Review of Web Presence of University Libraries of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The paper discusses the findings of a study that analyze the content and design of university library websites of Sri Lanka and highlights the points that need to be addressed in order to enhance the quality of websites. Besides, this paper presents a simplified version of an evaluative instrument that was developed by the author. Websites of university libraries of Sri Lanka were assessed in terms of both quantitative and qualitative web presence. A 17-itemed evaluative instrument was used to measure the qualitative web presence. The rating of the websites was carried out during the first week of April 2013. Findings revealed that the quantitative web presence of Sri Lankan university libraries is at a quite commendable level. All 3 parameters - availability of websites, size of sites, location of the link to the library site in the parent institution’s website - that measured the quantitative web presence were found to be in high level. Besides, out of the two parameters - content richness and design accuracy – that measured qualitative web presence, the content richness level of websites was found to be at a commendable status. However, majority of websites reported low scores when measured in terms of design accuracy. The evaluative instrument presented in this paper would be useful for library professionals in evaluating the current status of the library websites for institutional or research purposes. The evaluative instrument presented in this paper is an original tool and the results generated based on the tool have added a new set of empirical data to the body of literature. Journal of the University Librarians Association, Sri Lanka, Vol. 17, Issue 1, January 2013, Page 34-57 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jula.v17i1.6643