Technology guidelines
G12. Information technology
Objective
To ensure the accessibility of all library resources and services to the community served by the library. Information Technology Standards include all aspects of ICT: Information and Communication Technologies.
Relevant standards: S8. Staffing standard and S15. Information technology and S16. Standard for measuring use of electronic resources.
Guidelines
Systems infrastructure
Library has an ICT strategy that covers planning, implementation, maintenance and replacement of information/communications technology and equipment.
Library IT platform is secured with service level agreements with IT suppliers; service level agreements ensure that service and maintenance of public computers/networks is given as high a priority as in-house council/government/corporate systems.
Library IT is managed by appropriately qualified and/or experienced staff.
System downtime due to maintenance is scheduled and communicated in advance to staff and customers.
Public and staff workstations are comprised of current hardware and appropriate up-to-date software.
Software provided for customer use includes standard desktop word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, web browser and document reader software.
Peripheral equipment provided with customer workstations or for customer use includes standard office machines such as printers, fax machines, scanners.
Adaptive technologies are provided for people with disability.
One workstation is provided per FTE staff member.
ICT training programs are ongoing and updated as appropriate for staff and customers.
Library supports social networking technologies.
Library supports portable storage devices.
Library supports video conferencing technologies.
Wireless networks are available to library customers in library branches.
IT and internet access policies provide appropriate guidance to customers.
Internet bandwidth is sufficient for consistent good quality access to digital print/image/sound resources served to customers by the library; performance to be monitored regularly to ensure responsive access by customers using public PCs and wi-fi hotspots.
Consider the use of a dedicated internet service to ensure a good user experience for staff participating in videoconferencing sessions.
Library management system
Integrated library management system (ILMS) operates latest or near-to-latest software release.
Library reserves computers for catalogue use.
Library catalogue is available through the library’s website.
ILMS mobile catalogue apps where available are promoted to the community.
New books/resources list is available online.
Individual personal information and preferences can be updated online by the customer, with appropriate authentication and privacy controls in place.
Library fees and fines are payable online.
Library items can be requested/reserved online.
Items for purchase can be suggested online.
Library customers can view and renew their own loans online.
Library notifications can be delivered by a method selected by the customer, including email or SMS.
Web-scale discovery or federated search of library catalogue and electronic databases is available.
Library management system supports recording, identification and delivery of collection items which are in print, audiovisual and digital formats.
Library management system provides management and statistical reports for effective performance tracking and service evaluation purposes.
Website
Full description of library services, branches and opening hours is on the library’s website.
Support for online interaction with customers.
Support for online reference and information service.
Website includes up-to-date information on policies, programs and staff contacts.
Website supports links to external resources including links to other libraries.
Support for remote and in-house access to library catalogue and free and licensed databases.
Library activities, programs and training sessions can be booked online.
Downloadable ebooks and e-audiobooks are available.
Audio and video streaming, RSS feeds and podcasts are available.
Website designed to work optimally on mobile browsers (responsive web design principles).
Library website meets W3C standards for disability access.
Links to all social media channels used by the library.
Suggested performance indicators
- number of items digitised from library’s collection (if appropriate) per annum
- number of hours of public workstation use per annum
- number of visits to library website per annum
- bounce rates (percentage of website visitors who move on to a different site without continuing on to subsequent pages on the initial site) will provide some indication of how customers are using the website
- use of wireless access
- some metrics for use of databases (for example, searches, hits, page views, vendor statistics)
- proportion of expenditure on digital resources by comparison with print materials
- percentage (time) of outages for all library electronic services
Points to consider
Council ICT availability, platforms, connectivity, security requirements, internet access and backup requirements need to be considered in using these guidelines.
The State Library’s NSW.net service suggests the standard configuration for internet access equipment could include a wireless interface that can be activated to provide in-house wireless internet access. The current NSW.net solution is an in-the-cloud service that offers functionality such as a ticketing system to control access and comprehensive reporting facilities. These features can be turned on or off to suit the library's needs.
Availability of library web access may be modified at certain times by backup requirements of some library management systems.
Metrics for time taken to load pages may be useful in demonstrating the need for more processing power or bandwidth.
The reporting capabilities of the library’s integrated library management system (ILMS) should be exploited to collect statistics which contribute to the whole picture of library use, enabling performance evaluation and benchmarking.