Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Jason Griffey]

I agree with Ross on this one, but would say that evidence shows that, as a 
profession, I'd be thrilled if we were on average as good as Wordpress. 

:-)

Jason
Big fan of the WP



On May 11, 2012, at 8:04 PM, BWS Johnson  wrote:

> Salvete!
> 
>> That's all I'm saying - that on the aggregate, there are probably 
>> patterns, although I would not say they are necessarily coherent or even 
>> well-thought out, I think patterns would emerge.
> 
> I concur, and would risk the rotten tomatoes sure to emerge by adding 
> that I think the contact information is so often so poorly thought out that a 
> user almost never knows where the Library is and when it's open from the 
> Welcome or Home Page of the Library's site.
> 
> I would think positively though that there are very good reasons to 
> compile a generic. This could be of great use to say, the membership of a 
> large Library consortium, particularly one that serves a mess of tiny rural 
> Libraries that might not have the means to really tool about too much on 
> their own. (Not that there isn't fantastic talent in rural Libraries, but 
> there is certainly a crowd of "Well, I'll just use wordpress as the Library 
> website and call it a day crowd." I just think we can do better than 
> wordpress as a field.)  
> 
> Just sayin',
> Brooke

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[BWS Johnson]

Salvete!

> That's all I'm saying - that on the aggregate, there are probably 
> patterns, although I would not say they are necessarily coherent or even 
> well-thought out, I think patterns would emerge.

    I concur, and would risk the rotten tomatoes sure to emerge by adding that 
I think the contact information is so often so poorly thought out that a user 
almost never knows where the Library is and when it's open from the Welcome or 
Home Page of the Library's site.

    I would think positively though that there are very good reasons to compile 
a generic. This could be of great use to say, the membership of a large Library 
consortium, particularly one that serves a mess of tiny rural Libraries that 
might not have the means to really tool about too much on their own. (Not that 
there isn't fantastic talent in rural Libraries, but there is certainly a crowd 
of "Well, I'll just use wordpress as the Library website and call it a day 
crowd." I just think we can do better than wordpress as a field.)  

Just sayin',
Brooke

[CODE4LIB] Job: Applications Developer Senior, Ga Tech Library at Georgia Institute of Technology

[jobs]

The Georgia Institute of Technology Library invites applications from
creative, highly technical and innovative professionals to join the Library
Information Technology and Development department to bring user-centered
library technology to the Georgia Tech community. The primary responsibility
of the position is to develop, implement and support complex software systems
and library applications. The position will provide programming expertise and
support a variety of library systems including but not limited to the
integrated library system, proxy server, web and mobile applications, and
digital library repositories.

  
Perform advanced level system analysis, definition and design activities
usually of a complex nature. Maintains existing applications.

  
Basic Responsibilities:

  * Analyze user requirements, determine technical level of effort required and 
prepare technical design and specifications.
  * Develop, test and implement technical solutions. Prepare application test 
plans and conduct unit, integration and system testing.
  * Analyze, modify and maintain existing applications.
  * Prepare technical, operational and user related documentation in support of 
applications.
  * Provide technical support to functional users, determining and solving 
systems and programming issues.
  * Assist in conducting informal and formal end user training.
  * Advise on and review work of other analysts as needed.
  * Perform other related duties as assigned.
  
Preferred Responsibilities:

  * Provide programming support for library applications, systems and 
technologies that will increase and improve access to academic resources.
  * Work collaboratively with other library developers to support a variety of 
commercial and open source systems.
  * Develop, maintain and enhance integration between library systems, other 
campus systems and cloud services.
  * Serve as a technical lead for the integration of library resources into the 
campus course management system and the development of a customized library web 
page for students.
  * The position will report to and assist the Technology and Systems Librarian.
  
Basic Qualifications:

  * Education: Bachelor's Degree
  * Work Experience: four to five years job related experience.
  * Skills: This job requires advanced knowledge and skills in application of 
query language, web development tools, procedural development tools, relational 
databases, structured programming and understanding of the software development 
life cycle.
  
Preferred Qualifications:

  * Bachelor's degree in computer/information science/systems or an equivalent 
degree.
  * Five years programming experience.
  * High proficiency in at least two of these programming languages: PHP, Java, 
Perl, Python, Ruby, or XSLT.
  * Working knowledge of relational databases such as Oracle, PostgreSQL or 
MySQL.
  * Working knowledge of Integrated Library Systems.
  * Experience with Content Management Systems.
  * Competence with UNIX and Linux operating systems.
  * Experience with open source software.
  * Strong analytical problem-solving capabilities and technical expertise.
  * Excellent written and oral communication/presentation skills.
  * Ability to work independently and in a team.
Additional Preferred Qualifications:

  * Master's degree from an ALA-accredited college or university in library 
science or information and library sciences * .
  * An understanding of MARC and XML.
  * Experience with integrating library resources into content management 
systems.
  
Salary & Benefits

  
The benefits package includes 15 days vacation, 12 paid holidays, 12 days sick
leave, health/dental insurance options, and retirement options including the
Teachers Retirement System of Georgia or optional retirement plans, including
TIAA/CREF. Relocation Allowance supported by the Price Gilbert Jr. Charitable
Fund. Visit the Georgia Tech Human Resources site to view the benefits
package.

Application Process:

  
Applications will be reviewed beginning January 31, 2012, and will be accepted
until the position is filled. Candidates are urged to apply as soon as
possible to receive full consideration. Employment is contingent on proof of
the legal right to work in the United States. Send letter of application,
resume, and names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of 5
references to:

  
Sharon Baines, SPHR

HR Officer

Library and Information Center

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA 30332-0900

Email Sharon Baines

  
*** Applicants with a Master's degree from an ALA-accredited college or 
university in library science or information and library sciences will be 
considered for a Georgia Tech librarian/faculty position.**  
  
An Equal Employment Opportunity Institution. The university has a strong
commitment to diversity and

encourages applications from candidates of diverse cultural backgrounds.



