Web development

Online Learning, Web development, Webinar
Webinar on Website Accessibility
January 12th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

Our friends over at TechSoup are offering a free webinar on website accessibility this week. Here are the details:

An Overview of Website Accessibility
Thursday, January 14, 11 am PST/ 2 pm EST
http://techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/webinar-coming-up-website-accessibility

If you’ve heard of “accessibility” and want your site to be usable for all people, but aren’t sure where to start, this webinar is for you. Mark your calendars!
Library 2.0, Web development, Webinar
Webinar: Building the Digital Branch for the 21st Century
August 28th, 2009 | Permalink | 5 Comments

A search for “digital branch” on your favorite search engine proves that David Lee King is one of those responsible for inserting the term into our library lexicon and into the job titles of some of today’s most innovative library leaders. He’s the author of the recently published edition of Library Technology Reports focusing on the topic and also the presenter of our next WebJunction webinar.

Join us on September 15 for Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines to Transform Your Website for the 21st Century, a webinar brought to you in special collaboration with ALA TechSource and WebJunction-Kansas.

David will present on the process his web team used at Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library (KS) to transform their outdated website into a 21st century digital branch. He’ll address the differences between a website and a digital branch, and describe the redesign process – everything from the introductory planning stages of overhauling their website to the process of actually “doing stuff” at the new digital branch.

Register for the webinar »
Read the excerpt: What Is a Digital Branch, Anyway? »
Dear Community, Open Source, Staff Training, Web development
Dear Community: Open Source CMS/Intranet solutions?
October 3rd, 2008 | Permalink | 3 Comments

Here’s a question posted in WJ’s Dear Community by member Kelley Beeson asking for suggestions about Drupal. Do you know of tools for learning more about implementing Drupal or other open source CMS/Intranet solutions?

Thanks Kelley, for an excellent question:

“So here in Allegheny County in Pittsburgh (with our 44 libraries) we’re looking into using Drupal for a staff-only kind of intranet thing. I’ve been having no luck finding any online or even geographically manageable classes – anyone know of any or know anyone who could offer one, perhaps here on WebJunction? I’ve gotten the Drupal book and have even created a minimal page, but I realize I’m a bit out-of-my-realm when it comes to inviting 100+ users to begin engaging on the site – I can only imagine all the variables that I haven’t addressed! So, just putting my query out there to the library universe!”

If you’ve got suggestions for her, post them here or in Dear Community.

And I love her idea of some training on WJ. If anyone is interested in facilitating or presenting a webinar on the topic, please contact us via the form on our Webinars page. The archive would be a great resource, for sure!
Design, Online Collaboration, Web development
A few announcements from the staff editor
January 11th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

Hello, I’ve got three editorial announcements to make.

First, did you see that we have a customized WebJunction toolbar now? WebJunction-Illinois and WebJunction-Connecticut got all cutting edge on us with their toolbars, and I followed their lead. This handy tool, which is very easy to download and install from Conduit, will help you find content on WebJunction, thanks to the technical brilliance of Google search. I also added quick links to those areas of WebJunction that I know are popular with y’all (and yet not always easy to find): the Events Calendar, TechAtlas, the Discussion Boards–plus all of our Community Partner sites. You can directly access your RSS feed from this toolbar as well. So once you’ve installed it and given it a try, let me know what you think. I have been using it for the past month or so and, I have to say, I love it. (Unfortunately, it is not compatible with Safari browsers, so hopefully Mac users have Firefox installed.)

Second, we often hear from our members, “I know there is so much information on WebJunction, the amount keeps growing, and I just can’t keep up with it!” Hopefully, “What’s New on WebJunction” will help you stay up to date. This monthly email digest is simply a list of links to new articles and courses that have been added to the site in the previous month. Subscribe today, and I will send out the first issue on January 16. Definitely send me your comments about that publication–I will plan to tweak it based on your thoughtful feedback.

Finally, I did a little revamp of the Discussion Boards page. I hope you will find it easier to scan the forum lists and find the subject area most relevant to your needs. Again, if you have any feedback about that work–or additional suggestions–either comment here or in the Discussion Board Support forum (formerly called “Help & Feedback”).

