10 Steps to a User-Friendly Website Webinar

Hybrid Watch Party | Wed., Jan 25 | NEKLS  | ALA TechSource’s “10 Steps to a User-Friendly Website” with Aaron Schmidt and Amanda Etches-Johnson |#lib10steps

Agenda:

1-1:30 Intros “What do you feel is the purpose of a library Web site?
1:30 – 3:00 Online Workshop
3:00 – 4:00 Optional NEKLS Lab  time to look at your Web site

Notes:

“Catalog Problem“

• Library Catalog versus Library Web site -
• ILS distinct from Web site, but many users don’t make this distinction.
• Many catalogs and databases are ‘rough looking’ and there isn’t always a lot you can do about that.

Useful, Useable, Desirable = Aim to hit one of three

• Cycles – not a one-time thing. Do the 10 steps repeatedly or cyclicly.

Step 1 - Reduce Your Website

• Junk drawer of anything anyone could possibly want to know about the library
• “Just in case” approach to Web design
• Less is More? No, Less is Less (and that’s a good thing)
• How much of your content is Noise?  Signal : Noise
• Pay attention to how much content you put on your web site that represents YOUR needs, rather than you PATRON’s needs.
• Remove the 27% useless content.
• Scope Your Site – Pyramid – Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs for your Web site…
  • Basic – necessary info (whole bottom half of the pyramid)
  • Destination – Created content, basic interactivity
  • Participatory – user generated content
  • Community Portal – Community platform, knowledge bank
• One Pager – Idea that high-use content can fit on one page.  (free code to try)

Step 2 – Mobile First

• Thinking about your Mobile site helps keep the regular site smaller
• Devices to access Web site
• HTML5 and CSS3 are opportunities to respond to different devices available (example, Boston Globe) – redesigned in a responsive way – not a separate site or App ‘Responsive Web design’
• Put the important stuff first – crucial.
• Full screen site shouldn’t be cluttered up with anything other than the ‘really important stuff’
• Skokie Public Library -
• Book: Mobile First by Luke W…

Step 3 – Conduct Usability Tests

• Testing in 5 words – (easy version) – Watch People Use Your Site
• Test with non-librarians
• Find a magazine Article – ask to complete a task (or ask 3 to do one task, the other 3 to do another task)
• Five Second Test – Online tools (Clue) – Showing a single content page for 5 seconds and get impressions/judgements  - new design features, for example
• Why Test Websites?
• Solid and Confident decisions based on information and data gathered!
• Enlightening experience – gain insights you couldn’t gain any other way
• What should you test?
  • Critical tasks – Must Haves – Use your personas, ask library users, ask staff, look at Analytics
  • Scenarios – “You want to run a marathon, you need to find info in a magazine about training for a marathon” – How does the user go about finding things on your site
• Recruiting Testers – A few tests will show 85% of your problems – Survey, walk around and ask, food bribes
• Conducting a Test – In person, make sure the environment is conducive (neat, quite) | sit beside the tester | encourage testers to give a Play by Play
• Test Scripts – make sure you use the same directions and experience.  Tell who you are and what the purpose is for the test.  Outline of what is going to be done, printed copy of the tasks, and an agenda (timeline), and ensure that the testers are NOT being tested – it’s the site getting a grade.
• Records the tests?  Up to the institution.  Low-tech usability (notes on paper) or higher (screenrecording) or videorecording
• Debrief Meeting after testing – Opportunity for everyone who observed to chat and gather notes/thoughts – Gather the evidence and discuss, before making any knee-jerk changes.  Summarizing and Brainstorming.
• Prioritize what needs to be changed, based on discussions/summaries – Use the Critical Tasks List

Step Four – Mind Your Navigation

• From a Random Page, can a user find:
  • Site Name, Page Name, Where am I? Where can I go? How do I search?
• Placefulness – Sense of Place (Freshbooks) – Page Titles repeated from Tabs – example, Tedx “Get Involved” and Neslte’s site
• Breadcrumbs – show site structure and you where are  Home > Breads > Cereals > Estrelitas
• Guardian.co.uk – different way to look at breadrumbs – News > Word Affairs > Obama
• Apple.com – Good navigation v. Seattle Public Library – bad navigation (too much and doesn’t make sense)
• Navigational Overload