Brought to you by code4lib jobs: http://jobs.code4lib.org/job/932/

[CODE4LIB] Register now for Digital Odyssey 2012!

[Nick Ruest]

*apologies for cross-posting*


   Digital Odyssey 2012

Friday June 8, 2012
Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library
789 Yonge Street Toronto Ontario
Directions and Parking 




   Registration

Members $130 / Non Members $150
Register here 




Digital Odyssey is a one-day conference organized by The Ontario Library 
and Information Technology Association (OLITA 
) that focuses on themes 
of research, learning, accessibility, and usability associated with 
technology in libraries.


This year's theme is *Liberation Technology.*

Liberation Technology as a field of study seeks to understand how 
information technology can be used to pursue a variety of social goods. 
This includes any technology that enables citizens to express opinions, 
deepen participation in society, and expand their freedoms.
With the intersection between social justice issues and technology 
making headlines, through the Arab Spring, Anonymous, and the Occupy 
movement, OLITA felt that focusing specifically on liberation technology 
would make a timely topic for this year's Digital Odyssey.



*Keynote: Kate Milberry, PhD University of Alberta
**The Knowledge Factory Hack: From Open Access to Anonymous ...or why 
information wants to be free *
From the internet's inception and the birth of hacker culture at MIT's 
Artificial Intelligence lab, the big idea was that information could not 
be contained. Physical locks could not keep out the curious computer 
geeks who were designing the software that made computers sing, and 
digital locks were anathema to the web of code that would eventually 
interconnect them on a global scale. The ethos of openness, and the very 
political position that information must be free if society is to 
advance, was built into the technical infrastructure of the internet and 
emerged in the culture of the digital commons.
Today corporate, criminal and governmental forces are working to lock 
down the internet through cybersurveillance, cyberwarefare and 
legislation aimed at wresting control away from the user multitude 
reared on access to information. Intensifying over the last decade, this 
enclosure movement has been met with fierce opposition from computer 
geeks dedicated to the hacker ethic. Beginning as a self-referential 
subculture, the internet liberation movement has become increasingly 
internetworked, global and political, embracing free software hackers, 
tech activists and open access evangelists who understand that 
information is inextricably linked to human freedom, justice, equality 
and progress. Building and deploying technologies of liberation, tech 
activists and hacker allies from Indymedia, Anonymous, the Arab Spring 
and #ows are bringing the full force of the internet to bear against 
those who would subvert its democratic potential. Librarians, as 
historic gatekeepers of information, are key collaborators in this 
struggle, and have an important role to play in the unlocking of 
information, and its free passage over the open web.



   *Program *

Click here to access the updated program and abstracts for each session. 

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Mark Jordan]

Ross, I agree we're not disagreeing, and the components of library sites you 
itemize are good examples of the kinds of things that we could describe as 
patterns, since as you say, they do overlap across most library sites.

Mark

- Original Message -
> Mark, I actually wouldn't say I'm disagreeing with you (:)) or that
> your cynicism isn't completely justified.
> 
> Indeed, the library website redesigns always, on the whole, turned
> out unique (besides the common design patterns of "cluttered",
> "jargon-y" and "aesthetically woeful").  That being said, almost
> every one picked up *some* design cue from another website, whether
> it be verbiage, layout of search boxes, where 'contact us' should
> go, etc. and I imagine given the number of library websites + the
> number of library websites designed by "library website redesign
> committee" that all went through this due diligence stage, there
> *must* be overlaps of design cues.
> 
> That's all I'm saying - that on the aggregate, there are probably
> patterns, although I would not say they are necessarily coherent or
> even well-thought out, I think patterns would emerge.
> 
> -Ross.
> 
> On May 11, 2012, at 11:38 AM, Mark Jordan wrote:
> 
> > Ross,
> > 
> > Good counter example, and I'm sure your experience is a common one.
> > Pat's question caught me in a moment of deep cynicism -- I'm not
> > saying there can't be library website design patters, just that
> > libraries more often than not end up implementing new sites by
> > reinventing the wheel, and justifying that reinvention by arguing
> > that their local wheel needs to be a oval, not round. In fact, I'd
> > have to ask about your experience (simply because it is probably
> > shared by a lot of people), at the end of the process, how much of
> > a design pattern did the implementation group infer from your
> > study of other sites, and how much of the study focused on
> > subjective design components like colors, fonts, and other eye
> > candy. And how much of the study was perfunctory due diligence,
> > performed despite the assumption that the library or the library's
> > perceived users somehow required an oval site architecture. It's
> > the "for whatever local reasons or biases we had" that I am
> > cynical about.
> > 
> > Mark
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > - Original Message -
> >> On May 10, 2012, at 5:49 PM, Mark Jordan wrote:
> >> 
> >>> Wouldn't the NIH syndrome endemic to libraries make such a set
> >>> unlikely?
> >> 
> >> But every website redesign committee I have ever sat on (which
> >> have
> >> been many; since the dawn of the web -- every one a scarring
> >> experience) has always started by compiling the library websites
> >> (and occasionally outside of the library, but almost *always*
> >> library websites) that have designs we admire or aspects that we
> >> would like to emulate or incorporate.
> >> 
> >> Every single one.
> >> 
> >> I can't imagine that this phenomenon was exclusive to the three
> >> universities I have worked for, which would lead me to believe
> >> that
> >> *some* design patterns must show up in a significant cross-section
> >> of library websites (although, like Sean, I agree that so often,
> >> other website designs were rejected for whatever local reasons or
> >> biases we had).
> >> 
> >> -Ross.
> >> 
> >>> 
> >>> - Original Message -
>  So, there are a gajillion and one design pattern libraries out
>  there...has
>  anybody come across a set of design patterns focused on library
>  web
>  sites?
>  
>  Thanks,
>  Pat
>  
> >> 
> 

Re: [CODE4LIB] WebOPAC/III Z39.50 PHP Query/PHPYAZ

[Madrigal, Juan A]

I'm quickly learning that the hard way! Either vendor lock-in is to blame
for this or the fact that many of these systems predate the web and rely
on esoteric protocols.

