Web Site Selection Criteria

When selecting web sites and internet resources for the library's web links, the Saint Paul Public Library considers the source of the information being presented, the content of the information resource, the cost of obtaining the information and the presentation of the information on users' computer screens. These are general considerations; no one criterion should necessarily be used to override an otherwise useful web site or internet resource.

Source

Authorship - Credibility - Authority

In a medium where just about anyone can make information available, it is important to know who are the creators of a web site and what are their motivations for posting the information.

General considerations in this area should include:

Individuals or groups creating or sponsoring the site should be clearly stated or otherwise readily ascertained.
Consider the authority and/or level of expertise of the author(s) of a web site. What are their credentials? Can they be easily verified?
Top-level domains (.com, .gov, .edu, .org, etc.) can indicate the origin and intent of a web site, but sites should be judged on other criteria, too (In other words, not all .edu sites are good and not all .com sites are bad).
Do the creators/managers of the site offer some way of making contact with them for further information?
If a site knowingly violates copyright statutes or other laws, it should not be linked.

Content

Accuracy - Bias - Currency

Just as the library considers the accuracy, bias, currency and overall quality of the content of traditional materials (i.e. books) for inclusion in its collection, web sites to be offered as a collection of links offered by the library to its customers should be carefully examined. As with traditional resources, review sources such as the Internet Scout Report or articles from the professional library literature can be helpful. However, the environment of the web is such that we can examine resources on the web first-hand before deciding to direct our customers to the web site. This is a considerable advantage the library does not often have with traditional resources.

Some general considerations regarding web site content include:

The site should be easily read and understandable by its intended audience.
The site should offer enough information to make linking to it worthwhile for the library's customers.
Large web sites should make some sort of search function or site index available for users to find what they are looking for on the site.
Spelling and grammar should be correct.
The information on the site should be accurate (as far as we can tell).
The information on the site should be free of bias.

Some web sites are little more than advertisements for other goods and services. Before linking to a site, it should be considered whether the site is more of an ad than an informational source. If a site that is mostly an advertisement is the best source of information to which the library would like to link, our annotation should let customers know of the web site’s primary purpose.

The information on the web site should be current. The site should be kept current, regularly updated and maintained. Links within and from the site should also be current. Exceptions should be made for archive sites that are specifically designated as such, although links to sites outside of the archive are likely to go out of date.

Cost

The library should not link to any sites that cost money to access or use.

Sites that require free registration to access the majority of their content should be avoided, but linked to if they provided high-quality information. In the annotation we will let customers know that registration may be required.

An understandable exception to this rule is linking to relevant databases to which the Saint Paul Public Library already subscribes. Links to these databases should be annotated like a web site and include a statement that they are available only from within the library and/or via remote access (with a link to the remote access instruction pages, where appropriate).

Presentation

Design - Structure - Stability - Interface

Besides authority and content, the presentation of a web site should be considered, given some of the technical necessities (monitor, Internet connection, processing speed, etc.) in accessing web sites.

The layout and design of pages is also important to consider when evaluating web site presentation.

General points to consider regarding presentation include:

Pages should load in a reasonable amount of time (consider the users who are using dial-up connections).
Pages on the site should be easy to read and to understand, with an appropriate design for its intended audience. Pages should be readable with regard to background colors, images, font styles and sizes, and text colors.
The layout and organization of pages should likewise be in done in a useful manner, easy to read and to understand.
Design elements of a site should enhance the information being offered, and not hinder the use of the site (e.g. long waits for graphics to download).
Plug-ins and other helper applications should be clearly identified, and visitors should be linked to pages where such applications can be downloaded if necessary. If the use of such a helper application is crucial to the site, we should try to state such in our annotation.
Clear navigation tools and/or instructions are desirable features.

Other presentation considerations include the use of standard HTML formatting and codes, and the accessibility of the web site to user of a variety of browser, including those for the disabled. These are harder points to pin down, but some deviations from standards may be readily apparent. If the pages of a site do not appear to display correctly or cause some sort of web browser malfunction, the site should not be linked.

Sources Consulted

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet - The Sheridan Libraries of the Johns Hopkins University

Evaluating Web Sites - Philip Stohrer, Portage West Middle School, Michigan

700+ Great Sites Selection Criteria - ALSC Children and Technology Committee

Scout Report Selection Criteria - The Internet Scout Project

Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources - UCLA College Library

Web Site Evaluation - Mansfield Writing Center, Ohio State University

Janes, Joseph. "Evaluation Criteria for Web Stuff." Voice of Youth Advocates, v.23 no 3 (August 2000), p.179

Williams, Mark Eugene. "Evaluating Web Sites: Four Criteria." CSLA Journal v. 21 no 2 (Spring 1998), p. 16-17.