New Blog from a Systems Librarian

Just got a comment that made my day! Mike picked up a copy of Priceless after reading about it on my blog, and is writing his thoughts on it at his new blog! How cool is that?

Review of the Ann Arbor District Library's Website

A friend of mine recently mentioned that he's been waiting for my review of the Ann Arbor District Library’s newly redesigned website… and I had to laugh. I've been toying with the idea of doing occasional library website reviews on this blog, and thought “well, at least one person will read them, so why not?”

So, without further adieu, welcome to my first Library Website Review (said with a boomy, echoey voice :-). Plans might change... but for now, I plan on arranging these reviews in two sections:

1. A quick Website At a Glance section highlighting "hits" and "misses," complete with a 1-5 cups of coffee rating system (hey, we're all caffeine-addicted techno-nerds, are we not?)
2. A Further Reflection section that provides more detailed thoughts on the site.

Remember - these are my opinions on the websites I review. Everyone has an opinion, and I'm full of them! I could be dead-wrong about something - if I am, feel free to point it out to me! Then again, websites aren't perfect - every site can benefit from some constructive criticism (except maybe if God made a website for Heaven - that site might just come close to perfection :-)

Now, on to the review... and what a perfect website to start with - when Ann Arbor's redesign went live, I almost audibly heard "oohs" and "aahs" throughout the wired library community - everyone, it seems, loves this new site!

Website At a Glance
Hits:	Awesome design and navigation, seems easy-to-use, catalog and website are blended together, nice focus on content and services, easy-to-use events section, great interaction between customers and staff, blogs/RSS are available.
Misses	Using the URL for the name of the site, featured services/events are hidden if you don't log in, need more "contact us" options, logging in needs to be explained to customers.
Rating:	4 Cups o' Java

Further Reflection

Strengths:

• Visual Design – awesome! Someone obviously put a lot of thought into color schemes - the colors of the site work well together. The site also uses a current website "skeleton" (a three column page design), and they're most likely using CSS and other current web design standards... all of which make for a very appealing visual design.
• Site Navigation – this site is very easy to navigate. Everything makes sense.
• Usability – the site seems very usable to me. Most information presented is easy-to-use, is labeled well, and matches other websites (except for one thing listed below
• The library catalog blends in with the design of the website – that's very cool, and not seen very often. Blending the look-and-feel of the catalog and the website seems like a little thing, but that cohesiveness really provides a better online experience for customers
• Focus on content - the main page of the website lists events, services, library-related news, etc. That's a great way to showcase library content.
• Blogs! They have a number of blogs with RSS feeds – even the library director has a blog. That rocks!
• Customers can leave comments on many pages throughout the website, and staff actually respond to those comments.
• Events section is easy to use, and is searchable by location and event, browsable by location, type, subject and age
• When you log in to the website, a few more options are offered (and I'm assuming this will be expanded to other library services in the future).

Weaknesses:

Big Stuff:

• What library is this? The website calls itself aadl.org, but there's no mention of the library's full name, or that they are even a library... except in the html title field (which most customers won't notice). It's quite possible that the library's local customers know and understand who aadl.org is... but a website is a global thing. It's good to also list a library's full name somewhere on the main page (i.e., in a footer).
• Featured services and events can be found on the main page of the site, but they are slightly hidden. They fall below the huge login box on the right-hand side of the page, and are pushed underneath the fold for most browser/monitor resolution combinations. More on that in the next item...
• Logging in to the site: The main page of the site features a huge Username and Password log-in area. What’s it for? Why should I login? Do I have to login to use the website or the catalog? There's nothing on the main page that helps me understand why I should login to the site. Clicking on My Account or Login in the header provides some explanation, but a little more info would probably help users - even a link under the Create New Account/Request new password links saying something like "what is this?" would go a long way.

Small Beans (or the "picky stuff"):

• Contact us page doesn't have many options – no address, no phone number, no email – just a web-based form to fill out. Online forms are fine... but what do I do if I printed something out and want to contact the library for more info? What if I don't like online forms? There should be more than one option of contacting the library.
• Here's a picky thing: the RSS button on the RSS-ified pages is at the bottom of the page. Moving the button up to the top of the page, or even the top right hand side of the page, would place the button in a more usual (and easier-to-find) place (and please don’t look at where my library placed the RSS button… :-)
• Events: a search by date option would probably also be useful.
• Another login thing - do you really need three mentions of logging in on the main page? There's the big login box, the My Account link in th emenu bar, and the Login lik in the header... that's a lot of redundancy!
• Database listing is having some CSS problems in my version of IE 6... it looks like table fields are stretching out a little too far. This doesn't happen in Firefox.
• Lack of a footer. Footers on website are very handy creatures. They visually "end" a page, plus you can add some simple-yet-useful items, like the library's name, address, phone number, some other choice links, etc. Plus, most website use footers these days, so it's a recognizable part of a website.