I finally ended up screen scraping with curl and using a regex to extract
the title. 

The url looks like this:
http://catalog.library.miami.edu/search/c?QA76.575%20.T47%202009

I'm pretty certain that url parameters map to Z39.50.

In this case the option values in our search form are the parameters:

Keyword
Title
Author
Subject
LC Call Number
Local Call Number
SuDocs Number
ISSN . ISBN Number
OCLC Number
Music Publisher Number


Thanks Godmar!


Juan Madrigal


Web Developer
Web and Emerging Technologies
University of Miami
Richter Library






On 5/10/12 10:57 AM, "Godmar Back"  wrote:

>Scraping III systems has got to be one of the most frequently repeated
>tasks in the history of coding librarianship.
>
>Majax2 ([1,2]) is one such service, though (as of right now) it doesn't
>support search by Call Number.
>Here's an example ISBN search:
>http://libx.lib.vt.edu/services/majax2/isbn/0747591059?opacbase=http://cat
>alog.library.miami.edu/search
>
>Since you have Summon, you could use their API.  Example is here [3,4]
>
> - Godmar
>
>[1] http://libx.lib.vt.edu/services/majax2/
>[2] http://code.google.com/p/majax2/
>[3] http://libx.lib.vt.edu/services/summon/test.php
>[4] http://libx.lib.vt.edu/services/summon/
>
>On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Madrigal, Juan A
>wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I'm looking for a way to send a Call Number to WebOPAC via a query so
>>that
>> I can return data (title, author, etcŠ) for a specific book in the
>>catalog
>> preferably in JSON or XML (I'll even take text at this point).
>> I'm thinking that one way  to accomplish this is via Z39.50 and send a
>> query to the backend that powers WebOPAC
>>
>> Has anyone done something similar to this?
>>
>> PHP YAZ (https://www.indexdata.com/phpyaz) looks promising, but I'd
>> appreciate any guidance.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Juan Madrigal
>>
>> Web Developer
>> Web and Emerging Technologies
>> University of Miami
>> Richter Library
>>

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Ross Singer]

Mark, I actually wouldn't say I'm disagreeing with you (:)) or that your 
cynicism isn't completely justified.

Indeed, the library website redesigns always, on the whole, turned out unique 
(besides the common design patterns of "cluttered", "jargon-y" and 
"aesthetically woeful").  That being said, almost every one picked up *some* 
design cue from another website, whether it be verbiage, layout of search 
boxes, where 'contact us' should go, etc. and I imagine given the number of 
library websites + the number of library websites designed by "library website 
redesign committee" that all went through this due diligence stage, there 
*must* be overlaps of design cues.

That's all I'm saying - that on the aggregate, there are probably patterns, 
although I would not say they are necessarily coherent or even well-thought 
out, I think patterns would emerge.

-Ross.

On May 11, 2012, at 11:38 AM, Mark Jordan wrote:

> Ross,
> 
> Good counter example, and I'm sure your experience is a common one. Pat's 
> question caught me in a moment of deep cynicism -- I'm not saying there can't 
> be library website design patters, just that libraries more often than not 
> end up implementing new sites by reinventing the wheel, and justifying that 
> reinvention by arguing that their local wheel needs to be a oval, not round. 
> In fact, I'd have to ask about your experience (simply because it is probably 
> shared by a lot of people), at the end of the process, how much of a design 
> pattern did the implementation group infer from your study of other sites, 
> and how much of the study focused on subjective design components like 
> colors, fonts, and other eye candy. And how much of the study was perfunctory 
> due diligence, performed despite the assumption that the library or the 
> library's perceived users somehow required an oval site architecture. It's 
> the "for whatever local reasons or biases we had" that I am cynical about.
> 
> Mark
> 
> 
> 
> - Original Message -
>> On May 10, 2012, at 5:49 PM, Mark Jordan wrote:
>> 
>>> Wouldn't the NIH syndrome endemic to libraries make such a set
>>> unlikely?
>> 
>> But every website redesign committee I have ever sat on (which have
>> been many; since the dawn of the web -- every one a scarring
>> experience) has always started by compiling the library websites
>> (and occasionally outside of the library, but almost *always*
>> library websites) that have designs we admire or aspects that we
>> would like to emulate or incorporate.
>> 
>> Every single one.
>> 
>> I can't imagine that this phenomenon was exclusive to the three
>> universities I have worked for, which would lead me to believe that
>> *some* design patterns must show up in a significant cross-section
>> of library websites (although, like Sean, I agree that so often,
>> other website designs were rejected for whatever local reasons or
>> biases we had).
>> 
>> -Ross.
>> 
>>> 
>>> - Original Message -
 So, there are a gajillion and one design pattern libraries out
 there...has
 anybody come across a set of design patterns focused on library
 web
 sites?
 