Oh, did I mention that I like getting your feedback, comments, and suggestions?
Design, Question of the Week, Web development
Question of the Week: Redesign on a Shoestring?
November 9th, 2007 | Permalink | Comment?

With little budget and no staff time, how can we build a good website?

Thanks to WebJunction member gefitz for this week’s question of the week. There’s a lot more to the question, so check it out and add your answer in the discussion topic or here, in the blog, as a comment.

If you’ve got a question you want to ask the WebJunction community or you see a good question coming in, please post it in the Question of the Week topic.
Community Building, Design, Gaming Presentations, IL2007, Online Learning, Web development
Information is meant to be fun (or at least it should be)
November 1st, 2007 | Permalink | Comment?

Now that I am fully recovered from spending the afternoon trapped in the Monterey Peninsula Airport, forced to watch the same sensationalized news stories repeated every 15 minutes at maximum volume, I found some time to reflect on my experience at Internet Librarian. I think what I like best about this conference is that it seems to be a meeting ground for a cross-section of progressive librarians who share a similar sense of whimsy, a knack for creativity and a willingness to play – particularly when it comes to information discovery.

I attended two sessions this week that captured this spirit of discovery through play – Erica Reynolds‘s presentation on library website redesign, Lessons from 4000 years of art and Jenny Levine‘s talk on Games, Learning & Libraries.

Inspired by a visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO, Erica saw how the way we experience art in a museum can inform the way we present information on the web. Having recently led the complete revamping of the Johnson County Public Library site (which is definitely worth a peek), Erica drew parallels from her experience at the museum and came up with twelve lessons for guiding designs that are both “prestigious and playful” (Lesson #12). The library’s new website features a collection of striking photos taken by teens in the community, a need a story? search box and a tab labeled “surprise!” Some of the other lessons that stand out are:

Lesson 2: Be bold. Be dynamic. Be human
Lesson 3: When you paint to sell, you paint people
Lesson 4: Enliven your collection through reorganization and presentation
Lesson 8: We like surprises. And anticipating the surprise is even more delicious.
Lesson 9: A good guide enhances the experience exponentially

In a similar vein, Jenny’s presentation on gaming in libraries challenged the audience to think about where we draw the line between learning and play – and if this distinction really matters. Games like Dance Dance Revolution and World of Warcraft teach pattern recognition, build literacy and strategy skills, and are a great teaser for bringing more young patrons through the doors to interact with each other. When thinking about offering gaming services in the library Jenny suggests considering the value that games can bring. By presenting information in a fun and appealing way and fostering social connections among patrons and staff, games can improve how people see the library – as a place that entices you to come in and discover something new. And you might even have fun doing it.
Design, Online Collaboration, Social Computing, Web development
We’d Like Your Pictures. Pretty Please?
March 1st, 2007 | Permalink | 3 Comments

Have you noticed that we have been adding spiffy new images to the WJ site since the refresh? While we have worked hard to get effective images that add real value, we couldn’t help but think about our members and their pictures. Surely lots and lots of us have some really great library pictures that could be used on the WebJunction site or in the newsletter?

Along these lines, there is now a discussion thread (that you can find here) specifically designed to be a repository into which you can add pictures for us to consider using on the WebJunction web site *or* in the WebJunction newsletter. It’s a nice opportunity to not only contribute valuable content to the WJ community, but to potentially get some attention for your work.

So, if you’ve got good pictures of libraries, library staff, librariana, computers, technology, or pretty much anything you think might be useful as an image on the WebJunction site or in the WebJunction newsletter, we want ‘em! Pretty please?
Social Computing, Tech, Web development
How did you learn to ride a bike?
January 23rd, 2007 | Permalink | 6 Comments

Did you read a manual? Did you attend lectures or committee meetings? Okay, this questioning is idiotic because, of course, you got on a bike and tried it until you got the knack. And you did it with enthusiasm and determination because you knew it was going to be hugely rewarding and satisfying and fun!

