So, I think what you're talking about mostly entails basic "Writing for
the Web". I think collaborating on "guidelines" is more helpful than
"standards"... and no need to get all official -- just do it on Github
or something and see if it's helpful.
A List Apart has a pretty concise, but helpful style guide for
authors/content creators:
http://alistapart.com/about/style-guide
They also have published a helpful article on creating visual style
guides and pattern libraries (to avoid those hot pink text on green
backgrounds), although those would probably be more organization-centric:
http://alistapart.com/article/creating-style-guides
http://alistapart.com/blog/post/getting-started-with-pattern-libraries
-Shaun
On 9/30/14 10:22 AM, Brad Coffield wrote:
I agree that it would be a bad idea to endeavor to create our own special
standards that deviate from accepted web best practices and standards. My
own thought was more towards a guide for librarians, curated by librarians,
that provides a summary of best practices. On the one hand, something to
help those without a deep tech background to quickly get up to speed with
best practices instead of needing to conduct a lot of research and reading.
But beyond that, it would also be a resource that went deeper for those who
wanted to explore the literature.
So, bullet points and short lists of information accompanied by links to
additional resources etc. (So, right now, it sounds like a libguide lol)
Though I do think there would potentially be additional information that
did apply mostly/only to libraries and our particular sites etc. Off the
top of my head: a thorough treatment and recommendations regarding
libguides v2 and accessibility, customizing common library-used products
(like Serial Solutions 360 link, Worldcat Local and all their competitors)
so that they are most usable and accessible.
At it's core, though, what I'm picturing is something where librarians get
together and cut through the noise, pull out best web practices, and
display them in a quickly digested format. Everything else would be the
proverbial gravy.
On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 10:01 AM, Michael Schofield <[email protected]>
wrote:
I am interested but I am a little hazy about what kind of standards you
all are suggesting. I would warn against creating standards that conflict
with any actual web standards, because I--and, I think, many others--would
honestly recommend that the #libweb should aspire to and adhere more firmly
to larger web standards and best practices that conflict with something
that's more, ah, librarylike. Although that might not be what you folks
have in mind at all : ).
Michael S.
-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Brad Coffield
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:30 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was: LibGuides v2
- Templates and Nav)
Josh, thanks for separating this topic out and starting this new thread. I
don't know of any such library standards that exist on the web. I agree
that this sounds like a great idea. As for this group or not... why not!
It's 2014 and they don't exist yet and they would be incredibly useful for
many libraries, if not all. Now all we need is a cool 'working group' title
for ourselves and we're halfway done! Right???
But seriously, I'd love to help.
Brad
--
Brad Coffield, MLIS
Assistant Information and Web Services Librarian Saint Francis University
814-472-3315
[email protected]
--
Shaun Ellis
User Interface Developer, Digital Initiatives
Princeton University Library
609.258.1698
“Any darn fool can get complicated. It takes genius to attain
simplicity.” -Pete Seeger