In summary, Ann Arbor has done an excellent job at creating a modern, easy-to-use library website. Library webmasters, model this site, and you'll go a long way towards helping your customers! Ann Arbor, your site already rocks. Work on the weaknesses, and your site will be the Bono of the library website world!

Dave's Informal Rules for Commenting on Dave's Blog

Someone commented on one of my posts yesterday, I commented on his/her comment in another post, that person then commented back... which I think is great! That's one of the advantages of RSS and blogs, right?

But I also realized that this blog is read by many people, and someone else might have considered commenting before, or getting in touch with me, etc... and they might not know how. So...

Dave's Informal Rules for Commenting on Dave's Blog:

1. Feel free to post a comment on anything here - it adds to the global discussion (in my little virtual neck of the woods, anyway)
2. Leave a comment by clicking on "Comments" at the bottom of each post (you have to go to the actual blog site)
3. Understand that I have the option to post about your comment, agree/disagree with it, use it as an example, think "yes" when I see it, but not post anything else about it, or ignore it... however I see fit
4. So that said, please feel free to comment away!

And, if you want to contact me, go to my website - you'll find email and IM info at the bottom of the page.

E-mail is for older people, teens say in survey (from Yahoo! News)

Here's an interesting news story: E-mail is for older people, teens say in survey.

According to a recent survey, teens (age 12 - 17) think email is for grown-ups (even though 90% of the kids DO have an email account, too).

Interesting stuff!

Someone Doesn't Know Me Too Well

Just received a comment on one of my posts, "Luddites have XML Feeds, too!" ... from, of course "Annonymous." Here's the comment:

I think, also, it is important to point out to those who are concerned about disappearing printed materials that the rise of new media/technology (radio, television, telephone, phonograph, audio and video cassettes, cds, dvds, etc.) has never supplanted all of our old and familiar means of transmitting and storing information. The printed book will likely outlast every new innovation in technology simply because it is an irreplaceable part of human culture. There is no need for fear mongering or even mild concern. Luddites should sit back and relax. Once upon a time, the written word was considered an innovation beyond the spoken word. We all still talk to each other, however.

Hmm... where to start? First, my take on the printed book. A Book is a large body of text. Paper is one of many ways to display that large body of text. Books used to be stored on leather scrolls. Thankfully, people figured out bound paper worked better.

I think we're seeing the beginning of moving away from paper to electronic form. I can now read a book in paper, on my PDA, on a cell phone, at my PC, in email form, using an e-book reader, etc. It's still a book - just not in paper.

Now, to deal with the comment itself:

"...the rise of new media/technology (radio, television, telephone, phonograph, audio and video cassettes, cds, dvds, etc.) has never supplanted all of our old and familiar means of transmitting and storing information."

I wonder if Anonymous has heard of a relatively new-fangled invention called an Online Public Access Catalog? I believe the OPAC has supplanted the "old and familiar means," don't you think? Also, the typewriter has been supplanted by the computer.

And... does the printed word actually "transmit?" That I'd like to see.

"The printed book will likely outlast every new innovation in technology simply because it is an irreplaceable part of human culture."

Hmm... "irreplaceable part of human culture" .... that'd be sorta like:

• Horses and carriages
• morse code
• LPs
• Cowhide and pottery shards for writing material
• Pants that ended at the knee
• Plows
• Swords as weapons

NOTHING IS IRREPLACEABLE. Longlasting, yes. Irreplaceable? No.

"There is no need for fear mongering or even mild concern." and "Luddites should sit back and relax."

Hey, I actually agree...

"Once upon a time, the written word was considered an innovation beyond the spoken word. We all still talk to each other, however."

Apples and oranges... apples and oranges... Annonymous, the point of your comment is about paper-based information, so you can't logically use the spoken word as support for your argument.

I have had fun with this comment, to be sure. But I'm hoping someone learns something from this post, too. As I once heard someone say, "eat the meat, and throw out the bones."

