English Comp: Library Tips

Lawrence Tech Dog

Lawrence Tech Dog

Where is the library?

Who are we?

Top Information Resources

  1. Books, DVD’s, magazines, ebooks at Lawrence Tech
  2. Order books from MeL – Free delivery from all over MI.  Learn how to request items [video]
  3. Interlibrary Loan (For really difficult to find stuff.

My Paper is Due Tomorrow!

  1. eBooks
  2. Lots of full-text digital content! Off-campus?  Login to Blackboard first, then click “Library Services” at bottom right to authenticate)

How do I find credible information?

Hidden Gems at the Library

  1. Study Rooms
  2. Free Printing and Computer Lab (with scanners)
  3. Yearbook Archival Photos
  4. Suggest a Library Purchase
  5. 100+ Feature Films/DVD’s

Questions?

Natalie Zebula, Reference Librarian
email: refdesk@ltu.edu
phone: 248-204-3000
chat

Add comment January 19, 2010

Overview of Website Accessibility (Webinar Summary)

An Overview of Website Accessibility [recorded presentation]
TechSoup Talks series, Jan. 14, 2010
(notes here by Natalie Zebula, some portions paraphrased)

Presenters (text from TechSoup):
Jane Vincent, AMLS, is the Accessibility/Usability Manager for the Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley.
Kami Griffiths, She is currently the Training and Outreach Manager at TechSoup where she holds local and international trainings, delivers online seminars, and helped develop the TechSoup for Libraries program.

Why is website accessibility important?

  • You want your website compatible for as many individuals as possible (low-bandwith users as well as users with users with disabilities)
  • Flash can’t be used on iphones

What guidelines are available?

  • WCAG 2.0 from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
  • Screen readers now can tell where links begin and end
  • WCAG 2.0 intended to respond to new technologies
  • Four principles: Websites should be…
  1. Perceivable (regardless of using assistive technology)
  2. Operable (using a mouse and keyboard, etc.)
  3. Understandable (clarity of language, ESL, consistency in your website)
  4. Robust (using correct coding syntax, when using flash/java)

    Accessiblity Issues

    • Drupal, Facebook, Twitter
    • Need to deal at the source code level
    • Usually minimal code, sometimes just by CSS

    Problems with Guidelines

    • Obtuse
    • Not necessarily a concensus on what is most accessible, ex.: Want descriptions of photos or just want to skip over photos?
    • Don’t cover all users. Doesn’t address fully the needs of users with learning disabilities
    • Accessbility may be in conflict with other considerations (webaim.org – post questions to the listserv)

    Basics

    • Language tag: Language not specified, screen readers will pronounce in that language. (some do this automatically, like dreamweaver). <html lang=”en”>
    • Text alternatives to pictures/graphics: Picture of Michelle Obama <img alt=”Photo of First Lady Michelle Obama”>  or <img alt=”Michelle Obama smiles at…”>
    • Decorative elements: alt=”" (null) You don’t want this read by a screen reader
    • Extended description (80 characters) ex: icanhascheeseburger does this well

    Form Fields

    • Often not marked up correctly
    • “radio button check 1 of 5, radio button check 2 of 5…” just reads like that, no idea what to put in
    • correct: “title M S radio button check, title M R radio button check, …”
    • id=”surname” (read out)

    Text Size

    • Most controlled by browser, but also by CSS
    • Allow users to change size
    • 10px or 10pt are fixed, instead use em (proportional)
    • Better to make a change in the stylesheet instead of each page

    How to check if your pages are accessible?

    • Good free checkers online (automated), but they can’t check all issues
    • New guideline: Should be clear ways for error feedback (on a form), a checker cannot check for this, or provide meaningful feedback
    • Best way, most comprehensive (test your website with individuals blind/low vision/phsyical, learning disabilities/elderly who use and don’t use assistive technology)

    CMS

    • CMS: want to see if it is accessible. Do you have access to the source code? Can you modify stylesheets? Does the CMS use templates or skins that are already accessible? Are they accessibility prompts built in?
    • Drupal: good at providing good color contrast suggestions, ver. 7 (more features)
    • WordPress: long list of links, short tutorial (not entirely accurate), create accessible feeds
    • Access on mainstreet.org (blind users can acces this site with no problem)
    • Plone: coding can be automatically cleaned up (closing tags), automatic alternative text for images
    • Joomla: weakest of the four, accessibility statements, they are working on it

    Social Media

    • Facebook: tell people if you are a screenreader user, how to use
    • Twitter: has sep site that is screenreader friendly
    • Flickr: not yet accessible, it is owned by yahoo, yahoo has a wonderful accessibility group, will address in the future.

