from the page designer. Many times, private companies are responsible for page design; individuals or organizations are authors. When citing a source, listing the page designer is not necessary.
• If no author is listed, begin the reference with the title.

Title

• If the title is not apparent, check the top of your browser's window.
• If the title is still unavailable, use your browser's option of "view source" or "view coding," and look for the <title> tag.

Date of Publication

• The publication or last revised date is usually listed at the bottom.
• If a document has both a date of creation and a date it was last updated, use only the latter.
• If possible include the month and/or day.
• If a date cannot be found, use your browser's option of "view source" or "view coding," and look for the <meta date=""> tag.

 

Links & Web Etiquette

When listing links on your library's website, it's a good idea to provide a short description of the link. This provides your patrons with the information needed to decide whether the link should be followed, else they click and get lost in a labyrinth of unneeded information and pop-up advertising.

Example:

Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html)
Serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world. Features on its website include links to its catalog and research centers, access to online exhibitions and collections, and a link to the U. S. Copyright Office.

If, within the content, your webpage refers to information on a separate site, construct links to open the reference website in a separate window.

Example: For more information about Kentucky's Library System, consult http://kdla.ky.gov.

Coding to open a link in a separate window:
<a href="http://kdla.ky.gov" target="_blank">kdla.ky.gov</a>

Refrain from using company or program logos as link buttons, unless permission to use the logo is on the page your link is referencing. Most web images are protected by copyright; applying them to your library's website is an infringement of copyright law.

The web is a wonderful research tool, and a great tool to incorporate into your library's website. The object of having links on your library's website is to market your Reference section's services as good referrers to research resources. Just remember, don't believe everything published on the web, think critically, and be a bit skeptical when selecting resources. Then, your library's website will meet your patrons' research needs!