My background knowledge of web design is very second-hand. I have served as content advisor for the Access and Delivery Services pages on UTK's Hodges Library website (www.lib.utk.edu/circ/). Other staff in my department actually wrote the html using the UTK templates.

Last Thanksgiving I created and moderated a Yahoo Group page for my mother's family (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aaharrisonfamily/). There was no code to write, but I learned quite a bit about loading files, compressing photos, message posting and email management.

I have also been an active member of a music fansite for Bruce Hornsby (www.bruuuce.com). I have posted messages and setlists, participated in polls and fan projects, and downloaded music files from this site. I have learned a lot from the moderator, Si Twining of England, about the joys and frustrations of maintaining an active site with hundreds of visitors through his daily web updates and personal emails.

Through my experience with the above websites as well as my personal browsing and research, my understanding of the importance of making webpages usable covers several issues. Menus and their functionality of getting back and forth easily is critical to a popular site. Clear, step-by-step instructions are necessary, especially when a log-in or download is involved. Pages that are too busy or filled with advertisements or pop-ups are very annoying. I think it is important to not have dead-end pages, especially when searching catalogs, databases, or online journals.