    Questions

    Make flash accessible? Will post in the forums/maybe have another webinar.  A technical topic
    Alt tags? Say “Photo of…”? Most users prefer this, not everybody, but most.
    Can make any website accessible? Can see source code, you can make it accessible.
    Bibliography? List of checkers? Yes, in the follow up email.
    Other groups to help smaller orgs? webaim
    Recommend a screenreader for testing? Very expensive, jaws frowns on using the demo version for testing. But there are open source nvda, wave toolbar (?) puts icons are parts of the page where there are problems.
    What audio formats are best? Assume people will use screen readers. more on making mulitmedia accessiblity later. Leaders in this: national center for accessible media.

    Closing Comments

    • Population 65+ is the fastest growing group
    • People with problems using a keyboard and mouse
    • Making it better for screen readers can also make it better for voice recognition software.

    Add comment January 14, 2010

    Bite-Sized Marketing (Webinar Summary)

    Bite-Sized Marketing: Real Solutions for Overworked Librarians (webcast)
    Nancy Dowd (more presentations, blog), Director of Marketing, New Jersey State Library
    (Notes taken here may have been paraphased – by Natalie Zebula)

    Branding

    • Don’t have colors? Just pick one or two
    • Are we clear about what we do?
    What is your library about?

    What is your library about?

    Push Marketing

    • Traditional, includes flyers, website, maybe press kit
    • Problems? Doesn’t work with our public

    New Strategy

    • Keep it simple
    • Are you the only person doing marketing at the library? overwhelming
    • Define your goal (not an event, a behavior)
    • What are customers saying? Check twitter

    Web 2.0 tools

    • Not using a tool? Hard to keep up with.  Does your target audience use these channels?
    • Blogging (Good: if you are a beginner, or have a lot of buerocracy with institutional website / Bad: takes time, needs authentic content, must have something to say)
    • Facebook (Good: for lots of events, you can invite people, healvily interactive (people can share photos from events), send updates to fans / Should we have two pages? One for teens, one for adults?  Good idea, but need to actually use it)
    • Twitter (Biggest buzz, librarians love twitter / Good: puts you in direct contact with people, one on one, use tools to share websites, can combine with a blog)
    • Listservs (Good: for certain audiences / Bad: for general public)
    • Email (Bad: overused / Have a great newsletter? Have to fight lots of clutter to have it read / Make sure you have another communication channel to back it up (ex: a blog))
    • LinkedIn (Good: network with professionals, you have to know the people to allow into a network, trying to reach out to businesses, lawyers, teachers)
    • MySpace (Still hanging on! Not a done deal yet)

    Challenges to Social Media

    • Want people to share their dreams, not their complaints (paraphrased, -Seth Godin)
    • Are you looking for input? Or do you just want to push out information?
    • Measurement tools are there (what they search for, how many clicks)

    Who will do all this work?

    • Lone marketers: overwhelming
    • You can delegate: recruit volunteers (not for book check, or shelving books)
    • Project for a volunteer: youtube video, redesign newsletter
    • Who will manage? Set deadlines.
    • A design student can offer great skills – builds resumes
    • interview and hire volunteers, don’t just take anyone
    Lone Ranger Marketing Mix

    Lone Ranger Marketing Mix

    Sharing

    • share this button
    • Press Room: every library should have this: add quotes, links to presentations (slideshare), testimonials from cutomers.  You want specific, real stories.  Photos, videos, webcasts (you want the media to find this!) published articles.  Let them know you are popular!
    • Press room feature: “highlights” quick scan materials.  A couple of bullet points to highlight an article, fact sheets, strategic plan, etc.

    Questions/Answers

    • There is tension/confusion between using blogs and official website – a marketing tool or official place for info?
    • Bottom line is your website is about information. Information and marketing are not two separate things.  You want pages with information to be found by google, but no need to dumb down information.  Blogs are great for marketing, but you need content to make them useful.
    • What is b-roll?
    • It is the film you cut out. You can add voiceovers, text. Like stock footage?
    • What is an example of a good library press room?
    • Kenton County libraries. She lists two contact people. Don’t save press releases as PDF, use word document. Lists names and phone numbers. New Jersey state library – separate spots for video. Best practices: Intel (best press release pages)
    • How do customers know what their dreams are, if they still are stuck in library stereotypes?
    • Web 2.0 lets you communicate with you, polls, feedback, not just about “shh!” – it is an attitude people remember from being children. As you start to build relationships, let people experience a new library.
    • We cannot use social media where I work (except to push out), county government. What can we do?
    • Make sure you can respond to people by email.
    • Google grants?
    • Google created program called grants, if you are a non-profit, want to advertise to public, you quality. They give you training, and give you $320 a day for advertising. Very exciting!
    • How often to update blogs?
    • Not how often, consistency. Once a week is plenty! Never let a month go by.
    • Marketing ideas for physical outreach? Market to seniors?
    • Identify your goals. Outreach? You end up finding out about people. What are their names? Have conversations. You can’t tell them anything until you find out who they are.
    • Do you have tips on how to get staff to buy into web 2.0 marketing?
    • You are creating a niche market. You might be the only one doing it.