Step 5 – Write for the Web

• Functional Reading – Don’t read, you skim and scan for the content that you need (Jakob Neilsen’s studies)
• Web site = FAQ and Less is Less (even text and content)
• Site as Conversation between you and your user
  • “Library card is required to check out library items” v. “With a library card you may check out unlimited DVDs, Books and more” v. “You can check out all sorts of stuff once you get a card, Do it already!”
• Documents v. Information – Site isn’t a document.  Treat the content as bite-size chunks that are interconnected
• PDF – Portable Document Format – Documents, not information.  Reconsider the upload (Not great for functional reading).
• Inverted Pyramid – Start with Essential Message at the top – key concepts at the top of your page. Use the Q and A format.
• Macro and micro white space – Add space to group content – Draw the eyes to headers and accompanying content
• Fewer words and more white space = easier to read and scan
• Remove Unnecessary words – remove words – Draft, then cut word count in 1/2, then in 1/2 again
• Font size could be increased after 1/2 of the words were removed from the Seattle page shown
• Human URL – yourlibrary.org/kids v. yourlibrary.org/section/ref/12/list5/dir/kids.html…
• SLUGS (in WordPress)
• Web etiquette - don’t write in all caps
• Avoid passive voice – enemy of conversational voice – write in active voice (friendlier)
• Short, one thought per sentences - fragments work
• We, You or I – not library, patrons, patrons – “How do I resent my Pin?” or “What is your email address?”
• Links – Avoid “CLICK HERE” (bad for adaptive technology) – “Access your account” vs. “click here to access your account”
• Website = publication = take the writing seriously
• Letting Go of the Words by Janice Redish

Step Six – Content Audit

• Tame the craziness of your content
• Content as the spice cabinet in the library – is it fresh, used, do you need more?
• Catalog your Web site – Assign page numbers and URL (into a spreadsheet) – Tools available to help with this
• Quantitative to a Qualitative Audit – Aspects:
  • Accurate
  • Usefulness
  • Used
  • Web-written
  • On message
  • Last updated
• Rank these to create a to-do list!  Which are useful, but not being used? Which pages need to be re-written? What pages are not accurate?  Which pages are useful to librarians, not patrons?  What pages are not used and not useful – WEED them…
• What do people need to do on the Web site?  Identify Critical Tasks.
• Workflow for Content – request, create, edit, approve, publish, updated, archive/remove
• Have a Content Sheriff.

Step Eight – Use Graphic Design

• Craig’s List – horrible visual design, but it is an effective and useful site.
• Colors – don’t use them randomly. Have a Color Palette that go together well (kuler.adobe.com)
• Accessibility matter – Color blindness (be mindful of red/green)
• Avoid animation and cartoon images – Unprofessional
• Use pictures of real people doing real tasks – Be authentic (Vancouver library photos – good example)
• Use Conventions – keep it on a Grid (Ordering Disorder Grid Principles for Web Design
• Resources online for boilerplate grids for Web design
• Little changes can go a long way (Seattle public examples)

Step Nine – User Research

• User research before | User testing after
• Survey – way to gather opinions.  Satisfaction surveys, opinions, but generally they break down if you want to go beyond opinion.
• Contextual Inquiry – Watching people interact with the tools (not scripted, just observation)
• Cardboarding – Exercise that shows users needs. Categorize content on cards – used when designing interfaces
  • Labeling input
  • Donna Spenser – wrote the book on this technique
• Conversations – explore behavior by getting users to just discuss it.  Interviews.  Organic and fluid.
• Cultural probes – diaries of behavior, photographic journals, document behavior over time, use in early stages to get user behavior info (college campus, would need permission and takes time and coordination)

Step Ten – Create Personas

• Fake users based on real users.
• Demographic data – Overviews
• Helps to develop empathy for users
• Library staff agree on who you are building your site for – design for actual users (not librarians or staff)
• Make decisions based on users, not random preferences or personal preference
• Use interviews to build Personas (look at your demographics to decide who to interview)
• Find unique things people do with the site or unique members of the community
• Find common tasks by reviewing the interviews
• Brainstorm Common Tasks – With staff/users – make “I” statements – think about yourself as a user
• Group Unique Tasks – time consuming – Pull out the behaviors – master list of behaviors, then organize them thematically
• Name Groups – Write miniature biographies, give the persona’s names and photos, summarize what makes each persona unique, and include a quote that illustrates the persona’s goal.
• User motivation – focal point of web development.  Experience Goals and End Goals (feelings and what they want to accomplish)
• Book: The User is Always Right

Conclusion

• Think about the user, not the institution.  Keep the focus on the users.
• Rocket Surgery Made Easy – usability testing book.

