SLA Web Site Prototype Launched
at Annual Conference

At the Annual Conference I gave demonstrations of the prototype of the revised SLA web site in the SLA Marketplace and to the Board of Directors at their initial meeting. The new home page with its smaller and simpler graphics, new navigation bar, and top menu bar was well received. Simplicity and easy access are the name of the game in today's information world.

Although by the time this issue is printed the new web site should be close to going live, we are always interested in your comments and suggestions for improvements. By outlining below the new principal features of the site, I am hoping to receive your feedback. Information about your particular dislikes of the old site will be welcomed to ensure that we have not missed anything obvious.

The new web site is database driven, which makes it more controllable and ensures standard formatting. Having a template with various fields to complete when setting up new pages makes it much easier for staff to add pages without a detailed knowledge of HTML. We can set dates for automatic uploading, notification of updating or deletion. We can also time pages to be added to the home page article or boxes sections. There is also a simple search and restore facility to enable block changes throughout the web site.

The home page has been redesigned to give a cleaner and more functional look and feel. The title graphic will take up less than one inch of space across the top of the page instead of over half of it. The new top menu bar has five icons for Search, Home, Join SLA, Contact Us, and Site Map. The inclusion of a site map to the whole site is a welcome addition. The new search engine has been designed to perform two types of search. QuickSearch will search by title, keyword, and description fields. FullSearch will search the whole database but will take much longer than the QuickSearch version.

The content of the home page has been altered significantly in an attempt to make the page interesting, current, and flexible. We have added what are called article and box sections. The article section has headings which link to various articles or resources of current interest. These resources can be timed out so that only the latest ones are included. The boxes are of a more permanent nature and can include photographs or other graphics where appropriate. These can be moved, added or deleted depending on their importance at any time.

The most important aspect of the new site are the great improvements in access. One of the main criticisms of the current website is that it is difficult to navigate and find the information required. Making this a priority we have taken into account the types of users and their likely access points. The prototype navigation bar has fifteen headings, including About SLA, Value of the Information Professional, Membership Services, Learn with SLA, Leadership and SLA Units. There is a new helpful feature of a mouse-over on each navigation bar heading, which temporarily shows the content of that section. This a really useful when you are not sure which section to search and saves unnecessary clicks. Once you have selected a section to view, the sub headings of that section will move to the top of the navigation bar. They will be shown on all pages within that section so that you can return to pages within that section without back spacing.
The Events/Calendar heading links to a chronological list of SLA events both physical and virtual with a drop down menu by month. This will be enlarged to include all SLA unit events as soon as the information can be obtained electronically from the unit's web site. The Virtual Community links to all the many and increasing ways by which members can communicate with their fellow members and peers. Soon to be added to the discussion lists and chat rooms are message boards, newsgroups, and databases of member expertise and best practices. Many of the highly developed chapter and division websites are becoming excellent sources for interaction. The Virtual Association Timeline at http://www.sla.org/assoc/leader/va2000.html summarizes other new application and resources soon to be available on the web.

For more information, contact John Latham (john@sla.org).

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