The Divine Miss Eli has started a list of conference tips for newbies contemplating running the maze that is the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando this Summer.
designing for users
Hey what a surprise, when we do user-centered design of our web tools, users like using them! Please read: What words and where? Applying usability testing techniques to name a new live reference service. many of the lessons they learned are applicable to any library web site.
3. Users tended to ignore links above the main content area, especially if the links were graphic images. They expected these images to be banner ads and have, over time, learned to ignore them.
4. Users were not familiar with library jargon such as “database” or “interlibrary loan.”[pscott]
4. Users were not familiar with library jargon such as “database” or “interlibrary loan.”[pscott]
Kevin Starr on retirement and more
Interview with California’s newly retired state librarian, Kevin Starr.
check the headline of this article compared to the content
Gay pride exhibits bug people in Anchorage again.
Municipal Librarian Art Weeks said he fielded at least a dozen phone calls from people who thought the material was inappropriate for the public library. But he disagrees. “This is a social issue of our day on which we don’t all agree,” he said. “A library is a forum for the exchange of ideas, and it’s appropriate in that context.” Weeks said the exhibit complies with the city’s policy on library displays.
make 10K while in jail!
Librarian secretly serves jail time on a sex abuse charge while on holiday and sick leave from his job at the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. He was subsequently fired.