First Look at 3M Cloud Library

Props to Lianne Flax at the State Library of Kansas for getting a ‘quick and dirty’ version of 3M Cloud Library set up so we could start testing today!  So far, so good.

The Pros:

• App available for iOS smartphones and tablets and Android smartphones and tablets
• Easy set up using your Kansas Library Card and date-of-birth pin number combo
• Adjustable text size and a ‘night mode’
• Text search
• On my super-old, super-slow iPhone 3G, the app is responsive and fairly speedy
• Placing holds and checking out available titles is EASY!  Click on the cover, click on check out and it downloads promptly for your reading enjoyment.
• When a title you have on hold is available, you are notified immediately
• You can checkin a title early – MyBooks > List View > Title > Check in (it’s even easier on the iPad)
• Each title has a thorough blurb under ‘Book Details’
• Advanced search as an “Only Show Books Available to Checkout” option (on/off switch)
• You can determine your default “Sort by” setting, as well.  It defaults to Relevance
• Every page has access to an “i” (Information) link
• As you are browsing the collections, if you select a book you have check out (and forgot about), you are prompted to “Continue Reading”
• You can rate (1-5 stars) the book when you check it back in

Cons (that I have faith will be overcome quickly and mostly prior to Go Live) (UPDATES Added 1/13/12):

• The “i” (Information) link only provides access to the Terms of service…
• We haven’t gotten the Search features to work, yet… Fixed!
• There aren’t a whole lot of books available to play with, yet…Correction – there are 600+ titles, but until the configurations bugs are worked out…only a handful are displaying.  Fix in process!
• Only a single font type available – a Times New Roman…
• Only night mode and day mode – missing a ‘sepia’ background that’s easy on the eyes
• Categories (a way the App organizes non-fiction) isn’t set up, yet… Categories now show titles, but they are all suggestions that you can “Add to wishlist” as a way of saying you want to BUY them.  A patron-initiated collection development feature that I kind of like.
• Channels (a way the App markets collections) is still a work-in-progress…So far, Lianne has a “New this week” channel, “New this month,” “Popular this month” and “Mysteries”…More channels added weekly – Lianne has asked for help, as they have to be set up by hand.  The Four NEW titles listed were actually added this week, so that works.
• There is NO PC App, so don’t try to use 3M (at this time) with your Nook, Nook Color, or Kobo-type reader…  Estimated time of arrival for that App is January 31, 2012.
• 3M and Amazon are still discussing/hammering out an agreement to allow 3M to work with Kindles…

That last one makes me sad, because I am a Kindle-lover (because of e-ink and the sheer number of smutty romance titles available through Amazon.com).  I’m patient and optimistic that all of the various eReaders out there will work with our new statewide eContent consortium (Kansas EZ Library) eventually.

Having just finished Meg Cabot’s Big Boned on the NEKLS iPad, I can say that I found reading using the 3M App an acceptable experience. I would still like a less-white background option.  I heard from two other testers that their books JUMPED around – from page 50 back to page 4, for example.  That is not good.  I also wish the Table of Contents, which looks hyperlinked, actually WAS hyperlinked.  Compared to the OverDrive App, I’d say that 3M wins.  If you use the List View while searching, you can easily see what is available for checkout.

Who Archives the Web?

Full illustration by Peter Arkle seen at technologyreview.com article.

Laura sent us a long, but interesting, article today from MIT’s Technology Review about Jason Scott and the Archive Team – “Fire in the Library.” According to the article, “Scott is the top-hat-wearing impresario of the Archive Team, a loosely organized band of digital raiders who leap aboard failing websites just as they are about to go under and salvage whatever they can.”  So far, they’ve worked on poetry.com and GeoCities, and they list Splinder, MobileMe and FanFiction.net as active projects.   Anyway, the point to remember is that putting your stuff (photos, stories, diary entries, and documents) in the cloud means you are trusting that the Web site stays alive forever.  Obviously, that’s not the case.  Poetry.com and GeoCities both died, taking all that content with them.  The Archive team also has a new, loose connection to the Internet Archive, who is responsible for the awesome Way Back machine.  This wonderful site let’s me peek at the Tonganoxie Public Library Web site circa 2007, when I was still the director.

