For a Masters’ project on website design and accessibility analysis I examined the website for the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora held at La Trobe University.
Despite the rich materials in the archive, the website is static and the design is text-centric with the information on the landing page organised as a list, the archival index is held in embedded tables without semantic HTML, there is no visual information about the items, and the search function is limited.
The organisational scheme is broad and shallow with content organised by format (ie. photographs, letters, newspapers). The website structure is an index of the organisational scheme and poses obstacles for users wanting to access the material in a meaningful way (Rennick, 2019). A simple keyword search is hampered by the lack of metadata and the use of a generic Google search bar that retrieves sponsored advertisements before listing anything relevant from the archive, if at all. The only way to know what is in each of the archival boxes is to sort through the listings individually.
The landing page of the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora (La Trobe University, 2017).
The website lacks accessibility elements (Khawaja, 2023). Navigation and clicking can only be done via a mouse. The use of embedded tables without semantic HTML cues and alternative text makes it difficult to navigate with assistive technologies. Users relying on screen readers may not be able to interpret the structure of the tables. As well as a possible loss of context, content may be inaccessible.
The website could be greatly improved with the inclusion of a search box that connects directly to the database, and the implementation of basic accessibility features.
Early Greek migrants on picnic. Photo: Dardalis Archives.
Source: Neos Kosmos. (2022). La Trobe Celebrates 25 Years of the Dardalis Archives.
Featured image: A Greek family pictured standing in Australia. Photo: Dardalis Archives.
Source: Neos Kosmos. (2022). La Trobe Celebrates 25 Years of the Dardalis Archives.
References:
Khawaja, P. (2023). Accessibility of public library websites in the United States. Universal Access in the Information Society. 22(3), 1047–1057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-022-00866-y
La Trobe University. (2017). Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora.
https://lib.latrobe.edu.au/greek-archives/hdms.htm
Neos Kosmos. (2022). La Trobe Celebrates 25 Years of the Dardalis Archives.
https://neoskosmos.com/en/2022/11/06/news/community/la-trobe-celebrates-25-years-of-the-dardalis-archives/
Rennick, B. (2019). Library services navigation: Improving the online user experience. Information Technology and Libraries (Online). 38(1), 14-26.
