Let’s be real. Most library homepages look like someone tried to squeeze the entire building onto one screen. There’s the event carousel. The newsletter signup. Program promotions. A giant banner about summer reading. And somewhere,…
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In previous years, I’ve noted how much we need a distraction from our ongoing dumpster fires, and thus the need for this annual list. That statement still applies. Look away from the flames for just…
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When we look at a library website, there are a multitude of decisions that likely went into its creation, and it’s not always easy to discern why or how those decisions were made.
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Recently, I gave a presentation on 2024 technology trends. I always carefully preface this type of session with a disclaimer: I do, in fact, cover trends in technology, and not applications that could (yet) be implemented…
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The agency that I work for runs a good number of listservs for library staff and organizations around the state. As a result, we see a lot of the messages that get sent to these…
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The year is nearly over and you likely need distractions from the 2023 dumpster fire. Cue my annual list of ways to not notice the news cycle and, of course, to not get your work…
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I never imagined that I would be writing that headline. I have been on Twitter/X since 2007. I have used it not only regularly, but heavily. It has been instrumental for professional connections and communication…
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It’s not a secret that the world changed in November of 2022. If you don’t recall, that was when ChatGPT was publicly released. The full impact is still being digested as public consciousness surrounding AI…
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My head is swirling after I read this article in The Atlantic. The title is: Talking to AI Might Be the Most Important Skill of This Century There’s so much in this story that I…
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Very recently, I made the reluctant decision to stop doing webinars focused on tracking social media metrics. The topic was one that has made me uneasy for a while, but there seemed to be at…
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Like many, I’m torn between moving to Mastodon for principled reasons and the need to maintain existing communities.
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We can sigh with relief, since 2022 is almost over. At any rate, I’m sure that we all could use some fun distractions from the evolving dystopia we might be surrounded by. TBH, I actually…
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People are naturally drawn to what’s attractive and easy to understand. Oversized logos, on the other hand, are aggressive and tacky; think of it as visually shouting at your consumers. Grace Cole, Stryvve Marketing Your library is…
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“Clickbait” From Oxford Language: noun (on the internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page. I have an intense dislike of…
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While discussing the aesthetics of a library program promotion, my supervisor made this comment: “Their graphic designer never met a font they didn’t like.” In other words, there were too many fonts being used in…
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Libraries can provide services to many different populations. As library staff, we often want to help as many people, in as many different ways, as possible. While this is admirable, it’s hardly realistic, particularly when…
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In a former career, I was an outdoor/environmental education teacher. Many of the kids I got to interact with were from the inner city, and our program was likely the first time they had ever…
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Years ago, I worked in a library where the administration was intrigued by every new available technological advancement. There were a good number of positive things that came out of this interest, and the IT…
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Do you create promotional graphics for your library’s website or social media? Yes, design can be subjective, but there are definitely guidelines that should be considered. After all, you’re not doing this for the sake…
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Without a doubt, one of the most popular webinars I’ve presented nationwide has been one that introduces library staff to the concept of web accessibility. It’s something I deal with regularly in my job, and…
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I’ve taken much of what I’ve thought and learned about website work for libraries, and put it down on paper. You can get a (digital) copy of my Library Technology Report for the American Library…
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I’ve been doing web work for libraries for more than a couple of decades. When I started out, during the early days of the graphic web, libraries were spending significant amounts of staff time introducing…
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Was 2021 marginally better than 2020? Maybe? At any rate, I’m sure that we all could use some fun distractions. Here are some of my favorites from this year. Happy holidays. Type like a hacker.…
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Hopefully, you’ve read the other two parts of this series, so I don’t want to generally duplicate that information here. Think of this list as “Other Logo-Related Stuff You Need to Know.”
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If your library has decided to create a new logo, here are some basic things to consider during the design process.
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In my job as a front end designer/developer, I work with a lot of library logos. I also work with a lot of library staff that don’t understand the importance of what they do, or how a good one is created. When faced with a sub-par logo, there’s often not much I can do other than work with whatever I’ve been given. Even libraries with awful logos cannot undertake a redesign lightly, or particular staff people may be emotionally invested in their creation and don’t want something new…even if it’s better.
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As a staff person, your view (mental model) of the library’s website is incredibly different from that of a patron. It’s so very different, that you can’t even pretend to be a patron user. It’s vital that this is acknowledged.
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Let’s start this discussion with a question:
Is library staff important?
Yes, the website’s homepage is important. But it’s not nearly as mission-critical as many staff think it is. Why?
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Let’s face it: 2020 has been a serious dumpster fire and the more distractions, the better. In that vein, here are some of my favorites from this year. Happy holidays.
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What we’re seeing now, though represents a huge shift in how even the social media platforms themselves are viewing low-level (often referred to as “vanity”) metrics.
