Ocena jakości stron WWW bibliotek państwowych wyższych szkół zawodowych z perspektywy ekologii informacji

Abstract

The subject of the dissertation is to evaluate the quality of websites. The research consisted in specifying infoecological characteristics and attributes of website quality, diagnosing information needs of users of such services as well as a providing a detailed analysis of 36 library websites of state higher vocational schools in Poland and 6 services of foreign libraries. The main objective of the dissertation is to show and fill in gaps in the field of bibliology and informatology research by emphasizing the particular importance of information ecology as a vital element in the correct website assessment. An indirect goal is to draw attention to a responsibility for the information environment in which web pages play an important role and are treated by the contemporary recipient as one of the main sources of information and knowledge. Methods used to attain the objective of the dissertation included the method of scholarly literature analysis and criticism, and the comparative method. For the purposes of the research an original method was created for assessing the quality of library web services from the perspective of environmental information. The method was built based on the method of diagnostic survey. Results of the analysis of the services have shown their quality level regarding their construction, utility and functionality as well as their information content. The analysis of library websites, their design and content, has led to the conclusion that they meet infoecological information needs of their users, whereby they show infoecological features. The level of the implementation of these features, however, is varied. In an aggregate comparison and statement of the results, it is Polish websites that attained better marks. The ranking of the library website qualities created on the basis of the research performed by the author of the dissertation can be a valuable source of information for the management of a given library. Also, it can serve as a basic set of data that can be used to improve the existing services.