News and notes on frontpage

In our web redesign, it would be great to have a "news and notes" area prominently displayed on the front page.The purpose of this would be to quickly post information in a concise style that would be of immediate importance to library users. Examples could include:

• unanticipated library closures ( i.e.-inclement weather) "The library will close @ 3:00 pm due to inclement weather."
• facility/construction issues " Noise levels may be higher next week due to construction in the straiwell." "IRC closed for painting March 1-3, 2008."
• event announcements "The library will be holding a used book sale from December 1-15."
• service reminders "Place your E-Z Borrow requests prior to December 5 to ensure delivery before the holiday break."
• new resource announcements "We have added the StatREF database to the RMU Electronic Library. StatREF provides access to...."
• staff appointments/hires/kudos "Mary Smith joins the Reference staff as new Public Services Librarian ...."

The postings are meant to be very concise--headline with one or two sentences of additional text- as well as nonpermanent content.

They can be either deleted after the item has occured or archived in a separate file for historal purposes.

A feature like this adds some dynamic features to the website. For an example, look at the DUQ website (www.library.duq.edu) .

Thanks.

Bruce