    3 comments January 11, 2010

    Winter Break Hours


    Ski Club, Originally uploaded by LTULib

    Library Hours:
    open 10am-6pm – 2/21, 12/22
    open 10am-2pm – 12/23
    closed – 12/24-1/3
    open 10am-6pm – 1/4-1/8
    Library resumes regular hours starting 1/11/10

    If you need something in the meantime, we have library resources available 24/7:

    • Databases: search newpapers, journal articles, etc.
    • eBooks: search eBrary and NetLibrary for thousands of ebook titles available instantly

    Add comment December 18, 2009

    Library 2.0

    Blue Devil "Library 2.0"

    Library 2.0 (Presentation via Google Docs)

    Links from the presentation:

    Helpful Posts:

    Add comment November 19, 2009

    What phones do you use?

    Add comment November 16, 2009

    New Graphic Novels

    New Graphic Novels at the Library

    New Graphic Novels at the Library

    We are excited to announce our new Graphic Novel Collection at the library!

    20 Titles (and growing…):

    Birds are weird
    Low Moon
    The Nobody
    Red
    Sleeper
    Skyscrapers of the Midwest
    Zeitoun
    I saw you
    Infinite Typewriters
    The best of dinosaur comics
    NIL: A Land beyond belief
    Should you be laughing at this?
    Toothpaste for dinner
    Persepolis 1
    Persepolis 2
    Surrogates
    Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
    A drifting Life
    Flight, vol. 1
    The Great Outdoor Fight

    Add comment November 14, 2009

    Free Trials

    Free Trials (Do you like these? Let us know.)

    • Web Of Science (until 12/15): Sciences, social sciences, arts & humanities.
    • Endnote Web (on-campus access only, until 12/15): Web-based version of the bibliographic management tool Endnote (Remember to export all data to RefWorks or an alternative before the trial ends on Dec. 15)
    • Project Muse (until 12/26): Humanities package includes “journals with critically acclaimed articles by the most respected scholars in their fields.” Should be helpful students taking English Comp, Masterpieces or literature classes.
    Free Trials at Lawrence Tech Library

    Free Trials at Lawrence Tech Library

     

     

    Add comment November 14, 2009

    Health Fair

    Health Fair, Originally uploaded by LTULib

    Lawrence Tech Library was at the annual employee Health Fair held at Ridler Fieldhouse.  Thanks to all who came out! Trader Joe’s had some tasty vanilla yogurt, and Cafe Lawrence was making healthy strawberry banana smoothies.

    Did you know…

    You can order books, DVDs, and CDs from libraries all over Michigan and have them sent to Lawrence Tech Library for free? Watch this screencast to learn more, or visit the Michigan eLibrary to begin a search. Find bestsellers, foreign language materials, english as a second language (ESL) materials, movies, music, and more.

    Access full-text databases 24/7 on health. Find info on drugs, alternative medicine, and diseases:
    Health and Wellness Reference Center
    Medline
    Pubmed

    Add comment October 29, 2009

    We are experiencing technical difficulties…

    Electrical Engineering, Originally uploaded by LTULib

    Off-campus use of library services and Blackboard may not be available from Friday 11:30 pm – Sun 12 noon (see message below), but will be available in the library on Sat. 10:30am – 4:30pm.

    Below is the email sent out to all students, faculty and staff. (If you didn’t see this email, be sure to check your Lawrence Tech email account. If you don’t use your Lawrence Tech email, you can forward it to the email account you use most often.)

    “In order to perform some critical system maintenance and prepare for an upcoming major Banner upgrade, most Lawrence Tech systems will be down from approximately 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 23rd – Sunday, October 25th at noon. Banner, Blackboard, CORE, ImageNow, and off campus use of Library systems, along with other systems will not be available during this period.

    Campus Internet and wireless connectivity, campus phones, Google based email service, and on campus use of Library systems WILL be available during this period. If this maintenance is completed and further tests are successful, the Banner upgrade will be scheduled for the weekend of November 7th – 8th. If needed, the next scheduled significant downtime will be during spring break.

    If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk at 248.204.2330.

    Tim Chavis, Executive Director, LTU IT Services”

    Add comment October 20, 2009

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