 Thanks,
 Pat
 
>> 

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Aaron Collier]

Mythbusters should have read this before their tests: 
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-square-wheels/ 



Aaron Collier 
Library Academic Systems Analyst 
California State University, Fresno - Henry Madden Library 
559.278.2945 
acoll...@csufresno.edu 
http://www.csufresno.edu/library 

- Original Message -
From: "Nate Vack"  
To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU 
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 9:05:59 AM 
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns 

On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 10:38 AM, Mark Jordan  wrote: 

> libraries more often than not end up implementing new sites by 
> reinventing the wheel, and justifying that reinvention by arguing 
> that their local wheel needs to be a oval, not round 

Well... wheel shape depends on the road you're using: 

http://mathtourist.blogspot.com/2011/05/riding-on-square-wheels.html 

Very happy Friday, 
-n 

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Nate Vack]

On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 10:38 AM, Mark Jordan  wrote:

> libraries more often than not end up implementing new sites by
> reinventing the wheel, and justifying that reinvention by arguing
> that their local wheel needs to be a oval, not round

Well... wheel shape depends on the road you're using:

http://mathtourist.blogspot.com/2011/05/riding-on-square-wheels.html

Very happy Friday,
-n

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Mark Jordan]

Ross,

Good counter example, and I'm sure your experience is a common one. Pat's 
question caught me in a moment of deep cynicism -- I'm not saying there can't 
be library website design patters, just that libraries more often than not end 
up implementing new sites by reinventing the wheel, and justifying that 
reinvention by arguing that their local wheel needs to be a oval, not round. In 
fact, I'd have to ask about your experience (simply because it is probably 
shared by a lot of people), at the end of the process, how much of a design 
pattern did the implementation group infer from your study of other sites, and 
how much of the study focused on subjective design components like colors, 
fonts, and other eye candy. And how much of the study was perfunctory due 
diligence, performed despite the assumption that the library or the library's 
perceived users somehow required an oval site architecture. It's the "for 
whatever local reasons or biases we had" that I am cynical about.

Mark



- Original Message -
> On May 10, 2012, at 5:49 PM, Mark Jordan wrote:
> 
> > Wouldn't the NIH syndrome endemic to libraries make such a set
> > unlikely?
> 
> But every website redesign committee I have ever sat on (which have
> been many; since the dawn of the web -- every one a scarring
> experience) has always started by compiling the library websites
> (and occasionally outside of the library, but almost *always*
> library websites) that have designs we admire or aspects that we
> would like to emulate or incorporate.
> 
> Every single one.
> 
> I can't imagine that this phenomenon was exclusive to the three
> universities I have worked for, which would lead me to believe that
> *some* design patterns must show up in a significant cross-section
> of library websites (although, like Sean, I agree that so often,
> other website designs were rejected for whatever local reasons or
> biases we had).
> 
> -Ross.
> 
> > 
> > - Original Message -
> >> So, there are a gajillion and one design pattern libraries out
> >> there...has
> >> anybody come across a set of design patterns focused on library
> >> web
> >> sites?
> >> 
> >> Thanks,
> >> Pat
> >> 
>

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Nate Hill]

Glad you like One-Pager.
The free template is meant as a starting point - indeed library sites all
need to be different.
A Drupal version of it is nearly complete.
Stay tuned for that.
Nate


On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 6:49 AM, Junior Tidal wrote:

> I like the onepager design a lot and I'm waiting for InFlux to develop a
> Drupal version. I'd like to do a test-drive and do a usability test,
> because I think simple designs go a long way.
>
> I like your approach Sean; that is, to design around what's being used the
> most. I've found that our users don't go more than a couple levels deep
> into the site, and they do most of what they need to do on the homepage.
>
> Best,
>
> Junior Tidal
> Assistant Professor
> Web Services and Multimedia Librarian
> New York City College of Technology, CUNY
> 300 Jay Street, Rm A434
> Brooklyn, NY 11201
> 718.260.5481
>
> http://library.citytech.cuny.edu
>
>
> >>> Sean Hannan  5/10/2012 5:53 PM >>>
> There's this thing: http://influx.us/onepager
>
> But I don't really believe in it.
>
> I know the library world is full of people that think that we're unique
> snowflakes, but at least in my case (for library websites) I find that to
> be
> true.  This is based on a number of factors: how librarians instruct
> patrons, analytics data, faculty database preferences.
>
> I look at some academic library websites and see the things that they
> highlight and I know that our patrons here have zero interest in that.
>
> In fact, our new website (beta heresies:
> http://testsh.mse.jhu.edu/newwebsite) is minimizing the amount of content
> as
> much as possible. Instructional content is in LibGuides, databases are in
> Xerxes/metalib, catalog is Blacklight.  There's really no reason for us to
> pull our users deeper into the site when everything they want is somewhere
> else. The website will then become a facilitator rather than a collector.
> That's the approach that's going to work for us; I can see a number of
> institutions where that would be horrifying and wrong.
>
> Collect some data (clicktracking data in particular) and find out where
> your
> users are going and what content is being used. Design around that.
>
> -Sean
>
>
> On 5/10/12 5:41 PM, "Patrick Berry"  wrote:
>
> > So, there are a gajillion and one design pattern libraries out
> there...has
> > anybody come across a set of design patterns focused on library web
> sites?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Pat
>



-- 
Nate Hill
nathanielh...@gmail.com
http://www.natehill.net

Re: [CODE4LIB] Bootstrap vs Foundation

[Shaun Ellis]

I have not used Foundation, but from what I can see, it offers a subset 
of the features that you get with Bootstrap.  I suppose that's what they 
mean by "light" framework.  The idea that it is designed to be 
overridden is a bit of a strange claim as I don't see how it's any 
different from overriding any other base stylesheet. I've been 
overriding styles in Bootstrap simply by creating an override.css file 
from the beginning.