I used to upload photos and such to MySpace, but abandoned it for Facebook.  I tried to archive what I’d written, but it was so difficult that I gave up.  ”When Google launched its social-networking service Google+ last June, it introduced a new feature called Takeout that would combine users’ posts and export the files for them.”  That is cool.  You can do this with Facebook, too:

  Remember in January 2010 when KLOW was hacked and we lost documents, photos, posts and such from most of our sites?  We learned. We back-up much better now…and make sure that the new Kete digital library is backed up, our file server is backed up and while it is uncertain if Google Docs will be around forever, we utilize that service and store stuff up there, too.  I do my best to have a PDF version of important G-docs on our file server, as well.  Redundancy is a good thing.  I learned that one the hard way when my first NEKLS Macbook was stolen in June 2010.

I know we preach the Joys of Cloud Computing and after my stolen laptop debacle, I was singing the praises of Facebook, Flickr and MySpace for saving my stuff.  However, if I put on my librarian hat and think like an archivist, I realize that we are ultimately responsible for our own data.  At NEKLS, we’re responsible for our stuff, plus a whole lot of other library’s stuff.  It’s weighty.  I’m glad that we host Northeast Kansas History and that it can be a redundant site for some of the cool stuff the Historical Society has on Kansas Memory.  A thought-provoking article and I must say I’m glad they’re out there taking risks, archiving sites and pushing the boundaries of Fair Use.

Makers in libraries

So, we met at Brenda’s house yesterday morning for our staff inservice and the topic of conversation was: NEKLS Tech Goals for our revised Tech Plan.  To help spark conversation, I asked everyone to read this NPR article by Jon Kalish, “Libraries Make Room for High-Tech “Hackerspaces.“

Well, it worked – we had a very interesting discussion that covered everything from our general dislike of the term ‘hacker,’ to what exactly is 3D printing, how the role of library as ‘University for all’ has changed recently, and how libraries can/should help makers/hackers/inventors, like we help job seekers.   (For more about makers and just because it’s cool, visit Make Magazine.)

Libraries are familiar with the maker/hacker crowd – they come in to use the non-fiction collection, the computers and the meeting room for their monthly Guild meetings.   (Unfortunately, they also often leave in disgust because the NF collection is out-of-date or doesn’t meet their needs.)  Regardless, I see a need to share these ideas with our libraries, especially the ones interested in new and innovative roles.  In my mind, 2012 is going to be the Year of Innovation – what with R. David Lankes coming to KLA Conference and someone from the AnyThink library speaking at our Assembly.  I’m excited.

Heather, the researcher of the office, today found and shared these articles.  We take the flood of articles on the topic to be a sign from above:

• “3D Printing: The shape of things to come” from the Economist (Dec. 10, 2011)
• “The Public Library, completely reimagined” by Audrey Watters from Mind/Shift: How we learn (Nov. 9, 2011)
• “Student Study Space: the entrepreneurial model (my visit to TechPad)” by Brian Matthews (Ubiquitous Librarian now posting at The Chronicle) (Dec. 15, 2011)
• “Content Creation, Media Labs, and Hackerspaces” by David Lee King, our colleague from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library (Dec. 15, 2011)

Interesting reading.  I’ve been following the YouMedia lab and other “Library as creative space” initiatives for awhile, and I’m glad to see these articles and additional discussion on the topic.

Social Networking from within the OPAC

Part of the overhaul that the NExpress Shared Catalog OPAC received (courtesy of Liz) included the addition of buttons to Like and comment on a book in Facebook or Tweet the URL of the item.  Both just passed my tests and here are the results…

From the Details page of an item (where the holdings table is found) in the Online Catalog…

If you are friends with me on Facebook, this is what you will see if I “Like” a title:

If you are not friends with me, you see this:

You can also post directly to Facebook from within the Catalog and “Like” the item:

Finally, you can Tweet:

Kudos to Koha, as well, for giving us such an awesome OPAC.

Depressing Thoughts on Digitization

We had our Copyright workshop today – Copyright Basics with Chris LeBeau, Assistant Teaching Professor for the University of Missouri’s School of Information Science and Learning Technologies – and we certainly learned A LOT.  Unfortunately as regards digital content, we mostly learned about what we can’t and shouldn’t do.

As one participant said, we were “depressed.”  But, rather than give up, it’s time to do what I do when I’m fuzzy about a topic.   Research, study, learn and do.

When some may say…’um, why didn’t you get your ducks in a row before jumping in with both feet?’…I say, where’s the fun in that?  I’m more of a cannonball and see where the ducks end up after the big splash kind of person.

