What even counts as a library website?
A look at what we’ve gained, what we’ve lost, and what might be better.
A library website can be a doorway, a bulletin board, a loan desk, a public record, or just a pile of links that grew slowly over time. Most are a little of each.
That makes the question less tidy than it first appears. A useful site has to help someone who already knows exactly what they need, while leaving a trail for the person who arrived with only a half-formed question.
The first job is orientation. Before a reader can use a catalog, reserve a room, find a program, or ask for help, they should be able to tell where they are and what the library can do with them.
There is a particular kind of kindness in a page that names its choices plainly. “Search the catalog” is kinder than a mystery icon. “Talk to a librarian” is kinder than a form that pretends not to be one. A good label saves a little uncertainty for the part of the visit that deserves it.
Then comes the public-facing work. Library sites are also places where policies, meeting materials, local history, and practical details become legible to people who did not already know the system. That work needs a different kind of navigation: less cleverness, more landmarks.
Maybe that is the standard worth keeping. A library website does not have to perform the whole library. It just has to make a sincere beginning, and leave enough room for the reader to keep going.