Kuwait University Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library

Transcription

1 Website redesign effort & CMS project Kuwait University Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library Library and Information Technologies Saleh Aljalahmah (Background information - Needs Statement) Anthony Drewry (Features of the technology - Rationale behind the chosen technology)

2 Background information about the library Kuwait University is one of the biggest universities in Kuwait and most of the high schools students are aiming to join it. Kuwait University has students in 5 campuses in different cities in Kuwait. It is also has around staff and faculty members. Kuwait University has a libraries administration which support all the libraries in the university with the materials and the collection. There are 7 libraries in Kuwait University which offer services for students and the university staff. For this project, we chose to redesign the website for Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library ( ) which is one of Kuwait University libraries. Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library it is an academic library and the biggest library in the Kuwait Universities campuses. Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library located in Shuwaikh campus and it provide its services to the following colleges: The College of Art, the College of Administrative Sciences, the College of Law and the College of Social Sciences. The library is named after his highness the Amir of Kuwait Shaikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and it was established in the academic year under the umbrella of Kuwait University Libraries Administration (KULA). The library size is square meter and has three floors plus the ground floor. It was built according to the Islamic architecture style. The library collections cover several disciplines which are Administrative sciences, Arts and humanities, Social Sciences, Special collections (The United Nations Collection and the Manuscripts Collection) and the Audiovisual Library assorted collection. Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library provides many services for their users such like Reference & Information Services, Circulation service, photocopying, Current Awareness Service (CAS), Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI), Online Search Service, The Internet Service and Inter-library Loan (ILL) & Document Delivery (DD). The Inter-library Loan & Document 2

3 Delivery provided through a cooperation with local libraries, the libraries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), or the British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC). The library also contains three computer labs, Computer lab A on the ground floor and all the library s users are welcomed to use this lab plus a great number of computers placed all over the library on all floors. Computer lab B and Audiovisual room on the ground floor used only for instructions. Jaber Al- Ahmad Central Library also has many study rooms on all the floors of the library. There are group and individual study rooms which come with different sizes to cater for the needs of the users. Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library uses two classification systems for their collections, Dewey Decimal classification system for the Arabic books and Library of Congress classification system for the non-arabic books. The collection there are mostly books, Periodicals (printed and electronic ) and English and Arabic databases. The library has around 14 librarians, 5 of them have MLIS and the others have bachelor degree in library and information science and computer science. Needs Statement Kuwait University has around students, of them are graduate students. So Kuwait University libraries should consider that when they provide their services. Because graduate students have different needs than the undergrad students. Kuwait as a country nowadays is facing traffic problems most of the time, which take us to understand how important for the libraries to provide their services through their website. Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library website is very simple and missing a lot of the important features. First, Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library website has no searching bar where students can search in the collection, it s only has a link that take you to the Kuwait University Libraries Administration website and search there. However, in 3

4 this way students cannot search specifically in Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library collection only. Because the search will be in all Kuwait University libraries collections which is not helpful all the time. The same problem also with the databases and the electronic sources. Also Jaber Al- Ahmad Central Library website is missing an interactive way to contact and reach their users online such like Ask librarian services. This feature is very important because many Kuwait University students do not know how to search in the databases and use the library features. Also the home page for Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library website is taking the half of the actual available page size which make it looks tiny and small. If the library page use all the available space in the internet page, they will be more luckily to provide more services. Also there is no option for users to reserve a study room or a lab via the website. That is very important for students in order to know if there is an available room or not before they actually go to the library. Most of the electronic resources in the website are provided as links which take you to the Kuwait University Libraries Administration website in order to find them and read them. Even their electronic catalog is connecting to the Kuwait University Libraries Administration website. However, there are some files in the home page which contain some information about the new arrivals books both in English and Arabic. And those two files are just posted in the home page without being under any section or headline. There are no FAQs or instructions in the website that helps students how to use the library or teach them more about the research and their assignments. Also there is a special collection which located only in Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library, however there is no option to search in this special collection through the website. It seems that this library do not have a CRM systems because they linked all of their resources to the Kuwait University Libraries Administration website. 4

