The Roles of American and Polish Academic Library Web Sites: a Comparative Study

Abstract

This article discusses the roles of academic library Web sites, summarises the findings of research aimed at comparing the contents and usability of Polish and American academic library Web sites and presents conclusions regarding the basic functions they perform. Twenty-five Polish and 25 American Web sites were evaluated according to a detailed questionnaire prepared specially for this purpose. In total, 275 different elements of academic library Web sites were evaluated and analysed, including 237 elements regarding their contents and 38 regarding their usability. It became evident that these groups of Web sites differ significantly as regards to the contents but their usability features are quite similar. Generally speaking, as the research proved, Polish academic libraries treat their Web sites as “shop windows” and points of access to the information about their book collections (through OPACs). American academic libraries, on the other hand, tend to perform all their functions completely on the Web and have moved as many services and resources as they can to the new online and digital information environment. While the users of Polish Web sites are only informed about the services offered in “real life”, those who use American Web sites – “virtual versions of libraries” – can complete their tasks and satisfy many of their information needs wholly on the Web.