Why not approach the use of social software that way? I was with a colleague this weekend who was fretting about an upcoming job interview because she felt outclassed by the competition with the slick social networking skills. �My library hasn�t even set up a Flickr account!� she lamented.

I recommended that she go home and spend 30 minutes (max) setting up her own Flickr account and uploading some pics of her kids in order to experience how easy it is. It�s not some big intimidating process; feeling that way about it only induces anxiety, which makes it all that much harder to get into the best learning frame of mind �having fun.

My unsolicited advice to you all is to just do it. Once you�ve ditched the training wheels and your confidence increases, explore a little farther. Create a Flickr badge to display your photos dynamically on your website (there’s one in the right rail of this page). Get some Moo cards printed and pass them around for some cheap and eye-catching guerilla marketing. When you�re feelin� cocky enough to let go of the handlebars, check out Splashr (thanks to LiB once again for the link).

a WebJunction Splashr

Now you�re rolling as if you�ve always done this. What are you going to explore next?
Online Collaboration, Web development
resolutions
October 24th, 2006 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Michel Thouati from Lithium Technologies presented in our last session at the Online Community Summit (yes, I’m still talking about that!). In his presentation, Michel referenced some data from his (vast) experience with online community and content management that was surprising to me. The question was about user behavior in online communities – how do people actually get the answers to their questions?

For every single resolution you have on your site through peer-to-peer posting (direct questions and answers through comments, posts, edits, etc.) you’ll have 3-5 people discover their resolution through browse, says Michel. For everyone else? Their answer will be discovered through search. We’re talking 95% of all resolutions.
So, that’s why it’s important to have a search box on our home page, which we do not have yet, but my guess is ’tis coming soon. But I’ll wait patiently for the wireframes to be done so we all can see for ourselves. (In case you’re worried, all the drafts I’ve seen thus far seem to have one, so I think we’re on the right track….)
Online Collaboration, Web development
bottom-up site redesign
October 24th, 2006 | Permalink | Comment?

I just published a congratulatory, self-promotion-type blog post over at it’s all good based on a session on user-centered redesign practices I attended at Internet Librarian today. The session confirmed that working together on early-phase redesign actually gets you to a truly improved site. Good stuff and good for us. We should all be proud.
Online Learning, Web development, Weekly Tips
Weekly Tips: Find online courses & Visit another library’s website
October 16th, 2006 | Permalink | Comment?
- Looking for e-learning opportunities? Check out these course listings and webinar series.
- Want some great ideas for your library’s website? Take a look at what other libraries are doing.
News, Online Collaboration, Web development
WebJunction EqualAccess – site improvements!
August 30th, 2006 | Permalink | Comment?

Amanda Latreille and her team at EqualAccess Libraries have been hard at work revamping their WebJunction EqualAccess site.

If you’re not familiar with them, EqualAccess Libraries is a “professional development program that trains public librarians in how to address their community’s most pressing needs through authentic assessment and information gathering, development of strategic partnerships with local organizations, and the creation of innovative work plans that reflect their community’s unique character.” They focus specifically on building librarians� outreach and community programming skills in the areas of health, lifelong, or youth programming and their ability to use technology to expand and enhance programs and services. We’ve been partnering with them to offer an online space for peer-based collaboration & info sharing for a little over a year.

The new site looks great! They’ve made the site more targeted, intuitive and friendly to EqualAccess participants (now in five states, I believe) with prominent links back to WebJunction content (instead of mixing it all together, as most of our State Library partners prefer to do). It’s a new model for Community Partners’ customized versions of the WJ and we look forward to seeing how it evolves from here. Take a peek and let us know what you think.
Library Services, Web development
Community history goes digital
March 27th, 2006 | Permalink | Comment?

You know what really gets me jazzed about digital history collections? It�s the way they bridge the physical and the cyber worlds, the way they focus the Internet�s global spotlight on what is inimitably unique about a particular geographic community. It capitalizes on a library�s holdings that are like nobody else�s. It�s a kind of globalization of information movement without the homogenization.