Experience in the Mundane

Kansas City's airport parking lot was recently redesigned, and it makes life alot easier for me. The new parking lot uses KC-based themes at each shuttle stop (there are at least 20 shuttle stops). The idea is that while you might not remember you parked at 25-H, you might remember that you parked at the Thomas Hart Benton stop, because you read about him, saw pictures of him, and saw a huge paintbrush icon (he was an artist).

The parking lot is attempting to engage more than one of my senses, so I can remember where I parked. Library websites can do this, too. Here are some ideas:

• icons AND link words to important web-based resources
• easy-to-use navigation
• consistent look-and-feel throughout your website
• text, images, sound, video all about the same thing

There are probably others, too!

Engaging Customers

Still dabbling in Experience Planning... this is from page 4 of The Experience Economy, by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore. It's an awesome read, by the way.

Here's a cool quote: "companies stage an experience whenever they engage customers, connecting with them in a personal, memorable way."

Examples: Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe - at these restaurants, the food functions more as a prop for the event, rather than being the event. The food is only one of the reasons you visit - but not the only reason.

The idea? Merging food and ... entertainment, comedy, art, architecture, nature (Rainforest Cafe), etc. The food is a prop that helps set the stage for other sensations to connect with customers.

Libraries could do a similar thing, to varying degrees. We could have "themes" and focus displays, bookshelves, website, etc on that theme (do I hear summer reading progrograms here?). A theme could focus more on the physical building's architecture, and the website could mimic that (that Home Depot thing again).

Just some thoughts...

Internet Librarian 2005 Advance Program is out

The Internet Librarian 2005: Advance Program is out - I just received mine in the mail today (along with a bunch of speaker forms I need to fill out), and it's on the web. There are a lot of amazing programs this year - I can't wait.

And don't forget to check out the "Top Tech Trends for Public Libraries" track on Monday. Public Libraries have a whole day-long track this year, with lots of good stuff - web trends, primers on digital content, managing techie staff, social software, hardware best practices, and future tech trends... whew! I'm already dizzy (but then, I'm often that way...:-).

See you in October!

KCResearch is Live!

Update to the update: see, I told you - we're already back live...

Update: wouldn't you know it - right after I psted this, we took the server offline. We are in the process of switching servers... ssssooooo, bear with us - it WILL be up again soon!

KCResearch, a project my library is working on, is finally live! What is KCResearch? KCResearch is a "searchable web portal that identifies, collects, categorizes and provides access to research information related to the Kansas City regional area."

We have partnered with community, research, and academic organizations in the area to provide this portal, and the project has been funded for three years by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The project includes two full-time grant-funded employees that are building the website and search portal, finding and adding research to the database, and reaching out to the KC-area community to find research about KC.

The search engine portion of the website is what makes our project (the digital portion, anyway). Right now, we have almost 300 records in the database - we plan to have over 1000 by the end of the year. We are using iVia for our search engine. iVia is an open source web harvester - we can point it to specific websites, and it will automatically add records to our database. Then we have the option to edit each record (and we do - to add local and LC subject headings and other descriptors). iVia is created by the people that run INFOMINE.

So go check it out! We are improving the website daily, so if you notice odd things... well, there's a reason for that. And of course, if you happen to know of any Kansas City-based research.... send it our way! You can request it be added to our database by filling out our Suggest a Resource form.

Video on the Kansas City Public Library Website

We are starting to experiment with "new" media on our website. For starters, we've added two short promo videos (not done by us!) on our website - find them on these pages:

1. Fringe Festival
2. Summer Reading program

And they're available via RSS, since both pages have related RSS feeds. No, they're not RSS 2.0 with enclosures, so no video casting by us (yet). But it's a start! We plan on adding other "locally-produced" video (meaning us with a camcorder) later on... so stay tuned!

Continue the Experience with a Matching Website

Page 139 of the book Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences used the store Home Depot as an example. Home Depot does something quite cool - their physical store and their website match. Have you ever noticed this? I hadn't until I read about it, but it's true! The physical store has wide aisles, helpful people everywhere, frequent sales posted around the store, lots of products, information about those products, and how-to-do-it classes. The website does the same thing: part of the website header includes a smiling employee (plus "Customer Support" is easy to find); the site uses lots of white space, thus mimicking those big aisles at the actual store; you quickly see a clearance ad for sales, you can shop, and they offer a huge "Know-How" section that teaches the same stuff as their in-store classes.

