No coding required
- 1. No Coding Required Basic Library Website Development Poster Session, Association of Christian Librarians Annual Conference June 13, 2012 Robbie Bolton, Assistant Library Director Karen Parsons, Reference/Information Literacy Librarian White Library, Spring Arbor University, Spring Arbor, MI 1
- 2. Abstract For many small to mid-size libraries, having a “web person” or the IT support to create a well- designed and functional library website is a luxury. Using web 2.0 tools, namely Wordpress blogging software, librarians can create a quality library website, with little if any knowledge of programming code. If a librarian can upload posts and photos to Facebook, they can create a Wordpress site – no coding required. 2
- 3. Why Wordpress? • Easy to use • Affordable (i.e., free or mostly free) • Pre-designed “themes” • Multiple users can manage content • Ready-made “Plug-ins” can be added to your site • Knowledge of HTML or another coding language is not a necessity. 3
- 4. (1) Add a title to your post (3) Add links or insert photo (2) Add your content (4) Publish your post 4
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- 6. Libraries and Web Design • Often library websites are guilty of including too much information leading to a cluttered look • Cluttered design hides quality information • Less is more. Open space is your friend. Just because you have space doesn’t mean you have to use it. 6
- 7. Words have Consequences • Design matters, but so does vocabulary • Librarian jargon often doesn’t communicate effectively with our patrons • Words like: database, catalog, periodical, index, abstract, hav e little or no meaning for our users. • Use natural, or plain, language on your library website. “Find Books” or “Finding the books” • DO: use words “such as Book or Article, that correspond to the end product the user is seeking” 7
- 8. Our attempt at employing a simple, clean design using as much “natural language” as we are comfortable with. We really can’t take credit for the design as it is just a Wordpress theme we selected. 8
- 9. Bibliography Goldberg, Beverly. 2011. “WordPress as a Library CMS.” accessed June 8, 2012, http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/dispatches-field/wordpress-library-cms. Jones, Kyle M. L., and Polly-Alida Farrington. 2011. Using WordPress as a Library Content Management System. ALA TechSource. Jones, Kyle M., and Polly-Alida Farrington. 2012. Learning from Libraries That Use Wordpress: Content- management System Best Practices and Case Studies. American Library Association. Kupersmith, John. 2012. Library Terms That Users Understand. UC Berkeley: UC Berkeley Library, accessed June 8, 2012, http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3qq499w7 Krug, Steve. 2005. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition. 2nd ed. New Riders Press. McKay, Dana. 2011. “This is not a test: user-oriented evaluation of the digital academic library.” Paper presented at the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries, Berlin, Germany, September 26-28. Wordpress & Libraries Facebook group, accessed June 8, 2012, http://www.facebook.com/groups/214139591937761/ “WordPress.com.” WordPress. http://wordpress.com/. 9
- 10. Questions/Contact Info Robbie Bolton Karen Parsons Assistant Library Director Reference/Information White Library Literacy Librarian Spring Arbor University White Library robbie@arbor.edu Spring Arbor University 517 750 6434 kparsons@arbor.edu twitter: @robbiebolton 517 750 6436 10