The criteria chosen for describing animal exhibits are appropriate , because

• the necessary information is easily available, and
• the criteria are consistent regardless of when and where the exhibit was created.


The proposed standard is appropriate for describing animal exhibits, because the descriptions
 

• can be created within a reasonable time,
• are easy to read and to understand for an international audience,
• attractive  for zoos' public relations,
• valuable for zoo professionals, and
• appealing to everybody with an interest in animals.


The organization and layout of the sample website are appropriate for the target audience, because
 

• navigation is easy,
• pictures are attractive, and
• topics are of interest.


The format of a website is appropriate for reaching an international audience.

4.1. The Sample Website

Most of the website was created with Netscape Composer. Some parts were programmed, and some parts include open source programs. The programming was done by Hans Fiby, a professional in computer sciences.

4.1.1. Objectives of the Sample Website

The purpose of ZooLex is to

• Present animal exhibits worldwide to an international audience;
• Offer relevant information to professionals;
• Provide a platform for exchange of expertise;
• Publish people's opinions on animal exhibits in discussions and contests.

4.1.2. Rationale for Choosing Zoo Exhibits for the Pilot Study

Both zoos are very well known institutions within the zoo world. Woodland Park Zoo received most awards for exhibit design so far and was the first to implement immersion type exhibits. Zoo Zürich was managed for a long time by Heini Hediger, the founder of zoo biology.

Both zoos have excellent bear exhibits of the immersion type. They were chosen to compare the consistency of the criteria used for ZooLex exhibit descriptions.

Zoo Schönbrunn, located in Vienna, Austria, is the oldest zoo in the world open to the public without interruption. The newly built Elephant Park seemed to be suitable for a comparison with the two bear exhibits from which it is quite different.

The prominence of these zoos is believed to be helpful in creating interest in my study and getting useful feedback in a survey.

All three zoos were visited to obtain the material for the descriptions. This gave an insight in the necessary time and effort to search for and choose this material.

4.1.3. Description of Topics and Links

1. Home
2. Survey
3. Find
4. Firms

5. Opening Soon (one exhibit presentation)
6. Recently Opened (one exhibit presentation)
7. Exhibit Gallery (two exhibit presentations)
8. Contests

9. Forum
10. Links
11. Publications
12. Events

4.1.4. Organization of the Site

At the top of each page are the ZooLex logo and the name of a given topic. All topic pages have a navigation bar with links to all other topic pages. These pages form a sequence that can be browsed by using the arrows at the bottom of the pages. For the pilot project, the four exhibit presentations are part of the sequence. Later, exhibit presentations will only be accessible by links to be retrieved like books in a library. As such, they have a different layout without the navigation bar. The "back button" and the arrows at the bottom are for handling these pages.

The sections "Opening Soon", "Recently Opened", and "Exhibit Gallery" were organized identically for the sample website. The first page of each section gives an introduction and instructions on how to browse that section and how to submit an entry. In the middle of the page ZooLex advertises the "Latest Entry" to the section, giving the name of the respective exhibit, a link to its page, and a picture. The next page gives an alphabetical list of exhibits in the relevant section. Then the exhibit presentations follow.

All exhibit presentations start with the name of the zoo and the exhibit presented. There is no navigation bar at the top of these pages, considering that they may be printed frequently. Next comes the location of the zoo with a link to its website if applicable, some key words for research, the animal families and species exhibited, the size and costs of the exhibit, the opening date, the designers, and a description. The right margin shows thumbnails of plans and pictures with titles, references to their sources, and numbers. The numbers refer to picture viewpoints that can be found on a corresponding map.

These sections will be reorganized according to the findings from the evaluation of the pilot project.

4.1.5. Features for Orientation

The navigation bar on top of all topic pages highlights the actual topic by leaving out the background color.

All exhibit presentations have the same layout that differs from other pages by having a right column with pictures. These small pictures are "thumbnails" enhancing interest to the page, without delaying its downloading. By clicking on the thumbnail, the picture opens to its full resolution on a separate page.

All buttons have a distinctive layout relating to their purpose. Their use is explained on the homepage.
 

Type of button	Location on page	Layout
ZooLex topic link	Top	Peach-colored square with name of topic
ZooLex page link	Bottom	Peach-colored textured raised squares with arrow left/home/arrow right
Thumbnail pictures	Right margin, bottom	Light yellow background with raised pictures
Navigation on same page	Left	Peach-colored raised squares  with arrow up/down

 4.1.6. Layout

Times New Roman is the only font used, as it is the most common and readable. Headers are bold or capitalized. Underlined words are links, and Italics is used for references.

Graphics and pictures are not part of the text but are complementary. They are represented by thumbnails and can be downloaded.

4.1.7. Evaluation Procedure

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