Totally Sweet Library Websites

Web design and libraries are my two biggest passions, and today I wanted to showcase a few library websites that I think are smashing.

Category 1: Overall Sheer Awesomeness

Library websites that offer the total package are visually awe-inspiring, contain all the relevant information (and no more!) in the appropriate places, and are accessible and enjoyable for patrons from all different levels of computer literacy.

The City Library (Utah) – beautifully minimal with excellent graphics, helpful descriptions throughout the navigation bar, and a daily events calendar

EJ Pratt Library (University of Toronto) – another excellent minimalist landing page, with just an events banner, navigation bar (each page has a different splash of color), quick links, and location/contact information. No room for fluff no one needs!

Aurora Public Library (Indiana) – focus on catalog, databases, finding aids and other resources, with links to library programs, contact information and social networking below the fold. Again, no fluff!

Syracuse University Library – colorful wallpaper is actually part of the digital collection, includes ‘Today’s Hours’ widget, central Summon search bar for all resources, and recommended databases (love it when they encourage database use!)

Washoe County Library (Nevada) – events calendar, database quick-search bar (see my comment above), and separate spaces for seniors, teens and kids (all with their own unique branding, but central elements like the footer remain constant to aid with navigation)

William F. Laman Public Library (Arkansas) – denim-y textured and modern with a large header containing important things like account access, catalog search bar and hours, with the page content visually separated

Iowa City Public Library – cute textured website (with too much footer space) with a weekly events calendar, very little fluff, easily navigable with designated spaces for kids and teens

category 2: Navigating Greatness

These sites may not have the total package, but they’ve done some pretty noteworthy things, especially in regards to their navigation systems.

MIT LIbraries – search every type of material in their collection individually with advanced search options and without ever having to leave the header. This is amazing, I wish every library had the resources to do this, and in comparison, Summon can eat it.

Scottsdale Public Library (Arizona) – each link on the navigation bar is its own mini web page with relevant info, subcategories, an event calendar, catalog search bar, and more… leaving the rest of the home page for all that fluff

Osceola Library (Florida) – every link on the website is contained within a slider in the header, graphically appealing and crisp. My only complaint is that many of the links open new web pages rather than being nested below the header

So those are some of my current favorite library websites. Which ones do you like? What should be added to the list?

May 30

WordPress Spam Humor

Light post today, nothing too serious for a change. I’ve been noticing that the amount of spam on my blog has been increasing lately.

This spam spike upsets me, however I can’t be too angry when the comments are so complimentary! A few gems…

My incredibly long internet research has now been honored with sensible content to share with my neighbours… Thank you again for a lot of things.

I enjoy you because of your own work on this site… Enjoy the remaining portion of the year.

I got the birth signs today thank you very much they look fabulous.

Too bad some of these pictures look to have been dcoroted… For you who are genuinely interested in the study of the existence of Giants, check out a Biography of the Early Years of Wild Bill Hickok, I believe it’s on page 254… Just the word of an enterprising Indian Scout, Pony Express rider, Indian Fighter, and Wild West Show entrepreneur, what could be more trustworthy?

Eli, I didn’t read this posting bfroee the conference. Congrats!.. Having read your postings and met you in person, I believe that you will be an excellent lawyer.

We have wood blinds in the living/dining room that are old but we are just going to put more wood blinds up there.

I watched the movie Soul Surfer with my kids and their fernids… Gob Bless you all!

I love what you guys will almost always be up too.

…we’re happy to give advice about navigating law school to a fellow labirrian.

If you want more, Greetings I am so excited I found your welbog is dedicated entirely to funny spam comments like these.

May 20

The Static Web and the Future

What will be the place of the static web as the world of dynamic web pages, APIs, portals, and web and mobile applications develops?

Content management systems, as well as a whole host of resources for automatically generating dynamic code, help programmers create websites and mobile apps that adapt to their users’ needs and preferences, presenting a unique online environment. As they say, why stand when you can sit, why use someone else’s interface when you can dictate your own experience?

Internet users, and especially smartphone owners with the web at their fingertips, have become accustomed to interactive websites, customizable content and information not only in the palm of their hand but organized to their specifications. I can’t remember the last time I went to a site like weather.com now that I can use Google’s in-browser forecast app on my phone. I’m also more than a little perturbed that Pinterest still hasn’t released a mobile app – a few years ago I would have been ecstatic that I could use a browser on my phone at all, and now dynamic mobile content is so ingrained in the way I interact with the web that it seems strange to not be able to pin things from my phone. It could be argued these days that a site hasn’t even fully launched yet if it doesn’t support mobile browsing and/or have an app.

There are still plenty of reasons to create and use static websites – as Ada Ivanova for Speckyboy Design Magazine says, static sites are great low-maintenance options for small sites and inexperienced webmasters. They’re great options for the average personal or small business website, or for informational sites where the content doesn’t change often, but with a participatory culture and the emphasis on dynamic content to encourage recurring traffic, static sites are definitely becoming the minority.

Even the programming languages necessary to create web applications and dynamic sites are presented in fun, interactive ways – if you’re interested in learning, check out Code School’s TryRuby.org with an in-browser tutorial and RailsForZombies with videos and exercises.

May 10

Import Google+ to RSS Feed in WordPress

I was playing around with my blogroll and decided I had too many links. I decided to find out how to import articles from Google Reader (my feed reader of choice) into an RSS widget on WordPress. Sounded easy, ended up being a bit of a pain thanks to broken hacks and a proliferation of outdated information. Here’s my easy, working-for-now solution:

Sign up for a Google+ account – 3 clicks and you’re done if you already have a Google account
Go to Google Reader and share a few items with the +1 button at the bottom of each post:
Click ‘Add names, circles, or email addresses’ and select ‘Public’:
Go back to Google+, click ‘Profile’ in the left-side navigation bar, and make sure your items posted properly.
Next get your Google+ user number from the URL, shown in bold: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111071894876922243184/posts
Paste at the end of this URL to turn it into an RSS feed: http://gplus-to-rss.appspot.com/rss/111071894876922243184
If all went well you’ll get a standard RSS subscription page and you can use the link however you like.
To embed the feed in a WordPress site, go to your dashboard and click ‘Appearance > Widgets’. Drag the RSS widget to the sidebar:
Expand the widget, drop in the URL, give it a name and save your changes. Voila!