Importance of Narrative on Library Websites

Library researcher Lorcan Dempsey, who used to work for the international library technology and research organization OCLC, has written about an emerging trend he calls the "narrative website":

He documents how some libraries have been using their websites to tell a story about how they provide services throughout the lifecycles of research, learning and civic engagement for their various users:

"A challenge for the library is that its identity and perceived value is still very much bound up with the collections-based library. Which in turn entails a rather static, external view of information."

"This gap in perception highlights the critical importance of storytelling about the library, its developing role and its positioning. The library's strategy, for example, is an important opportunity to tell stakeholders – staff, users, and funders – the library story. By story here, I am meaning a communicated awareness of what it sees as important to it, in terms of direction, understanding of user needs, inclusivness. In fact, this seems a rather important strategic emphasis. This is not straightforward, as traditional views of the library are very entrenched (...)"

"There is now an advantage in contextualising and describing more of what the library does, more actively motivating and promoting its services, and considering modern design and layout as part of storytelling intent, to draw in users. I have been interested to see signs of a shift towards this more integrated website narrative, mapping user needs and telling a more holistic story about what the library does and can do. We are seeing a trend to the narrative website."

 Dempsey highlights 3 institutions, one of which is the University of Ottawa Library.