WebJunction’s focus on digitization projects will help you get started on your own one-of-a-kind collection. We even have an online event this Thursday, March 30th, 9:30 PST/12:30 EST, with the Johnson County Public Library (KS) team led by Web Content Developer Stuart Hinds. With the fresh perspective from his work-in-progress on the JoCoHistory Project, Stuart and his colleagues will give an overview of the process, insights into what works, lessons learned, and answers to your questions in this 90-minute online workshop.

It�s not too late to register. Go to:
https://www3.oclc.org/app/request/bin/request.asp?specialCode=WJ033006
Library Services, Web development
Digitization Projects in Focus
March 2nd, 2006 | Permalink | Comment?

Our focus this month on digitization projects looks at how you can get those local gems out of the attic and onto the web. Guest Editors Lori Bell, Joe Natale, Alyce Scott, and Tom Peters have put together articles containing a glossary of digitization terms, best practices for digitization projects, examples of projects by small libraries, and some new ways to make digital archives accessible to the visually impaired. They also profile some model programs of the Illinois State Library: the Illinois State Wide Archival Technology Team, and the Illinois Digital Archives.
Social Computing, Web development
oh sweet gift of music
December 20th, 2005 | Permalink | 9 Comments
My ears and mind received a little holiday gift this week from my colleague, the inimitable DaleM. He shared a link to Pandora, a creation of the Music Genome Project. I�m floating through work this week listening to tunes based on my selections and preferences, and I haven�t heard any repeats so far.

Personalization reigns here. It starts with the abundantly user-friendly question “Can you help me discover more music that I’ll like?” I create a �radio station� by identifying an artist or song that I like. The program generates a play list based on attributes of my first choice, with descriptors like �basic rock song structures, mild rhythmic syncopation, extensive vamping, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, and a vocal-centric aesthetic.�

As my station plays, I can guide the programming by choosing from four options:
- I really like this song �play more like it!
- I don�t like this song �it�s not what this station should play
- Why is this song playing?
- I want to add more kinds of music to this station
When my initial choice of Paul Simon started generating a little too much schmaltz for my taste, I could spike the list with the slightly more edgy Tom Waits or Ani DiFranco. When a song came up that I really did not like, I chose the second option and got this endearing response: �Sorry about that. We�ll never play this song again.� And yes, you can share stations with your buddies.

What does this have to do with libraries? Many have suggested that library catalogs should add Amazon-like book recommendations. I’ve been lukewarm to that idea, based on my own experience of the often inaccurate and ridiculous picks that Amazon comes up with. Their algorithm is just not smart enough to reflect the nuance and unpredictability of individual choice. But Pandora hands enough controls to the user to shape the experience, yielding a rich exploration of that long tail. I�d never heard of the Buttersprites or their song LuvLuvLuv until Pandora pulled it out of my �Paul Simon� surprise box and tickled my ears.

Wouldn�t it be cool if the library catalog could do this with books, cds/dvds, and even database articles? Patrons would plug into their customized feeds, not simply to access specific information, but to expand their horizons with the discovery of things they didn�t even know they liked and needed.

Of course, this kind of development is for the big guys, the large library systems with the 5.5 FTE Web dev staff. For all of those smaller libraries with the .05 FTE Web dev staff, if only Santa would bring us a set of easy do-it-yourself modules for creating all this cool functionality on our own sites. In the spirit of the season, maybe the large systems will act like R&D for innovative development and share what they learn with their less well-endowed community members. Ho-ho-ho?

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Web development

Online Learning, Web development, Webinar

Library 2.0, Web development, Webinar

Dear Community, Open Source, Staff Training, Web development

Design, Online Collaboration, Web development

Design, Question of the Week, Web development

Community Building, Design, Gaming Presentations, IL2007, Online Learning, Web development

Design, Online Collaboration, Social Computing, Web development

Social Computing, Tech, Web development

Online Collaboration, Web development

Online Collaboration, Web development

Online Learning, Web development, Weekly Tips

News, Online Collaboration, Web development

Library Services, Web development

Library Services, Web development

Social Computing, Web development