School library web sites as public relations tools

The purpose of this study was to analyze school library home pages for their use as public relations tools. Two target audiences were teachers and parents. Using a checklist, each selected home page was analyzed for its inclusion of information relating to teachers, information relating to parents, and design considerations. The research question investigated was How~successful were school library Web sites as public relations tools ? A total of 22 school library Web sites linked from the New Jersey Association of School Librarians Web site were analyzed. It was found that 41% of Web sites (nine sites) met at least 50% of content and design criteria; 5% (one site) met at least 75% of criteria. Of the three checklist categories, design criteria was the strongest area in terms of numbers of Web sites meeting those checklist items at the researcher determined marker (at least 50% of items); parent content and teacher content were virtually equal, and at nearly half the level of design consideration. This study revealed that less than half of New Jersey school library Web sites analyzed met researcher determined criteria to determine effective use of the Web site as a public relations tool