I saw this article from c/Net News about a group called ICANN choosing web domain names in my email from AL Direct this week. It tells about ICANN voting to allow specialty top-level domains (TLD) , also called top-level domain names (TLDN), such .ebay or .intel for clients willing to pay for the right. It made me think about library TLDs. They are inconsistent, as there is a mixture of .com, .net, and .org right now. Wouldn't it be great to have a generic library TLD that the public would know, like .lib?
Wouldn't it be great if a library user could find the local library web site by just entering the community or college name and ".lib" in the "go to" box on a web browser?
www.downersgrove.lib = Downers Grove Public Library
www.mortoncollege.lib = Morton College Library
www.westernspringsil.lib = Thomas Ford Memorial Library in Western Springs
The consistency would help in those communities where the library is named for a benefactor, local hero, or geographical feature.
There might have to be some use of state codes for cities like Springfield, Illinois and Springfield, Missouri. Perhaps web pages giving links to all the library choices could direct people who put in just www.springfield.lib.
Libraries probably would not want to get rid of their current web addresses, which are already known, but the new address could direct new users to their sites.
Usually it is easy to find a library through a search engine, but not always. Plus, it would say that libraries are a big part of the web if they had their own TLD.
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1 comment:
That is a great idea Rick and that is what ICANN is really looking to accomplish with the new TLDs. I think the development of some really niche communities will be a great outcome to their ruling.
If you are interested in pursuing the .lib or .library TLD let me know.
Matthew Diehl
TLD Managers
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