1. Change the name “Library Departments” to “Contact Us.”  The purpose of this page is to give users quick access to departments like Reserves, Interlibrary Loan, Collection Management, etc.  Using the word “Contact” in the name of the page brings more attention to the page, we think.  It also might allow us to remove the long list of contact info that otherwise could be needed on the library collections pages.
2. Create a new subpage under “Library Collections” called “Collections,” and nest pages like College Archives, Government Documents and Digital Collections in it.  This decreases the number of subpages under “Library Collections” to 6.  White Whale recommends no more than 8 subpages, and without this change, “Library Collections” has 11.  We considered nesting some of the collections under “Main Library,” but we think that nesting them under “Collections” gives them a little more prominence.

We think these changes will make it easier for most users to find what they’re looking for.  Do you agree?

- The labels / descriptions under the various Uses. Are they too wordy? Can a user find what they are looking for?
- The left-hand menu under Uses – should it appear at all?

We welcome your comments, thoughts, suggestions, accolades, applause, donations, etc.

We have some very exciting web tools and platforms to work with in developing the site. We hope that the intersection of multiple platforms on the LIS web site will give our users the best possible experience in navigating and accessing our services and resources – and also give LIS a chance to feature the great work we do.
Please be in touch. We can reached by blog, phone, email, and also in person.
Elin, on behalf of the web team Ian, Barbara, Carrie, Liz, Jim, Jess and Doreen

]]> http://blogs.middlebury.edu/lis/2009/11/18/preview-of-next-version-of-shadowbox-theme/feed/ 0 http://blogs.middlebury.edu/lis/2009/11/17/artscope-a-nifty-way-to-look-at-images/ http://blogs.middlebury.edu/lis/2009/11/17/artscope-a-nifty-way-to-look-at-images/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:32:48 +0000 Michael Roy http://blogs.middlebury.edu/lis/?p=14281 Megan Battey shared with us a nifty tool from SF MOMA for looking at a large collection of images at the same time. It’s called Artscope and can be found at

http://www.sfmoma.org/projects/artscope/#r=64

The Future of the Library
How the Library Ecosystem is Evolving to
Support 21st Century Information Demands

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 • Time: 12:00 pm EST/9:00 am PST/1700 GMT
Free Registration: www.libraryjournal.com/futureofthelibrary


Please Join Us for this Special 1-hour Webcast Featuring Three Industry Notables

Libraries are continuing to evolve and are using new technologies to expand their presence as virtual knowledge centers for information sharing communities. Patrons conducting research remotely are increasingly using mobile devices and accessing resources in multiple languages.

Librarians as 21st century knowledge technologists as well as electronic information experts need to offer easily accessible library-specific solutions tailored to the unique data and information needs of their users. Technology solution providers are working with publishers and are moving towards more sharing of data, interoperability standards and electronic workflow required to meet these needs.

Listen to three industry notables share their view of how the industry is responding and changing to meet these evolving needs of the library ecosystem using today’s emerging technologies to meet the needs of patrons today and for the future.

If you are not able to make the inaugural webcast of The Future of the Library, you will be able to access the webcast archive for one year following the initial webcast, and will receive an email from Library Journal as soon as it is available. Just register using the links above.

Tuesday, November 17^th – Sunday, November 22^nd , Main Library

Open at 9:00 AM on first day, continuing during regular library open hours thereafter.

LIBRARY BOOK SALE–  The Middlebury College Main Library will offer withdrawn and duplicate copies of books, VHS tapes, and other media for sale at great prices.    Choose from a wide variety of items for scholarly work or recreational reading and viewing.  All proceeds from the sale will be added to the library’s materials replacement fund. (Because the low price asked for materials is in part a service to the college community, anyone purchasing items on the first day of the sale will be required to show a Middlebury College ID.  Book dealers are not welcome to purchase items for resale on Tuesday, Nov. 17th). FMI, contact Joseph Watson 443-5487 jwatson@middlebury.edu

Screenshot of Measure ShadowBox theme header

The goal is to create a more unified user experience (UX) and make it easy for faculty and students to move from one platform to another.  You’ll noticed that Measure has links to WordPress and Segue in the upper right corner.  These same links can be put in the same place on WordPress blogs that use ShadowBox.  I’d also like to put these same links on all Segue sites to help with the transition away from Segue to other platforms.

As new platforms are introduced, they can be added in much the same way as Google Apps lists its various applications.

For more information about Measure, see the Measure Blog.

Mack and Alex are working at the helpdesk. Alex tangentially wondered if and how the CTT should be more involved in the helpdesk. It was noted that the team has a number of issues on its plate – not the least of which was the original charge to find a replacement for Segue. If the team is to be involved in other projects – then we need direction and new goal setting from the ADs. It was agreed however, the CTT could have a hand in training staff at the helpdesk once a replacement application is chosen. It was suggested that the team could also have a hand in application development – particularly for MiddMedia and could help determine which features and applications are most appropriate for curricular use.

For the rest of the meeting CTT discussed its new website. There was some disagreement about the current navigation – but it was agreed to seek feedback from a few potential users before changing the navigation from the current mock up.

Discussed the philosophy behind  Quick Starts, and came up with the following rubric:

• That we need to post some information that relates to the different labs on campus
• That there needs to be information about some of the free for download applications such as Audacity that are included among the tools
• Discussed what essentials might be included in a Quick Start Guide as it related to Audacity.