ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program --------------------------------------------------------------------- September 15, 1999 GP 3.16/3-2:20/14 (Vol. 20, no. 14) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Readers Exchange Government Information Web Page Template by Cathy N. Hartman Documents Librarian: Electronic Resources Coordinator University of North Texas Libraries Denton, Texas Do you frequently wish for a Web page that quickly links you and your users to important government information but find yourself too busy to search for the perfect sites and design a Web page? A Web page template has been created to help you add a Government information component to your library's Web site with ease. The American Library Association (ALA) Government Documents Round Table's (GODORT) Government Information Technology Committee (GITCO) sponsored the development of the Government Information Web Page Template. With minimal alterations, the template can be added to a library's Web site to provide access to publications of all levels of Government. Accompanying the template is a Help File that presents step-by-step instructions for downloading and altering the template to meet local needs. To view the Template and Help File, connect to: http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/template/index.html Development of the Template GITCO discussed the need for a Web page template for government information at the ALA Mid-Winter Conference in February 1997. Committee members believed that many librarians would find a simple Web page with links to basic government information sites useful in their libraries, but staffing and workload pressures might prevent the creation of such a page. GITCO members determined that a Government Information Web Page Template should be designed to help the librarian at a small- or medium-sized library quickly add a government information page to the library's Web site. Links to key sources of government information were to be selected, and each selected site should have a history of stability. This was considered important for the purpose of reducing maintenance required to keep the page current. Larry Schankman, Mansfield University, and Cathy Hartman, University of North Texas Libraries, agreed to create a template and an accompanying Help File. Design Criteria After the discussion in the GITCO meeting, the following guiding principles were outlined for the design of the template: * The "template" must be easily loaded with minimal necessary changes. * The design must be simple with minimal graphics. * Links must connect to important sites that are known to be stable and provide quality Government information. * Quality of links must be emphasized rather than quantity. * Resources for access to publications of all levels of government must be included. * A help file that will assist the novice HTML user with downloading and altering the Web page must accompany the template. Design of the Template GITCO members believed that a basic Web page would best serve the proposed audience. After much discussion and editing, six sections were selected for the Web page: * Federal Government: General Information * Federal Government: Legislative and Regulatory Information * State Information * International and Foreign Information * Statistical Resources * Additional Resources Separate sections were created for legislative and regulatory information and for statistical information because of the importance and frequency of use of these types of information resources. A section for local information was considered, but presented difficulties. Links to such local government resources as city, county, or regional council of governments sites would need to be included, but would be different for each library. Also, a "documents librarianship" section would be useful for depository librarians, but would probably not be needed by other librarians. For librarians wanting to add such additional sections to the basic page, information included in the Help File gave step-by-step instructions for adding sections. Suggestions for appropriate links to additional resources were also included. Next, for each section, five to eight key links were selected for inclusion. This was a difficult task considering the many well-developed, quality sites available. Design of the Help File The Help File is intended to assist the novice HTML user with downloading the Web Page Template and altering it for local library patron needs. Novice users reviewed the draft of the Help File and suggested changes. Step-by-step instructions and additional resources to assist with Web page design were included in each topic area. Topics covered are: A. Getting Started - begins with instructions for setting up a folder and downloading the required files. B. Adding New Links - describes the code and shows where to add additional links. C. Adding Local Information - gives suggestions and instructions for adding an additional section. D. Adding Graphics and Colors - gives hints and tips and links to free graphics sites. E. Removing Template Sections - describes the procedure for removing a template section. F. Adding Documents Librarianship Resources - lists numerous possible links for adding to a documents librarianship section. G. Adding Annotations to Links - shows the HTML coding for adding annotations for the resources listed on the template. H. ADA Accessibility Resources - links both to a site that will test the accessibility of your Web pages and to the authoritative W3C site. I. Adding Requests for Comments - describes how to add your Internet address to the page, which is the only change that MUST be made to the Template Your Comments and Suggestions Requested When you use the Template and Help File, please send your comments about the ease of use and the information provided in the Help File to Cathy Hartman . Your comments will help us improve the pages for other users. Also, suggestions for links to be added to the Template or Help File are welcomed and will be evaluated for inclusion. GITCO happily makes this service available to libraries and librarians.