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Connecting to Community: Best Practices for Designing a Digital Branch

In this article the authors provide an overview of the concept of a digital branch library and the manner in which it can be used to enhance academic library community engagement. As the front door to the branch, the library's Website is key to going beyond service provision toward sustaining relationships with faculty, students, staff, and community. The authors provide a rationale for increasing interactivity based on the public relations theory of relationship building. A report of research on the characteristics of community college library Websites illustrates the challenges of creating a digital branch. Subsequent conversations with and a survey of Web managers has provided a list of recommendations for implementation strategies that can be employed by academic libraries of all types.