Librarian Way

There has been a very interesting discussion about scalable type on ACM SIGCHI’s CHI-WEB discussion list. I believe nonmembers can see the discussion by going to the CHI-WEB Mailing List, clicking on “Date” and selecting “June 2005, week 3.” There is also a little more discussion in week 4.

You are asking why there is even a discusson about it. Why not just let the user use the text size increase/decrease menu option or preference built into their browser? Some believe that many users are unaware of this option. I have no idea if this is so, but it seems that many who only have aging eyes may not be aware of the font size changing options in their browsers and when they come across a Web site that is difficult to read, they just leave.

There is no agreement about whether a Web page should have user scalable type and how to implement it. There are a few links to Web sites that have implemented various ways to give Web site visitors the option to make the type size larger or smaller, such as using JavaScript or CSS style sheets. I am interested in this because I am trying to figure out the best way to do this on Librarian Way. It is best implemented—in my opinion—through style sheets. The problem, as someone pointed out, is that having a font change can really mess up the rest of the page. Do you want a complete page change, such as navigation menus and content, or just the textual content (i.e., articles)? Someone mentioned that one Web site they visited has an option to increase the text, but the option is too small to see. Most Web sites that have font change options seem to restrict the font size change to the primary content section. The content is usually well contained within a certain width in relation to the browser Window size and the overall width of the other elements sharing the width. That way, the content with larger type becomes longer as the font size increases and it doesn’t overlap into content on either side of it.

A font size changing option is on my todo list. There is still so much that has to be done on this Web site. I think I fixed the Movable Type permalinks so that they can be found in Wordpress. I will blog the details this weekend.

Two of my classmates, Howard Kovensky and Chris Pickford, opted to design Web sites as their final project in our Government Documents class. Our teacher, Sheri Irvin, gave us three options: do a 2-person team 30- to 60-minute instruction session and write a small team paper; write a 15-page research paper; or create a Web site focusing on government documents.

Howard Kovensky created a resource Web site for women: Online Government Resources for Women. Since the focus of this class is government documents, most of the links go to government agency and department Web pages. He has created sections for health, history, legal, missing information, statistics, and women in government. “Women in Government” has links to many of the Web sites for women in the U.S. Senate. All the links are clearly annotated. He offers personal opinion—“One caveat, though. Although the intent of this website is to provide government resources, please remember that you can only trust the information as much as you trust your government. With this in mind, a section called Missing Information will include some resources from outside of the government to help you evaluate the information you read and understand why some information may be unavailable.”

Chris Pickford contributed Designing effective government information Web portals for libraries to the Merlot database. The Web site covers design basics (elements, essentials, copyright, accessibility), gathering resources (the best links for tracking down government information, which includes government Web sites, listservs, Weblogs, e-newsletters, etc.), how to organize the information, and further reading. There is a lot here. Much of it is applicable to designing any focused Web site. In the “Design Basics” section, Chris explains that you need to write out what you want your Web site to provide (a mission statement for your Web site) and you need to understand the patron base that will be using your Web site and to create one or more patron group profiles. I have barely started looking through all the links. A lot of time and thought went into this resource; I hope it stays around and is maintained and updated.

I opted to do a paper on Government Web sites designed for Children. There are some useful and informative U.S. federal government Web sites for children, and there some poorly designed and not age-appropriate Web sites. I won’t go into it here, as I expect to do something more with my findings later. The main portals for U.S. government Web sites are Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids and FirstGov for Kids. I also think that the following are good Web sites for finding goverment Web sites for kids, though there is considerable overlap of links among these and the portals: FedStats: Federal Government Kids’ Page, Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE), and Michael Cupano’s (8th district Masschusetts) list of age-level annotated List of U.S. government web sites for students, parents and educators. Only a few members of congress have Web site areas addressing kids.

The excellent May 17, 2005 “What’s Hot in Technology” webcast sponsored by Infopeople and the California Library Association’s Information Technology Section is available as an archive at California Library Association: Webcast. Presenters are Scott Bauer, Sarah Houghton, and Steven Silveria.

“Learn what’s hot, what’s not, and what’s new for libraries in the world of technology! View the archived webcast and discover the ins and outs of the newest, the best, and the most useful of new technologies-hardware, software, online services, gadgets and more!”

They discuss real-world examples of implementing new technology in libraries, such as wireless networks, instant messaging reference, and podcasting. What sets this webcast apart is their explanations of why you would want to use a particular technology in your library, shortcomings of the technology or tool, audience that uses the tool, how the technology may save you money, and even some ideas about funding. They also explain RSS (“Syndicating Content with XML”), Open Source Software (e.g., Open Office), Open URL, Power over Ethernet, alternative browsers, RFID, MP3 audio books, and library lan parties.

The webcast Web site includes access to the PowerPoint slides that accompany the webcast and a page of online resources. The webcast archive includes audience questions, which are answered at the end of the webcast. The questions include security issues associated with some of the technologies, how to keep patrons informed about new books, and do you need a tech for a library lan part.

LibrarianInBlack: Those who thrive on change are king. You know you have to at least be aware of this technology.

See also: Technology Core Competencies for California Library Workers, adopted by CLA on April 21, 2005. PDF is at California Library Association: Reports.