5 It is very clear that Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library needs to redesign their website and add a CRM system to it. It is ok for them to link their collection and sources with the Kuwait University Libraries Administration website, however that does not mean they do not need to make it available for their users in their library website. The goal of redesigns Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library website is to make it easy for their users to search in the website any time to get what they need from the library collection without searching in the others libraries. Also the librarians will be able to provide many services to their users through their website. A CRM system will help the libraries to know what disciplines they have to improve and develop in their collection. Also CRM system will help them to organize and manage their collection and databases contracts. In this way, Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library will be more independent and focusing to serve their users through their website. Technology Review and Implementation Drupal The non-modernized website and lack of a content management system for the Kuwait University Library indicates a need for a platform that will give library operators the most control over the content of their site, as well as a web-building interface that will allow them to continuously update and refine the library website. To accomplish this, Drupal will be used. It is an open-source content management system that will allow the university to cut back on costs while maintaining the highest level of customizability to suit users needs. Drupal is the platform of choice for many institutions around the world including the University of Colorado, Harvard University, Oxford University, the United States White House, and the Government of London. 5

6 Drupal Features A primary feature of Drupal is its ability to repurpose content. This enables web developers to create, move, and ultimately preserve content for use around the website. Repurposing elements of Drupal are not limited to content elements. Each functional object for website headers, contact menus, FAQs, etc. make Drupal and entirely modular experience, letting users start with a bare-minimum core, and expend as much as they need. Drupal encourages developers to maintain a structured, modular approach with a common user interface. This indicates that the underlying functions in developing a Drupal site assist developers in maintaining clean and simple code, which ultimately help future developments on the site, and prevent any risks in losing code integrity. Simple coding is indicated in Drupal s Low-resource Demands section of their mission statement. It states: [We] strive for excellent performance by valuing low-profile coding (for example, minimizing database queries) and having minimal, widely-available server-side software requirements This also benefits the server-end maintenance, which is also important for implementing a new platform in an institution that has not yet utilized such services. Another component of the engineering side of Drupal is that it allows for integration with bottom-end asset management platforms, such as those used for digital repositories. This allows for further expansion of item storage, and digital asset retention. Lastly, there is the element of support. One of the major trade-offs when choosing open source versus proprietary is the lack of dedicated support. This is because there is no major company or corporation behind the development of the project that would otherwise supply an entire staff of information technology professionals for continuous support. While the theory of 6

7 this model is sufficient, librarians are aware of the realities of using proprietary software, and relying on its dedicated technical support. To expand on this, when technical support is part of the proprietary package, the institution must rely on them. With the size and dependencies of proprietary CMS companies, user support becomes systematized, less subjective, and sometimes non-responsive, nulling the benefits of paying for the service. Open source support networks come from within the community. Independent developers, and those working with institutions to implement the open sources programs collaborate with trouble shooting, tutorials, experimenting, and ultimately progress. With the Drupal community growing, there is ample support for libraries looking to implement the platform. Drupal offers a cost-effective, flexible, simple, and all around versatile platform. If an institution is implementing a CMS for the first time, it is an excellent place to start by providing non-convoluted coding interfaces and clean code structure. This can ease new developers into the web-library environment, and enable in-house technicians to grow with the library s web site. Rationale Statement The Kuwait University Library (Jaber Al-Ahmad or JAA) lacks a substantial website and content management system. Without an intuitive means of navigating the content and services of the Jaber Al-Ahmad Library, it is not enabling its users to take full advantage of its information resources. This also indicates that there is no infrastructure for this type of system. With no platform or infrastructure in place, Drupal is the most effective option for implementation. Drupal operates on a modular level. As developers create the JAA Library website, they will be able to start with essential services and functions, and slowly build outward according to their users needs. Furthermore, the simple coding structure the Drupal offers will let developers 7

8 learn as they go, and will completely understand the functionality of the site they build. With developers in tune with their platform and site, it will enable them to more effectively build and operate the library page. The other incentive for using Drupal is the cost factor. It is open source, and should see little to no friction when proposed to the administration. Information technology staff will need to be collaborative and resourceful when trouble shooting, but as far as implementation goes, it will be much less expensive. One alternative that was looked at when considering a new CMS was the Joomla platform. It is more versatile than WordPress, and requires less technical training to administer. However it does not offer nearly as may integration options as Drupal, nor is it aimed at simple coding and entirely modular development. References Drupal, about. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2015, from Jaber Al-Ahmad Central Library. Retrieved November 16, 2015, from 8