Why is the URL for the New Orleans Public Library website www.nutrias.org?
Hey Blake,
Why is the URL for the New Orleans Public Library website "www.nutrias.org"?
Jacqui
Dear Jacqui,
Thanks for this original question that I'm sure has stumped many visitors to the NOPL website. NUTRIAS is an acronym for New Orleans Public Library User Friendly, Technologically Correct, Research and Information Access System. The clever acronym was created by Wayne Everard, the library's first webmaster, before the World Wide Web, when folks used text-based "gopher" sites.
The librarians decided to have some fun, so instead of having a "gopher" site, they created a "nutrias" site, hence the unusual URL. When the librarians finally realized the full importance of the Internet, nutrias.org had stuck.
Today the preferred URL for the NOPL is www.new-orleanspubliclibrary.org. The old nutrias.org address still works, but the current board and administration hope to get everyone accustomed to the new address.