So, in an effort to be a duck-arranger, I am making a list:

Step one – contact the fine folks in Nebraska who spoke at the Digitizing Hidden Collections Webinar and see if they’d be open to an informal Q & A session over Elluminate.  Their project – Nebraska Memories – is more like Kansas Memory in that they require primary source (high quality) materials.  Our project isn’t quite as, um…fussy (we are all about low quality, medium quality,  whatever-you-pull-out-of-that-shoebox quality).  I would still be interested in hearing how they tackled some of the issues we will tackle, as related to copyright and release forms, etc.

Step two – Set up a Google doc where we can share questions, concerns, ideas, and gripes.

Step three – Set up a Kete History Hipster’s mailing list.

Step four – Find, review, beg, borrow and steal (jk) release forms and participation agreements and whatever other legal bits of paper we need to cover our collective butts.

• Also need to make sure that participants are reading through the Terms and Conditions, House Rules and everything else you can get to from the Kete’s About page.

Step five – See what’s already been added that may need to be removed.  This is one of those depressing bits.

Five easy steps, cake!

Reading just became EZ-ier?

State Library sent out some promotional materials yesterday:

For those who love the convenience of downloading ebooks and audiobooks to their personal electronic devices, the opportunity to sign on with two new vendors is underway.

The State Library of Kansas and the NExpress Shared Catalog are pleased to announce the Kansas EZ Library of digital books available to all Kansas library users. Acting on behalf of Kansas libraries, the State Library of Kansas has entered into agreements with OneClickDigital (for downloadable audiobooks) and 3M (for downloadable eBooks).

OneClickDigital for audiobooks is available via the State Library of Kansas and the NExpress Shared Catalog. Books can be accessed at this site www.kslib.info/digitalbooks. Users must have a Kansas Library card that can be requested at your local library or use their NExpress Shared Catalog card from one of the participating NExpress libraries to register for OneClickDigital.

Regular users of the download service will find the new interface with OneClickDigital much simpler and faster to use. Video and written tutorials are available at www.kslib.info/digitalbooks to assist individuals in using the new service.

In addition, the State Library will begin offering an ebook solution through 3M Cloud Library soon.

Updates for the beginning of this service can be found on the www.kslib.info/digitalbooks site. The Kansas EZ library page also features other free audiobook and ebook resources available to Kansas readers.

On December 5, the State Library of Kansas ended its six-year contract OverDrive, a source for downloadable books. The books previously available for checkout through OverDrive and possibly on hold for patrons will no longer be accessible. However, thanks to the diligence of the State Library, many of the titles popular with customers have been transferred to the new vendors’ platforms, and now are available through the two new services.

We added a link to Kansas EZ Library within the My Account section of the NExpress Online catalog so that patrons can register for OneClick Digital without needing a Kansas Library Card Number.  By hitting the 1CD site from our catalog proves that they have an active library card and are authorized to register for the service.  How this will work with 3M is still unknown – it could be we will add a second tab for 3M and rename the existing tab to “OneClickDigital”.

Other news for today – we learned about the Sunflower eLibrary - new mini-consortium of libraries who decided to stay with OverDrive.  Topeka and Wichita libraries also maintained independent contracts with OverDrive.  Interesting development that none of us had heard boo about.

Now, to wait and see when 3M will get the beta ready for testing!!!

Recorded Books OneClick Digital Overview with Steve

Thursday, December 1, 2011 at NEKLS | Steve Wilks, Recorded Books Rep | Kansas EZ Library  | Kansas Library Card | NExpress Catalog |Product Demonstrations for Librarians

NOTICE: OneClick Digital is still in Beta.  That means, it’s in a perpetual state of improvement.  That also means that issues, bugs and improvements we note should be shared with Lianne Flax at the State Library of Kansas.  She will share those with the fine folks at OneClick Digital.

Steve has been working with Recorded Books through the development of the new site.  This is still a work in progress.  Ready to launch.  Play, spend some time with it and ‘see where it takes you.’

Register for OneClick Digital:

• Direct from the Kansas Library Card using your 6-digit kslc.org username and password
• Direct from your local library OPAC (we have a tab embedded in NExpress My Account page)
• Indirectly you can access these options from the Kansas EZ Library site

Overview:

• Newly added, featured and What’s popular tabs will highlight content.  Additional content to come from OverDrive to 1CD in early December.
• Search for Available Titles – an option under Advanced Search, but gives inconsistent results.  Known issue.
• Quick Search, Browse by genre (except Fiction…needs to be added)
• If only option is “Add to Wishlist” – you need to log in to place the item on hold.  It’s checked out.
• Wishlist is a reading list that you may want to eventually put on hold and check out.  Lasts for 90 days.
• When you want to place a hold, add to wishlist or check out something, you will LOG IN.  Now, the “hold” button shows up.
• Hold availability notification by email.  Alerts tab – Same as account email needs to be default. Known issue?
• Titles will be on hold for 48 hours.  Then goes to next patron in line.
• Mobile options – can search and place holds – future Webinar on mobile App.  We will test on Web site on smart phone.
• Devices – Account keeps track of devices that you’ve used in the past.  This is populated when the Media Manager software is used to transfer an audiobook file to your device.
• View your Wishlist, Check outs, Holds, Notes, etc. under My Collection.  Hold limits?  None at this time.  Checkouts? Ask Lianne.  Is it 5 or 10?
• Add your own Recommendations – Suggestions for Purchase-type option.
• Checkout from 1 to 21 days.  Defaults to 21 days.  Able to check in the item early if you use the Media Manager.
• Advanced Search – Several Known Issues.  Provide input, especially based on patron testing.
• Target Audience to find Children’s titles
• Need to add ALL possible genres
• 200 Classic titles available now.  They are multi-use titles – unlimited access.
• What are the specs?
• Number of results requested on Search Results – 400 total, view page 1 of 10, etc.
• Title cover images being updated now
• Preview titles – What software does it use?  You can listen before you check out.
• New and small publishers coming from OverDrive collection will increase the list of publisher’s available, including Blackstone, Books on Tape, HarperCollins, Penguin (?), Simon and Schuster, etc.
• All of the Recorded Books audiobook library will be available, so a much larger catalog to pull from and purchase content from.
• HELP section of the Web site includes tutorials.
• • Support emails OneClick Digital, on behalf of the State.  If patrons find the Support page – make sure it is clear that they can contact the local library OR use the form to contact OneClick
  • FAQs – Review these as librarians
  • User Tutorial on OneClick digital Media Manger – Coming soon.  Handouts included.
  • Devices – Always testing new devices.
  • Discussion of supported devices versus unsupported devices – if Media manager does not work with your device, you can Manually Transfer the device.
  • Mac Users -

Media Manager – the Software provided by Recorded Books to manage .ocdf files

• Works best with a nicely updated computer.
• Requires .NET framework version 4
• Asks for newest version of Media Player
• No Mac version available at this time, but the State Library has been notified.  ”In the works.”
• Automatic updates?  How does that happen?  We have DeepFreeze on patron machines so will need to update manually.
• Under FAQ, more information about the Media Manager.
• Renew option only shows if the title is available for renewal.
• Can Return Now – early return using the Manager
• Once the title is side-loaded / transfered to a device, you can listen to it until you remove it from the device.
• Windows Media Player required the download of some DRM files
• Recommend that patrons download the file fully into Media Manager and then transfer to your device.

Pricing

• 10 % discount
• Bundle discounts – buy the physical and digital with 42% discount for each.
• Distributed titles will also be discounted
• $92 – $39

Currency

• Release of digital will be the same as the physical audiobook.

Digitizing Hidden Collections: Success Stories from Small and Medium-sized Digitization Projects

Webinar Archive | Original Nov. 2, 2011 | Based on OITP Perspectives paper “Digitizing Hidden Collections in Public Libraries, (pdf)” | Webinar and PPTs available Online

First Speaker - Erin Kinney, Wyoming State Library, discusses the Wyoming Newspaper Project (.pptx or .pdf)

• Digitize all newspapers published in Wyoming from 1849-1922 and make the “easily accessible on the Internet.”
• 8 million clippings and Master microfilm reels from the State Archive, got $940,000 from State gov in 2007.
• Metadata workers provided by the State Historical society (hired 70 remote workers, $15/hr)
• Use Archivalware by PTFS
• Search terms help overcome some challenges of OCR text.
• Huge storage requirements – 10 Tb server.
• Looking for Orphan papers from dead towns and other hard-to-find papers.