We are currently in the last stages of the "prototype phase" for our 
Finding Aids site and will be going into beta soon.  It currently looks 
like a "Bootstrap site", hence the "samification" that the List Apart 
article mentions, and I will soon need to Princeton-ify it (aka "tiger 
style").


I think that the transition to a custom site that stands out from other 
Bootstrap sites is not particularly easy if you've been using Bootstrap 
out of the box and overriding it like I've been doing.  This is because 
there are standard/shared colors and styles that are set as variables in 
Less.  It's a lot more laborious to go through and override these 
manually than simply change the variables in Less.


If you are interested in using Bootstrap, I would recommend designing a 
style guide (or UI pattern library, as Matthew called it) for your own 
institution and building it with Less, which is my next step.  This 
guide will provide me and my colleagues custom variations on components, 
but I plan to maintain the architecture of the Bootstrap site.  I just 
love how organized it is, and how easy it is to simply copy code from 
the examples.


Furthermore, it will be easier to keep such a style guide in sync with 
future Bootstrap versions.  I'm currently putting off upgrading to 
Bootstrap 2.0 because they changed the default grid and I didn't start 
the project using Less.  Finally, other developers at your institution 
can use the same custom guide as easily as they would the Bootstrap site 
for grabbing and quickly implementing their design conventions.


I don't regret not using Less out of the gate since it was pretty 
foreign to me at the time, and I really just wanted to get going quickly 
with prototyping the architecture.


Cheers,
Shaun

On 5/11/12 9:27 AM, Joseph Gilbert wrote:

Hi Jessie,

I've used Bootstrap more than Foundation, but both are solid choices.
There are some relatively minor differences: Bootstrap uses LESS while
Foundation is CSS with an officially supported SASS version; Bootstrap
has a few more JS widgets thrown in.

One philosophical distinction seems to lie in the "it’s designed to be
overridden" line in the article Tom mentions.  Bootstrap looks good
right out of the box, but the underlying styles are also a bit more
complex and therefore sometimes require a little more effort to tweak.
  Bootstrap out-of-the-box and without customizations--a bit like
jQueryUI before it--is already starting to seem hackneyed, but
assuming you all will be doing institutional customizations, either
library, I think, will give you a good starting point.

Best,
Joe


--
Joseph Gilbert
User Experience Web Developer
University of Virginia Library


On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 7:01 AM, Tom Keays  wrote:

I read this awhile back. It's by someone associated with the
Foundation project.
  
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dive-into-responsive-prototyping-with-foundation/
Both look good. Like you, I looked hard at Bootstrap after the
conference, but haven't really done anything with it. I'd be
interested which framework you settle on.



On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 7:17 PM, Jessie Keck  wrote:

Hi all,
We are about to develop a set of style-guids and templates for our locally 
developed applications that will have a unified look and feel.  One 
manifestation of this will be a ruby gem that we will use for all of our rails 
apps (including Blacklight and Hydra applications).

As we were discussing the approaches we may take for this, the question of 
basing our designs on a library such as Bootstrap or Foundation came up.  I 
have heard a lot about Bootstrap in the C4L community, but very little about 
Foundation.  Does anybody here have extensive experience w/ both libraries and 
would recommend one over the other?

We are already leaning towards Bootstrap as many in the Blacklight and Hydra 
communities have expressed interest or are using it already.  Also, some folks 
locally who have used or investigated both libraries have had positive 
experiences in either case.

Understanding that this may be boil down to a simple matter of taste, I wonder 
what opinions you all have.

Thank you,
- Jessie Keck
Stanford University


--
Shaun D. Ellis
Digital Library Interface Developer
Firestone Library, Princeton University
voice: 609.258.1698 | sha...@princeton.edu

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Junior Tidal]

I like the onepager design a lot and I'm waiting for InFlux to develop a Drupal 
version. I'd like to do a test-drive and do a usability test, because I think 
simple designs go a long way. 

I like your approach Sean; that is, to design around what's being used the 
most. I've found that our users don't go more than a couple levels deep into 
the site, and they do most of what they need to do on the homepage. 

Best, 

Junior Tidal
Assistant Professor
Web Services and Multimedia Librarian
New York City College of Technology, CUNY 
300 Jay Street, Rm A434
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.260.5481
 
http://library.citytech.cuny.edu


>>> Sean Hannan  5/10/2012 5:53 PM >>>
There's this thing: http://influx.us/onepager 

But I don't really believe in it.

I know the library world is full of people that think that we're unique
snowflakes, but at least in my case (for library websites) I find that to be
true.  This is based on a number of factors: how librarians instruct
patrons, analytics data, faculty database preferences.

I look at some academic library websites and see the things that they
highlight and I know that our patrons here have zero interest in that.

In fact, our new website (beta heresies:
http://testsh.mse.jhu.edu/newwebsite) is minimizing the amount of content as
much as possible. Instructional content is in LibGuides, databases are in
Xerxes/metalib, catalog is Blacklight.  There's really no reason for us to
pull our users deeper into the site when everything they want is somewhere
else. The website will then become a facilitator rather than a collector.
That's the approach that's going to work for us; I can see a number of
institutions where that would be horrifying and wrong.

Collect some data (clicktracking data in particular) and find out where your
users are going and what content is being used. Design around that.