Libraries can do this, too. Think about things like your collection development policy, for starters. Do you emphasize one type of collection over another, like business resources or romance novels? Then feature those online as well - and provide more than just a list of those books. Write articles about how to start a small business (using your books, databases, etc. as resources). Do a "if you like Danielle Steele, you'll like..." type of book list, and provide direct links to those books in your library catalog. If your library has a logo and stylized signage around the building, use those same themes on your website.

Get the idea? Figure out what experiences people are having at your library, and find a way to continue those experiences online.

Build-A-Bear and Continuing the Experience

Page 74 of the book Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences: - Build-A-Bear (my kids love this place!):

..."checking out isn't usually an experience people look forward to." But at Build-A-Bear, you're not just paying for a product... you're continuing an experience."

Checkout is where you receive the new toy's birth certificate, and the bear condo - its cardboard carrying box. (I have three of these in my house!). It's also where you part with your money. Build-A-Bear has built a "looking forward to" type of experience into the checkout time for the customer, so the experience of paying is seen as a positive one.

Build-A-Bear continues this experience online, too - they have created a "virtual dress up game" where you can dress your "new friend" in different clothing to see how the stuffed animal looks. So the theme of "building a bear" is continued from the physical store to the online website (and it also provides kids with a Christmas/birthday wish list to give to the grandparents :-)

Do my kids want to go again? You bet!

Can a library make "finishing a transaction" part of the online experience? I think so - here's two ideas:

1. My library has an online library card application form. After the form is filled out, something like a "thank you" page appears. That page could be transformed into more of a "now that you have a library card, you can do this" type of page that emphasizes resources like the catalog, remote access to databases, etc. This way, the experience of getting a library card isn't finished by clicking Submit; instead, the new customer's library experience can be continued by providing pointers to things the customer can do with his/her new library card.


2. How about the Summer Reading Program most public libraries do? The usual practice is to provide lots of physical games, activities and giveaways in the actual library buildings, but online not much is offered - maybe nothing more than a paragraph or two about the program. Instead of quickly ending the online summer reading program experience with a paragraph of text, how about providing some online games and activities, too? This can be as complicated as Flash-based games, or as simple as an online quiz that kids turn in for more goodies. But either way, instead of ending the experience online, you're continuing the experience by providing something to do.

Library Catalog Experiences

Page 57 of the book Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences: - a customer went to a store to buy a can opener, but it was on a shelf 12 feet high, so she picked another product. Bad product placement, and bad experience!

What do you think - do libraries do this? With high shelving, sure - but also by making our information hard to find. For example... A new book can be:

• on a new books shelf
• a genre shelf
• a themed display
• in the kids or adults section
• on the normal shelf
• Or checked out

And the library catalog doesn't always provide this type of detail to our customers. The catalog entry might say nothing more than "new books" - but our customer is left scratching his head, wondering "where is 'New Books'?" Another good one - a library catalog entry might say "browsing collection" - huh?

We need to provide clear direction so customers can quickly and painlessly find our stuff - thus providing a positive experience. And, simple as this might seem... customers want to repeat positive experiences.

Providing an Experience rather than a Product

Pg 50 of the book Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences: - a discussion on Apple and iMacs. When the iMac was marketed, Apple targeted young people who wanted to be online, but were afraid of technology. Apple's ads clearly demonstrated how easy it was to get online using, of all things, an iMac.

What did Apple do? They targeted a niche audience (young people wanting to connect to the Internet), and offered a solution to that niche audience's problem (difficulty in getting online). Did you read that? Apple didn't offer a product - instead, they basically offered an EXPERIENCE that their target group wanted. The product was merely a means to an end (that of easily connecting to the web).

How can libraries mimic that type of "experience offering?" Here's some ideas:

• We can target a niche audience with focused information - information they want. This way, we're providing the experience of finding answers.


• Does a certain audience have problems? I'm thinking seniors = healthcare issues, young singles = careers, etc. Libraries can offer information-based solutions to these needs and problems, and provide many positive experiences.


• In general, we can offer a positive experience when customers visit our website by providing good, clear information, easy and clear ways of navigating our website, and create a pleasant-looking page.

The Shifted Librarian: Finding Stephen: He's at MLS!

I was reading through Jenny's post of the highlights of Stephen Abram's presentation, and saw this:

"losing “viewing their eyes” in the virtual world (can't see facial expressions)
— have to figure out how to deliver experience/interaction online
— where community is the goal"

I find this extremely cool, since I've been interested in online experience planning... more later.