Second Speaker - Larry Carey, Tompkins County Public Library, discusses the library’s local-history digitization initiative (.pptx or .pdf)

• Local history collection one of the most-often used collections in the library.  2,400 items.  Heritage Quest and Ithaca Journal on microfilm – most used database.
• Needed to learn about copyright law “Copyright in cultural institutions” (243 pages, but very good!)
• Reviewed the collection and selected un-copyrighted books and post-1923 copyrighted books to find releases.  Obtained for 3 local publications…and 50 more from historical society.  Directories – also needed to copyright releases.
• Cost to digitize themselves – too expensive.  Outsourced to a local business (90 minutes away).
• Organizing the information – purchased Adobe software.  Also did their own Web site.
• Four librarians required!
• Digitized: Atlases, biographies, Birth/death records, Directories, narratives & memoirs, etc.
• City Directories – very important, so went through the process of getting copyright releases.  Year-long search to obtain the releases!  Just trying to determine who owns the copyright took much investigating.  72 year old son of the last publisher “Manning Company” – learned that fire burned all the records. Happy to grant permission!
• 230 books = 250,000 digitized pages, including 1864-1986 City Directories
• Access has increased – 1,500 page views per month
• Labor-intensive and technically difficult project.
• Little libraries need to be set free of the technical challenges and expense.
• Outsourcing?  Would universities and colleges take the lead?

Third Speaker - Beth Goble and Devra Dragos, Nebraska Library Commission, discusses The Nebraska Memories Project that provides access to important collections held by libraries and historical societies in Nebraska (.pptx or.pdf)

• No one person can handle the project – Share the Work!
• 5 people in 2 departments help with this project!
• Background – Western Trails grant-funded digitization project.  Several workshops throughout the state, with continued popularity.  How do you make those digitized photos available to the public??
• 2004 Shannon White – arranged a state-wide license to ContentDM software. Server maintained at Library Commission.  LSTA priority to digitization projects for a few years.
• No newspapers for this project, but postcards and photos
• Need Flexibility – ContentDM customized so much that the new version isn’t usable yet.
• Great browsable topics and Locations map that cross collections – Our Kete Users Group needs to look at this.
• Polley Music Library – grants helped pay staff time for digitizing. Learning opportunity
• Scores and concert programs digitized as PDFs, but not OCR’d
• Great for students and local history researchers
• Partnership with Phelps County Historical Society - worked with local library
• 1880′s to 1950′s photos
• Metadata standards, with some customization
• Rights Statement – and all participants have to prove copyright
• Cheyenne County Historical Society and Museum -
• Staff with a mobile scanning unit will scan 50 items for free
• Cheyenne took advantage of this option
• Created an Easy Metadata Form (GET A COPY)
• Sometimes the form wasn’t filled out, but instead there was an interview, leading to interesting historical notes.
• Write down the stories as soon as possible!
• Be clear to share HOW long it takes to gather information and then digitize the item.
• Butler County Gallery
• Volunteers went above and beyond to gather additional information:
• Rad local histories, census searches, Visited cemeteries, and interviewed older people of the community
• Added these historical notes to the metadata
• Promote their collection at Family reunions in the area!
• Collection went up in 2005, still get emails with corrections and additional information after Family reunions.
• Ongoing Promotion – conferences, webinars, reach out to librarians, Postcard take-aways
• Weekly blog post highlighting something found in the archive
• Work with teachers – 3rd and 4th graders have local history units.  Include lesson plans!
• Includes  a short survey
• Also used by reference librarians
• Copyright, best practices, etc. on their About page and Background info and how-tos available, too.  The EZ metadata form is great!

Fourth speaker - Natalie Milbrodt, Project Manager for Queens Memory Project, discusses her recent work on a collaborative digitization project (.pptx or .pdf)

• Digital archive – Public Library and Queens College
• Just listening.
• Guides for oral histories, technical standards – These will be on the Blog
• Cataloger guide

Questions:

• Tags or Comments? – Nebraska will add that feature when they upgrade ContentDM
• Copyright Release form?  Larry drafted a personal letter rather than use a standard form.
• Outsourcing v. In house?  Erin said their Wyoming project was so large that they outsourced from the start.  Devra – some libraries outsourced large maps, for example.  Up to the individual participants.  Natalie has an inhouse digitization lab – only 300 records and 1/2 were ‘born digital’.  They use the library’s digitization team of two.
• Funding? – Thompkins uses their Library Foundation to locate additional money.
• Mobile Lab – Scanabago…HP Laptop, HP ScanJet 8300, 1 Tb external harddrive, HP software built into the scanner, the files are brought back to the library commission and manipulated with Adobe Photoshop and converted to JPEG/PDF.
• Metadata – who does it?  Nebraska recognizes that volunteers aren’t catalogers.  Ask for the basic information and then they make the data fit their standards.  Queens is creating skeleton records and using crowdsourcing to draw out additional information (Comments).
• Standards – Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative

Cult Fiction Drinking the Kool-Aid with Kelly Fann

Celebrate the Book | Cult Ficiton | Kelly Fann, Tonganoxie | Nov. 4, 2011

Kelly wrote an article, “Tapping into the Appeal of Cult Fiction.”  A way to bring teen readers into adult literature.

