National Library of Australia Annual Report 2000-01
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Delivering Services via the Internet

The Library was one of the first government organisations in Australia to take advantage of access to the Internet in 1991. Since that time the Library has monitored and assessed the potential of the Internet as a means to provide an increasing range of its services to the Australian people. The Library has implemented a succession of web-based services to immediately reach Australians who have access to the Internet at their home, school, place of work, or local library.

These web-based services include:

access to the online public access catalogue, enabling users of the Library to check the availability of collection items and to request required items for future use at the Library
online receipt of and reply to reference enquiries
downloading of digitised collection items to a local computer
information about the Library's programs and public events
views of exhibitions via the web site
comprehensive information about the Library's policies and services.

Demonstrating the importance of the Internet to the Library's activities, this annual report is the first to be issued simultaneously in print and electronic form. The Internet version includes links to over 100 products, services or policies on the Library's web site.

As an organisation that is largely concerned with the collection, maintenance and provision of access to information, the Library will continue to take advantage of the discovery, information distribution and navigation potential of the Internet. Importantly, the Internet provides new audiences for the Library's services, not previously able to visit the Library in Canberra. This does not detract from the traditional products and services that the Library offers, but rather creates new possibilities for the Library to meet its statutory functions and to meet the Government's broad objectives of providing services electronically to the Australian people.

During the year the Library commissioned a review of the usability of its web site in order to test whether a broad range of people were able to navigate successfully through the site and to locate the information they required. As a result, the Library has made a number of changes to improve the user's experience of the web site.

Improving Performance top Digital Initiatives

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