Tag: websites

When it comes to your library’s website, are you a climate change denier?

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 think they want are not actually in their best interests. People often have things in mind that they think “look… Continue reading When it comes to your library’s website, are you a climate change denier?

Is Alexa killing off websites? Not quite.

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 you take a moment to at least scan it before reading on, here).  It wasn’t all that long ago that… Continue reading Is Alexa killing off websites? Not quite.

Level up your library’s website with this one little thing

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 45% of the 171 libraries evaluated didn’t have one. If you’re unfamiliar with it, the term is simply a mashup… Continue reading Level up your library’s website with this one little thing

Is your library’s website costing your patrons money?

For several years, I was a lucky customer of Verizon with a grandfathered, unlimited data plan. Last year, in an attempt to shove us freeloader-types overboard, Verizon jacked up the price of unlimited plans by an insane amount. Rather than be extorted, I moved over to Google Fi.  The point here, however, is not how… Continue reading Is your library’s website costing your patrons money?

What’s still missing from Ohio public library websites?

Recently, at my place of work, we decided to do a broad survey of Ohio’s public library websites for some basic functionality and features. We wanted to get an idea of just how many websites still had major problems (or not).  We looked at 169 different systems*. The results were a bit discouraging.  Here is… Continue reading What’s still missing from Ohio public library websites?

3 things you can learn from other websites

Let’s start with defining “other” here:  I mean sites that aren’t library websites.  If you do nothing else, I want you to get out of the habit at looking at other library sites for inspiration.  No, really, I mean it. Why? As a profession, libraries are too insular.   Quit looking at your peers; often, they’re… Continue reading 3 things you can learn from other websites

Stop putting out the “welcome mat”

The temptation is overwhelming. After all, libraries are friendly places, right? We wouldn’t want our patrons to think they weren’t welcome. It’s so nice and friendly to put a big “Welcome to our library website!” heading at the top of the front page, right? Sorry…no. Remember, every square inch of your library’s website is extremely… Continue reading Stop putting out the “welcome mat”

Why web standards matter and why your library (really) has to care

It’s pretty easy to explain to people why their web sites need certain kinds of standards; take, for example, Section 508, which is essentially the ADA for web sites.  Section 508 says that any organization receiving federal funds (hmm…bailout companies, take note) must have an accessible web site.  “Accessible” is further defined by specific criteria,… Continue reading Why web standards matter and why your library (really) has to care