Two New Services Offer Ready-to-Launch Websites for Libraries By Matt Enis<http://www.thedigitalshift.com/author/menis/> on July 31, 2013
Library web hosting provider LISHost<http://lishost.org/> this month launched Library CMS<http://librarycms.org/>, a modular, Drupal-based content management system template tailored to the needs of library websites. The move follows the March debut of Prefab<http://weareinflux.com/prefab>, a WordPress-based CMS template designed for libraries by user experience (UX) consultancy Influx<http://weareinflux.com/>. Both are offered in conjunction with web hosting and are positioned as affordable, comprehensive website redesign services for individual libraries and small systems. With Prefab, "the goal was to make a design that is as universal as possible for libraries, because so many small- and medium-sized libraries are out there trying to solve the same design problems," said Aaron Schmidt, a principal of Influx and LJ The User Experience<http://lj.libraryjournal.com/category/opinion/aaron-schmidt/?ref=ljnav> columnist. Sean Fitzpatrick, developer for LISHost, also saw an opportunity in the market. "In our custom end-to-end jobs [producing websites for libraries], we were hearing a lot of the same requests and tackling the same issues, so we thought, why don't we offer this as a package?" he explained. "Features like the online resource directory and the events calendar were common features that we were developing over and over again. We just thought we could roll them into one CMS package." Both templates use responsive web design<http://alistapart.com/article/responsive-web-design> (RWD) techniques to optimize a site's content for tablet or mobile access. Both also include common features popular with library websites, such as events listings, news feeds, and resource directories. And with WordPress and Drupal functioning as the back-end content management systems of Prefab and Library CMS, respectively, librarians won't need to know HTML to add or remove content, link the sites to their ILS, or make minor modifications, such as swapping out images or logos. Read more....<ibrary%20web%20hosting%20provider%20LISHost%20this%20month%20launched%20Library%20CMS,%20a%20modular,%20Drupal-based%20content%20management%20system%20template%20tailored%20to%20the%20needs%20of%20library%20websites.%20The%20move%20follows%20the%20March%20debut%20of%20Prefab,%20a%20WordPress-based%20CMS%20template%20designed%20for%20libraries%20by%20user%20experience%20(UX)%20consultancy%20Influx.%20Both%20are%20offered%20in%20conjunction%20with%20web%20hosting%20and%20are%20positioned%20as%20affordable,%20comprehensive%20website%20redesign%20services%20for%20individual%20libraries%20and%20small%20systems.> ***SLG comments: I'm posting this since the Mentoring Committee receives many queries about library automation. These new templates look like solutions to librarians who do not possess sophisticated web design skills. Please comment to the list or to me personally your feedback. Stephanie (Sara Leah) Gross MSLIS, MATESOL Chair, AJL Mentoring Member, AJL Librarianship and Education Committee Pollack Library Yeshiva University 500 West 185th Street New York NY 10033-3229 212.960.5442 Skype: Stephanie.l.gross http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanielgross http://yeshiva.academia.edu/StephanieGross "As we look ahead to the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." - Bill Gates.
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