-Sean


On 5/10/12 5:41 PM, "Patrick Berry"  wrote:

> So, there are a gajillion and one design pattern libraries out there...has
> anybody come across a set of design patterns focused on library web sites?
> 
> Thanks,
> Pat

Re: [CODE4LIB] Bootstrap vs Foundation

[Matthew Reidsma]

Jessie, 

Bootstrap and Foundation were a bit overkill for our needs, so we rolled our 
own UI pattern library for CSS based on the MailChimp UI Pattern Library: 
http://gvsu.edu/library/ui

It's on Github, if you want a closer look: 
https://github.com/gvsulib/UI-Patterns 

-- 
---
Matthew Reidsma
Web Librarian @ gvsu.edu/library
616-331-3577 :: @mreidsma

Why is this email so short? :: http://matthewreidsma.com/email



On Friday, May 11, 2012 at 9:30 AM, Ross Singer wrote:

> Hi Jessie,
> 
> We've been using Bootstrap for a couple of our projects at Talis and I have 
> been incredibly pleased with it. I have zero design sense (designed by East 
> German engineers for East German engineers - no offense to East German 
> engineers), and Bootstrap manages to make my clumsy, ham-handed, 
> functionality-first-aesthetic-never designs, look decent (even if they *all* 
> look like Twitter's demo app). If I can do nothing else, design-wise, I can 
> add to 12 (usually).
> 
> I haven't used Foundation, but that being said, looking over the 
> documentation for it, I don't see any fundamental differences between it or 
> Bootstrap functionality-wise. What I *do* see, offhand, is much better 
> documentation regarding the css being introduced. Bootstrap's documentation 
> is (overall) pretty good, but I feel there are TONS of UI thingies in the css 
> that aren't mentioned in the docs and my desire to trawl through the css and 
> try things (or understand by looking at it) just isn't there.
> 
> So, basically, I think it doesn't make much of a difference either way, but 
> the documentation-thing *seems* (at-a-glance) to possibly favor Foundation 
> (although Bootstrap may be better in the things it has documentation for - 
> not sure).
> 
> -Ross.
> 
> On May 10, 2012, at 7:17 PM, Jessie Keck wrote:
> 
> > Hi all,
> > We are about to develop a set of style-guids and templates for our locally 
> > developed applications that will have a unified look and feel. One 
> > manifestation of this will be a ruby gem that we will use for all of our 
> > rails apps (including Blacklight and Hydra applications).
> > 
> > As we were discussing the approaches we may take for this, the question of 
> > basing our designs on a library such as Bootstrap or Foundation came up. I 
> > have heard a lot about Bootstrap in the C4L community, but very little 
> > about Foundation. Does anybody here have extensive experience w/ both 
> > libraries and would recommend one over the other?
> > 
> > We are already leaning towards Bootstrap as many in the Blacklight and 
> > Hydra communities have expressed interest or are using it already. Also, 
> > some folks locally who have used or investigated both libraries have had 
> > positive experiences in either case.
> > 
> > Understanding that this may be boil down to a simple matter of taste, I 
> > wonder what opinions you all have.
> > 
> > Thank you,
> > - Jessie Keck
> > Stanford University
> > 
> 
> 
> 

Re: [CODE4LIB] Bootstrap vs Foundation

[Ross Singer]

Hi Jessie,

We've been using Bootstrap for a couple of our projects at Talis and I have 
been incredibly pleased with it.  I have zero design sense (designed by East 
German engineers for East German engineers - no offense to East German 
engineers), and Bootstrap manages to make my clumsy, ham-handed, 
functionality-first-aesthetic-never designs, look decent (even if they *all* 
look like Twitter's demo app).  If I can do nothing else, design-wise, I can 
add to 12 (usually).

I haven't used Foundation, but that being said, looking over the documentation 
for it, I don't see any fundamental differences between it or Bootstrap 
functionality-wise.  What I *do* see, offhand, is much better documentation 
regarding the css being introduced.  Bootstrap's documentation is (overall) 
pretty good, but I feel there are TONS of UI thingies in the css that aren't 
mentioned in the docs and my desire to trawl through the css and try things (or 
understand by looking at it) just isn't there.

So, basically, I think it doesn't make much of a difference either way, but the 
documentation-thing *seems* (at-a-glance) to possibly favor Foundation 
(although Bootstrap may be better in the things it has documentation for - not 
sure).

-Ross.

On May 10, 2012, at 7:17 PM, Jessie Keck wrote:

> Hi all,
> We are about to develop a set of style-guids and templates for our locally 
> developed applications that will have a unified look and feel.  One 
> manifestation of this will be a ruby gem that we will use for all of our 
> rails apps (including Blacklight and Hydra applications).
> 
> As we were discussing the approaches we may take for this, the question of 
> basing our designs on a library such as Bootstrap or Foundation came up.  I 
> have heard a lot about Bootstrap in the C4L community, but very little about 
> Foundation.  Does anybody here have extensive experience w/ both libraries 
> and would recommend one over the other?
> 
> We are already leaning towards Bootstrap as many in the Blacklight and Hydra 
> communities have expressed interest or are using it already.  Also, some 
> folks locally who have used or investigated both libraries have had positive 
> experiences in either case.
> 
> Understanding that this may be boil down to a simple matter of taste, I 
> wonder what opinions you all have.
> 
> Thank you,
> - Jessie Keck
> Stanford University

Re: [CODE4LIB] Bootstrap vs Foundation

[Joseph Gilbert]

Hi Jessie,

I've used Bootstrap more than Foundation, but both are solid choices.
There are some relatively minor differences: Bootstrap uses LESS while
Foundation is CSS with an officially supported SASS version; Bootstrap
has a few more JS widgets thrown in.

One philosophical distinction seems to lie in the "it’s designed to be
overridden" line in the article Tom mentions.  Bootstrap looks good
right out of the box, but the underlying styles are also a bit more
complex and therefore sometimes require a little more effort to tweak.
 Bootstrap out-of-the-box and without customizations--a bit like
jQueryUI before it--is already starting to seem hackneyed, but
assuming you all will be doing institutional customizations, either
library, I think, will give you a good starting point.

