userslib.com

This is the second year of the University of Michigan Library’s iDesign competition. This year’s theme is virtual browsing and the challenge is to design an innovative tool which will enhance MLibrary’s discovery environment.

We received some fantastic entries! I especially appreciate the projects that employed UX research methods to inform their designs. If you are so inclined, you can vote on the projects or just have a look at the individual projects:

CataLIST

“…a recommender system could be developed to utilize this rich set of knowledge to curate subsets of the overall library collections, which could then be used to make recommendations to users. A large number of these subsets from across the university could be interconnected and used to surface new content to users, enhance their experience, and break down artificial barriers created by different subject areas.”

MyLibrary Mobile App

“Ever lend a book to a friend? Ever wish they would bring it back? Forget who you lent it to in the first place? MyLibrary will finally let you keep track of your personal collection.”

MLibrary Search
Designs for an improved multi-search interface

Aoide: Virtual Browsing Exploration for MLibrary Audio Collection

A-oi-de [ey-oi-dee] – noun: “A virtual browsing system that aims to facilitate new methods of interpreting search results through virtualized representations of audio CD materials for the University of Michigan’s Music Library.”

FilmGrid

A visual browser for Askwith Media Library

We’ve been very hard at work over in the User Experience Department!

We started working on a year long mobile initiative in September and have officially wrapped our first phase of work. The result is a site that provides access to key library content and services in a mobile-friendly format. The site currently provides access to Mirlyn Mobile, a list of mobile friendly databases, library hours & locations, ask a librarian services, research guides, and news & events.

The above image is the basis of our promotional campaign. We’ll soon be distributing signs, bookmarks, and digital sign graphics all around campus. The idea for it came from the amazing Liene and then once I found a willing butt, I was able to turn the idea into the design above.

MLibrary Mobile

MLibrary Mobile Initiative Project page

UPDATE: I also wanted to mention that I’ve distributed print & screen promotions around to our various libraries and a few classroom buildings. These materials include a QR code to the mobile site. If you’re interested in seeing stats for scans of the QR code, here’s the bit.ly stats page: http://bit.ly/gLu272+

Fantastic, must read article from Craig Mod about the future of print and digital books.

http://craigmod.com/journal/ipad_and_books/

This is a follow-up to my last post.

From the Ann Arbor.com news article:

Next stop for the majority of the card catalogs is U-M Property Disposition on North Campus, where the university will attempt to sell the old catalogs one by one. Courant said he isn’t quite sure who is in the market for these pieces of library nostalgia. But, he added, “if I had the room in my house, I’d buy one.”

I’d also love to have one but I don’t have any room in my tiny little house. I don’t think they’ll have any trouble selling these lovely card catalogs, library chic is all the rage these days – as evidenced by Etsy’s Circulate and Renew Spotlight post and the quantity of Apartment Therapy card catalog posts.

Here’s my favorite:

The University of Michigan’s card catalogs are scheduled to be removed from the library stacks tomorrow. We desperately need the space but I’m still a little sad to see them go. Even though I’m firmly stationed in the digital realm, I still love the analog world – especially artifacts that have such a lovely tactile quality that can even produce a visceral response. So, here’s my attempt to capture a little of that feeling.

See also:my full set of photos | dfulmers card catalog flickr set (includes some interesting history) | Ann Arbor News article

If you’re new to web accessibility, it can be super overwhelming to figure out how to get started. Over the last few years I’ve spent quite a few hours days months pouring over the tedious guidelines, trying different techniques, playing with tools & evaluators, and reading books, articles, and tutorials… and I still have lots to learn and I still have LOTS of work to do.

So, here’s my quick-start guide to get you over the hump. Cause, you know, not to nag, but you really should be doing more of this.

(I’m intentionally not going into all the how and why – I’ll leave that up to the tools or a quick google search.)

Use the WAVE Firefox Toolbar

This is a must-have tool. It even allows you to do evaluations of websites that haven’t gone live yet.

• Use “Errors, Features, and Alerts” for feedback directly on your website.
• Use “Outline” to make sure headings are logical, describe the order of content well, and are properly nested. If you aren’t using headings, you should! (It’ll also help your SEO)
• Use “Text-only” to view the order of the content. Imagine you have to read the page from beginning to end. Is the important information first? Would the page benefit from skip links?

Uh oh. My blog has 4 accessibility errors. I need to get on that.

Use the Web Developer toolbar

Great for many things and also a must-have.

• Disable Javascript to test any functionality that uses javascript. Make sure everything is still functional or offer an alternate way to do the task.

Validate your code

The web developer toolbar has these (and more) built-in or you can just go directly to the service.

• W3C CSS Validator
• W3C HTML Validator

THAT’S IT.

Ok, just a few more things. Here are some more tools and links I’ve gathered that might also be useful.

• FAE Evaluator has a very easy to read report
• WCAG/Section 508 evaluators are not as easy to read but will give a tiered evaluation to help you start with more essential fixes.
• ATRC Web Accessibility Checker

offers suggestions for fixes.

• And lots of things I’ve bookmarked in delicious!

For those that already have a set of methods, what do you do differently?

NCSU recently launched a new mobile website – and it’s very impressive!

It offers standard features like catalog search, locations & hours, etc., but also allows you to view a map of where available computers are and webcams of the libraries including the line at the coffee shop. Love it.

Read about the interface: www.lib.ncsu.edu/m/about.html
View a demo of the site: www.lib.ncsu.edu/m/home/?browse=iphone

They also made a fun video to promote it:

It’s that time of the year again – to take a minute and think about our incoming college freshmen!

They were born in 1990/1991! As a genX kid I’m most astonished by the fact that the baby from Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover is one of them.

Here are some technology related highlights from the Berloit College Mindset List for the incoming class of 2012:

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

• GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
• Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
• Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
• Students have always been “Rocking the Vote.”
• IBM has never made typewriters.
• They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
• Caller ID has always been available on phones.
• They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
• Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
• The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen released a study this week about mobile usability: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html.

The result? “The mobile user experience is miserable.”

Here are some highlights:

• The average success rate for mobile websites was 59% compared to 80% for regular sites.
• Small screens are limiting since they have to show less at a time which results in more clicks and a heavier reliance on short term memory.
• Input is awkward and more error prone due to more scrolling, tiny buttons and links, tiny keyboards, etc.
• Connections are still slow.
• Sites that have a mobile specific interface have a higher success rate (64%) compared to regular sites (53%).
• If a site has a mobile version, make it easy to find. Best technique is to auto-sense users’ devices and auto-forward mobile users to the mobile site. Additionally, make sure to include links to “mobile site” and “full site” to allow users to switch.
• Touch-screen phones perform better.

Some photos I took a couple of months ago of some of our lovely special collections items. Full size here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukisuki/sets/72157614076348795/