Cult classics – movies would be Full Metal Jacket, Casablanca, Pulp Fiction…so what are the book equivalents?

Not all cult fiction are fiction works…

• 1984 (Dystopia)
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Non-fiction)
• Lord of the Flies
• Catcher in the Rye
• Do Androids dream of electric sheep
• Fahrenheit 451
• 2001: A space odyssey
• On the Road Again
• Brave New World
• Slaughter House Five
• Dune
• Snow crash – Sci Fi cult classic
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• American Psycho (Horror or Thriller)
• Interview with the Vampire (Horror, not as much violence)
• Neuromancer (Sci Fi)
• Fight Club (Subculture) (started with the movie…)
• Trainspotting (Subculture)
• A Clockwork Orange (Subculture)
• Belgariad series by David Eddings (Fantasy)
• Animal Farm
• Outsiders (breakout for YA literature) – Teens glommed on to adult books

A concept or status, rather than a genre.

The Appeal:  Groundbreaking | Lurid subjects | Travel themes | Explicit and/or controversial at the time of publication and beyond…

Reprinted, new covers, “Cult Call a Rough Guess at Best” by Jane Sullivan =  ”Whatever it is, cult fiction makes the heart beat faster…it speaks to you in a way nothing else does, and you’re convinced you’re the only person who gets it.”

Literary Elements: Alienation | Ego-reinforcement | Behavior modification | Vulnerability

Genre Plurality = Genre Exploration Potential

• Cult titles belong to another genre or subgenre
• Isaac Asimov for Science Fiction or David Eddings for Fantasy
• No dedicated section -
• Don’t use the word cult in a display, though…
• Must be familiar with titles and respective genres
• Why not have multiple copies?

Gateway for Teens:

• Printz Award winning books show the characteristics of cult fiction readers in the making.
• 5/6 of these trends are always found in cult books:
• journeys, angst to self-actualization
• family relationships
• romance
• controversy
• diversity of story characters
• Serve as a right of passage
• “Safely explore all that could be done in life.”
• Will ‘new’ cult classics find there ways into school?  Will Trainspotting be required reading?

Teen Titles:

• The Bell Jar by Plath
• Crash by Ballard
• The Dice Man by Rhinehart
• Dune by Herbert
• Fight Club by Palahniuk
• Douglas Adams – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• Geek Love by Dunn
• Magic for Beginners by Link
• Neuromancer by Gibson
• Only Forward by Marshall Smith
• Perfume by Suskind
• The Pigman by Zindel
• The Stranger
• Trainspotting

Once you know the genre…you know what belongs:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Smith
• Catch-22 by Heller
• Chocolate Wars by Cormier

Discussion:

• A Child Called “It” – Books that are stolen tend to be cult classics.
• Book / Movie tie ins…
• Naked Lunch – film does not equal movie.  Same with A Clockwork Orange
• True Grit – film v. movie
• On the Road by Karoak – Rough book, rough movie?
• In Cold Blood – always in print, movies, discussed
• Harry Potter – the First of a series usually the Cult classic
• Protagonist-focussed
• Judy Blume
• Go Ask Alice
• Are you There God? It’s Me Margaret
• Living Dead Girl – “best book I wish I’d never read” – Sad.  Kidnapped, sex slave, dresses her up as a little girl, she’s willing to find a replacement so she can get out.  2009.
• 13 Reason’s Why – Suicide, leaves tapes, another that may become a cult classic.  2009?
• When She Woke – 2011.  Already having people come in a ask for it.  Word of Mouth.
• Stranger in a Strange Land – Heinlen
• Left hand of Darkness – Ursula LaGuin.  Androgynous species on a different planet.
• Religion often plays a part in cult fiction title.  The Shack – Father has religious experience at place of daughter’s murder.
• Towing Jehova by Marlow
• Murikomi – In the Miso Soup (ultra-violence) or Almost Transparent Blue
• Battle Royale - Japanese ultra-violence (lead into this from Hunger Games?)
• The Giver
• Hunger Games
• John Dies at the End - written on the Internet. Horror.  Published AFTER a cult.
• Hunter S. Thompson – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• Lolita  by Nabokov – Kubric’s Film, too
• Heroine Diaries
• Jim Thompson - Grifter, Killer inside me, Population 1280(12AD?)
• The Ring – Suzuki – The “Stephen King of Japan”
• Some Stephen King – The Stand or The Dark Tower