amy posted this September 10th, 2009 | filed under: conference-y, discovery, innovation, inspire me!, moi, presenting | Tags: il2009, librarycamp, monterey, unconference | 4 comments »
cc licensed flickr photo shared by kendrak
Internet Librarian is holding it’s first unconference/library camp/barcamp session – and you should be there!
Jenica Rogers and i will be facilitating Library Camp Monterey, the morning of October 24, 2009 in the Monterey Public Library, and we’d be thrilled to have all of you join us.
This will be an interactive discussion about people, technology, and libraries. Bring your war stories and your questions and be prepared to share as this is definitely NOT a “sage on the stage” event. (PowerPoints are forbidden!) This unstructured conversation may range from web development to info commons to everything in between, in all types of libraries.
Head over to the wiki to add your name and any topics that you’d like to discuss.
See you October 24th!
amy posted this September 9th, 2009 | filed under: 2.0 fun | Tags: pcmtl | no comments »
this is the blog badge they created:
that may, or may not, be Trust Agents booty
amy posted this September 8th, 2009 | filed under: general | 2 comments »
cc licensed flickr photo shared by ntr23
so at least two of us in the collective have recently gone live with new library websites (probably more, ’tis the time of year). as i was dealing with the fallout from this (and yes, i know, there will always be fallout – some of da peeples will never be happy, not never) i started wondering about the whole process of redesigning library websites.
what are we trying to accomplish with these redesigns? the answer is usually “to make things easier to find for our users”. but this is where it gets all kinds of sticky. libraries have _so_many_ different user groups. in my own library we have:
- undergraduates
- graduate students
- researchers
- professors
- librarians (both chez nous and at other institutions)
- continuing education students
- students who speak neither English nor French
- citizens of the city & province
- and, oh ya, ANYONE WHO FINDS US THROUGH THE GOOGLEMACHINE!
what does this mean for library site design?
how many groups do we need to consult prior to making a big change?
do we then weight the opinions of certain groups more than others?
when doing the redesign, should we do it in-house, or outsource it to a company that can make it sleeker than your average web services librarian has time for?
should we be designing for the 800×600 IE6 group of folks out there, or should we use the redesign of the library site to teach them that the minimum standards have changed, and they should join us, the friendly library, in this new (upgraded) online world?
where’s the line between accessibility and ease of use? is there one? is it possible to have a site that meets accessibility standards, is mobile-ready, and isn’t nine kinds of fug?
so, who wants to take a stab at answering some of these questions?
amy posted this September 1st, 2009 | filed under: inspire me!, lsw | no comments »
i totally forgot to blog yesterday for the LFPL blogathon.
but that doesn’t mean it’s not too late for you guys to contribute to the LSW goal of raising 5000$ to send to the LFPL to help them restore the library to pre-flood wonderfulness.
head over to steve lawson‘s site to paypal some cashola and you’ll be in the drawing for some fun prizes.
libraries rock
grow your mind, your imagination, and your heart with one visit.