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For the past couple of months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a small, selective cohort of library staff from public libraries in Tennessee. Each week, we look at important concepts in social media…
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However, even I will sometimes admit that things can get just a little too quiet. Granted, if you’ve got kids or family trapped in the house with you right now, that might not be one of your problems. For myself, I find music to be far too distracting to use as ambient sound on a regular basis. That’s where services like the ones below come into play.
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I could go on for a while about how the “rules” of web design have changed in twenty years, but one “rule” that has somehow persisted, despite real data now being available, is that of “Users won’t go more than three clicks past your homepage to get to anything.”
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Happy holidays! It’s time for my annual collection of Online Stuff To Waste Time On. You know, in case you needed help not getting your work done. And, by the way, this is the TENTH year I’ve been putting out this list.
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A couple of years ago, I was asked to do a series of this type of workshop for an out-of-state consortium. When the evaluations came back to me a few weeks afterwards, I got very good marks as a presenter, but some comments threw me for a loop. A common complaint was that the technology topics I covered were not being used in libraries. I was stunned.
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The building ISN’T the library, but it is part of the library’s identity.
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Why do these myths continue to be perpetuated in libraries? Perhaps because so many of us grew up alongside the web. We were initiated in the very early days, when it was truly a Wild West-type environment. Not everyone realizes that those days are truly long-gone and there’s actually real sheriffs in town.
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What was popular this past year, here on the blog? Here’s the list: Because You’re Not Getting Much Done Anyway (2017 edition) Social media isn’t what it used to be…and it never will be again…
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Happy holidays! It’s time for my annual collection of Online Stuff To Waste Time On. You know, in case you needed help not getting your work done. Hear the sound of a vintage Viewmaster and dozens of…
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I work with a good number of smaller libraries that don’t have professional graphic artists on staff and also rarely have the money or expertise to use high-level design software, such as Photoshop or Paint…
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It is part of the global Internet infrastructure now. Safiya Noble, a University of Southern California professor and author of Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism I often fantasize about deleting my Facebook account. I…
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Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion. W. Edwards Deming One of the least comfortable parts of my job as a web developer/designer is to convince library clients that certain things they may…
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If you’re not familiar with the Library Pros, they’re a librarian and a library IT professional, podcasting interviews with folks doing interesting things in the library field. Bob and Chris approached me earlier this year,…
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(Read Part I here) The decline of sharing In his 2015 book The Content Code, Mark W. Schaefer points out that even great content isn’t enough. “But epic content simply earns a seat at the…
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INTRODUCTION For the past few years, the vast majority of news from the social media realm has been in a positive vein. Popular formats and platforms. Demographic shifts between channels. Social media influencers. And, overarching…
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I spend a fair amount of time testing out new online tools, usually of the free variety. Some don’t work as advertised. Some are cool, and I sing their praises to the virtual rooftops. Others…
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I ran across this Medium post by tech futurist Michael Spencer the other day. In it, Spencer claims that websites are about to disappear because of AI-powered voice assistants, like Alexa. (It’s pretty short, I suggest…
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I had the privilege of speaking to a packed house at the Computers in Libraries 2018 conference last month. Here’s my slidedeck, featuring a small sample of some of my favorite online tools. Enjoy! …
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SPOILER ALERT: Humans are the new horses. Welcome to the robot revolution. This riveting 15-minute film really brings home what’s happening on the tech front right now. An important point: a lot of it has already happened.…
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In 2016, my workplace did a study to determine the state of various issues on public library websites in Ohio. One of the numbers that was concerning was the widespread lack of a favicon. Over…
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Happy holidays! It’s time for my annual collection of Stuff You Didn’t Know Existed But Can Waste Your Time On. You know, in case you needed help not getting your work done. Sandcastles: If you,…
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Drive up to almost any McDonald’s drive-through window and you will see stickers proclaiming that the restaurant now takes payments through Apple Pay and Android Pay. Visa has just rolled out a program so that…
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Confession time: I haven’t listened to podcasts in quite a while. I was only sort of marginally aware that they had even made any kind of comeback; it was only after a coworker raved about…
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Animated GIFs are everywhere, especially in social media. Even my Android phone has many built into its SMS app. They’ve become a very common part of modern communication. Not only do they effectively communicate emotions,…
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Before we can talk about links or buttons, we’ve got to cover an important concept in online marketing. It’s called the CTA (“Call To Action”). Douglas Karr, writing for MarTech, defines as CTA as: A…
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It’s no longer a novelty for a library to be visible online: it’s a necessity. It’s time to level up how we present our libraries online, because “doing social media” doesn’t cut it.
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Go look at your library’s website. Now, go look at the website of the library nearest yours. Now go look at some big city’s website. Heck, go look at most websites I’ve done. And, while…
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What are your library’s social media goals? At first glance, the answer to that question might not seem all that difficult. And, if I ask you (or other library staff) this question, you might come…
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I did a webinar for OPLIN last month on a few trends we’re seeing come to the fore. You can see it here: https://ohlibrary.adobeconnect.com/p5zkqluwnsi/
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