Best,
Joe


--
Joseph Gilbert
User Experience Web Developer
University of Virginia Library


On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 7:01 AM, Tom Keays  wrote:
> I read this awhile back. It's by someone associated with the
> Foundation project.
>  http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dive-into-responsive-prototyping-with-foundation/
> Both look good. Like you, I looked hard at Bootstrap after the
> conference, but haven't really done anything with it. I'd be
> interested which framework you settle on.
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 7:17 PM, Jessie Keck  wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> We are about to develop a set of style-guids and templates for our locally 
>> developed applications that will have a unified look and feel.  One 
>> manifestation of this will be a ruby gem that we will use for all of our 
>> rails apps (including Blacklight and Hydra applications).
>>
>> As we were discussing the approaches we may take for this, the question of 
>> basing our designs on a library such as Bootstrap or Foundation came up.  I 
>> have heard a lot about Bootstrap in the C4L community, but very little about 
>> Foundation.  Does anybody here have extensive experience w/ both libraries 
>> and would recommend one over the other?
>>
>> We are already leaning towards Bootstrap as many in the Blacklight and Hydra 
>> communities have expressed interest or are using it already.  Also, some 
>> folks locally who have used or investigated both libraries have had positive 
>> experiences in either case.
>>
>> Understanding that this may be boil down to a simple matter of taste, I 
>> wonder what opinions you all have.
>>
>> Thank you,
>> - Jessie Keck
>> Stanford University

Re: [CODE4LIB] Library site design patterns

[Ross Singer]

On May 10, 2012, at 5:49 PM, Mark Jordan wrote:

> Wouldn't the NIH syndrome endemic to libraries make such a set unlikely? 

But every website redesign committee I have ever sat on (which have been many; 
since the dawn of the web -- every one a scarring experience) has always 
started by compiling the library websites (and occasionally outside of the 
library, but almost *always* library websites) that have designs we admire or 
aspects that we would like to emulate or incorporate.

Every single one.

I can't imagine that this phenomenon was exclusive to the three universities I 
have worked for, which would lead me to believe that *some* design patterns 
must show up in a significant cross-section of library websites (although, like 
Sean, I agree that so often, other website designs were rejected for whatever 
local reasons or biases we had).

-Ross.

> 
> - Original Message -
>> So, there are a gajillion and one design pattern libraries out
>> there...has
>> anybody come across a set of design patterns focused on library web
>> sites?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Pat
>> 

Re: [CODE4LIB] viewer for TIFFs on iPad

[Edward Iglesias]

Thanks for all of the replies.  Yes, hosted JPEG2000 seems the way to
go.  I can't even open a 300MB TIFF on an iPad.  We use ContentDM to
upload JPEG2000 images right now so serving them would not be an
issue.  My basic idea was that in a tablet form with high resolution
images you could pinch and zoom the experience of "holding" a
manuscript would actually be more intimate and closer to the intended
viewing experience of the original creator.  That said pixelation is
the enemy.  Additionally being able to mark up a digital manuscript
and make a copy for future reference would be valuable.

My original idea was a small class in Special Collections that would
be given matching iPads vs a group that had either access to the
original or high quality reproductions and seeing which group got more
out of it.  Putting the images on a server fixes many issues but
creates new ones.

Thanks so much for all your help.


Edward Iglesias


On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 5:14 AM, Andrew Hankinson
 wrote:
> Hi Edward,
>
> A bit of disclosure: I'm one of the developers for Diva.
>
> We have done quite a bit of experimentation for viewing images on various 
> platforms, and even on a Mac Pro with 8GB of RAM and an SSD, 300MB TIFF 
> images still require a bit of waiting for any viewing or operations.
>
> As Dave mentioned, we're developing the Diva viewer to do online viewing. It 
> requires a bit of server setup, but the big advantage is that I find it's 
> actually faster to view large images online in the browser than it is to view 
> them off a hard drive.
>
> These images:
>
> http://coltrane.music.mcgill.ca/salzinnes/experiments/diva-cci-tif/
>
> are approximately 170MB for each page (about 80GB for the whole document), 
> but since we only ever serve out the parts of the document that you are 
> looking at, it makes viewing large medieval manuscripts very easy and fast, 
> without sacrificing the ability to zoom in to see very fine details.
>
> We did a bit of testing on the iPad early on, but haven't tested it since we 
> did another round of development.
>
> If you're interested, let me know and I can help you get it set up.
>
> Cheers,
> -Andrew
>
>
> On 2012-05-10, at 5:16 PM, Edward Iglesias wrote:
>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> I was wondering if any of you had experience viewing large ~300MB and
>> up TIFF files on an iPad.  I can get them to the iPad but the photo
>> viewer is less than optimal.  It stops enlarging after a while and I'm
>> looking at Medieval manuscripts so...
>>
>>
>> Edward Iglesias

[CODE4LIB] SUNY Geneseo Business & Data Librarian Position Announcement

[Cyril Oberlander]

Business & Data Librarian - Position Announcement

 

State University of New York at Geneseo seeks a service-oriented,
enthusiastic and energetic individual to provide reference, library
instruction, scholarly communications and outreach in an active liberal arts
environment.  This librarian will primarily serve as liaison to the
AACSB-accredited and highly ranked School of Business, in addition to other
academic departments within the social sciences.  Major responsibilities
will include:

*   General and subject-specific reference assistance in the social
sciences with particular emphasis in business and statistics/data sources
(e.g., data.un.org, census.gov, etc.)
*   Liaison, providing outreach to academic, student services and
community programs in the School of Business , as well as various social
sciences, including; Geography, Political Science & International Relations,
etc.
*   Participation in and development of specialized information literacy
instruction for the School of Business and social sciences
*   Participation in the library's general instruction program for
undergraduates
*   Engagement in collection development and information resources
management in the aforementioned departments, including a small government
documents collection
*   Participation (in collaboration with other library and academic
departments) in digital and scholarly communication projects, and
collaborative programs with; Student Ambassadors from the Center for
Inquiry, Discovery and Leadership, the Charles L. VanArsdale Endowed Chair
for Entrepreneurship and Small Business, the Small Business Development
Center (SUNY Geneseo) and the Chamber of Commerce (Geneseo)
*   Management of data sets including:

*   Providing reference and research support in retrieving statistical
data and quantitative/qualitative data sets
*   Serving as library liaison for advising on the acquisition of data
sets for campus use 
*   In tandem with the Digital Scholarship Librarian, support digital
library initiatives such as statistical data repository creation at a campus
level

This is a 12-month, full-time tenure-track faculty position at the Senior
Assistant Librarian level with attendant expectations for professional
competence, service and scholarship.  Initial appointment is for two years.
Some evening and weekend work is required.

Qualifications: 
* Master's degree in information and/or library science from an
ALA-accredited school or an ALA-approved foreign equivalent; 
* Strong commitment to enhancing service through teamwork and responsiveness
to faculty, students, and colleagues; 
* Excellent organizational, interpersonal, communication and project
management skills; 
* Commitment to providing high-quality public service within a flexible and
continually evolving academic library environment

Preferred:

* Degree in business or statistics or experience in a business/corporate
library;
* Experience using social science data sources and government document
publications;
* Commitment to the instructional mission of the academic library;
* Previous teaching experience in library research methods or other relevant
subject areas;
* Academic reference desk experience;
* Knowledge of and comfort with many forms of technology, including software
such as SPSS.


Salary is commensurate with qualifications/experience. Comprehensive
benefits package included.

SUNY Geneseo is a highly selective public liberal arts college with
approximately 5000 students.  The campus is located in the historic village
of Geneseo in the Finger Lakes region of Western New York, just south of
Rochester.  The college is consistently ranked by several rating services as
being among the best public undergraduate institutions in the country.
Geneseo is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. 

Apply online at   https://jobs.geneseo.edu and
submit a letter of application, resume, and name/title/contact information
of 3 professional references. Applications will be accepted until position
is filled. 

Review begins June 1, 2012. 

All applicants are subject to drug and criminal background checks. 

Questions may be directed to: 

Kimberly Davies-Hoffman
Coordinator of Instruction & Reference Services
Milne Library, SUNY Geneseo 
1 College Circle 
Geneseo, NY 14454 
585-245-5046   kdhoff...@geneseo.edu 

 

 

 

Best wishes,

 

Cyril

Cyril Oberlander

Director, Milne Library

SUNY College at Geneseo

1 College Circle

Geneseo, NY 14454

TEL: 585-245-5528

FAX: 585-245-5769

Skype: cyriloberlander

AIM: electronicCyril

 

Re: [CODE4LIB] Bootstrap vs Foundation

[Tom Keays]

I read this awhile back. It's by someone associated with the
Foundation project.
  
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dive-into-responsive-prototyping-with-foundation/
Both look good. Like you, I looked hard at Bootstrap after the
conference, but haven't really done anything with it. I'd be
interested which framework you settle on.



On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 7:17 PM, Jessie Keck  wrote:
> Hi all,
> We are about to develop a set of style-guids and templates for our locally 
> developed applications that will have a unified look and feel.  One 
> manifestation of this will be a ruby gem that we will use for all of our 
> rails apps (including Blacklight and Hydra applications).
>
> As we were discussing the approaches we may take for this, the question of 
> basing our designs on a library such as Bootstrap or Foundation came up.  I 
> have heard a lot about Bootstrap in the C4L community, but very little about 
> Foundation.  Does anybody here have extensive experience w/ both libraries 
> and would recommend one over the other?
>
> We are already leaning towards Bootstrap as many in the Blacklight and Hydra 
> communities have expressed interest or are using it already.  Also, some 
> folks locally who have used or investigated both libraries have had positive 
> experiences in either case.
>
> Understanding that this may be boil down to a simple matter of taste, I 
> wonder what opinions you all have.
>
> Thank you,
> - Jessie Keck
> Stanford University

Re: [CODE4LIB] viewer for TIFFs on iPad

[Andrew Hankinson]

Hi Edward,

A bit of disclosure: I'm one of the developers for Diva.

We have done quite a bit of experimentation for viewing images on various 
platforms, and even on a Mac Pro with 8GB of RAM and an SSD, 300MB TIFF images 
still require a bit of waiting for any viewing or operations.

As Dave mentioned, we're developing the Diva viewer to do online viewing. It 
requires a bit of server setup, but the big advantage is that I find it's 
actually faster to view large images online in the browser than it is to view 
them off a hard drive.

These images:

http://coltrane.music.mcgill.ca/salzinnes/experiments/diva-cci-tif/

are approximately 170MB for each page (about 80GB for the whole document), but 
since we only ever serve out the parts of the document that you are looking at, 
it makes viewing large medieval manuscripts very easy and fast, without 
sacrificing the ability to zoom in to see very fine details.

We did a bit of testing on the iPad early on, but haven't tested it since we 
did another round of development.

If you're interested, let me know and I can help you get it set up.

Cheers,
-Andrew


On 2012-05-10, at 5:16 PM, Edward Iglesias wrote:

> Hello All,
> 
> I was wondering if any of you had experience viewing large ~300MB and
> up TIFF files on an iPad.  I can get them to the iPad but the photo
> viewer is less than optimal.  It stops enlarging after a while and I'm
> looking at Medieval manuscripts so...
> 
> 
> Edward Iglesias