LISTSERV mailing list manager LISTSERV 16.5

Help for CODE4LIB Archives


CODE4LIB Archives

CODE4LIB Archives


CODE4LIB@LISTS.CLIR.ORG


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

CODE4LIB Home

CODE4LIB Home

CODE4LIB  September 2014

CODE4LIB September 2014

Subject:

Re: LibGuides v2 - Templates and Nav

From:

Brad Coffield <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 14:16:30 -0400

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (451 lines)

On a different note, just wanted to say that I have found this entire
thread massively interesting and very useful. *pats self on back for
starting it* lol Thanks to all who've been chiming in. (not trying to shut
it down)

I'll probably be starting another thread eventually on something that was
discussed in here: best practices and creating rules for guide creators.
We're a small school and everyone who needs to be on board is on board with
creating a "style guide" and a peer-review process to ensure the style
guide is followed. I've been tapped to be the one to create the style guide
which is both exciting and daunting. I want to cover all the little stuff -
some naming conventions etc. but also want to build something that will
help us all follow best practices for web design and accessibility.I'll
likely lean on the group's expertise for these at some point this semester.
Many of our guides aren't getting the usage they should to justify the time
spent creating and maintaining them. Beyond the time issue to properly
develop them I think that a real part of the reason is that they are just
so user-unfriendly and difficult to navigate. There were some hilarious
comments earlier in this thread about others' school's out-of-control
styles and we have that too but its even just more than that. I think we
were operating under a "let's get all kindsa stuff up here and it's gonna
be awesome!" paradigm and now we need to restructure and look at these as
real websites that happen to be guides. The v2 migration is a great time to
do it. </ramble>

On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 2:04 PM, Brad Coffield <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I also think all of these ideas are awesome. The idea of a third-party
> space, or even someplace sponsored by springshare, to share customizations
> etc. could help so many of us. Even short of developing a plug-in system,
> having someplace to share template customizations, CSS, etc. would be HUGE.
>
> Github seems like a very reasonable option though it's true the tech bar
> for admission is pretty high. It would be great if we had a place where
> those admins Cindi mentioned who aren't super tech-expert but do some
> customizations and would like to do more  (and I would put myself in that
> group) could go to download custom templates, CSS mods to tweak etc.. Even
> if it was just screenshots and text files for download.
>
> Springshare's Best Of guide is really handy and has been useful to me in
> the past but I think what we're all talking about transcends the
> capabilities of that site.... Or maybe not? Could all of this be housed on
> a regular old libguide?? Different sections for different types of
> customizations and boxes with individual submissions? Someone would have to
> manage it and the submissions.... which might make it untenable.
>
> On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 10:30 AM, Joshua Welker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> If we are talking about a set of _curated_ community plugins, Github (or
>> any
>> of umpteen git platforms) would be fine. A Springshare person and/or
>> designated community persons could control the repos, approving pull
>> requests and managing releases and all that. A new release would be sent
>> to
>> an approval process that would check for bugs, performance problems,
>> security, etc., and this part would have to be done by a Springshare
>> person
>> most likely. If it is approved, regular LG users could enable the plugin
>> by
>> checking a box on an admin page that lists all the approved plugins.
>> Regular
>> non-techy users (who you indicated are the vast majority of LG sites)
>> would
>> never have to touch git or even know repos exist.
>>
>> As far as communication platforms, the only thing that might be helpful is
>> an IRC channel. Otherwise, Github bug trackers, SS lounge (maybe with a
>> new
>> developers group), and listservs like this one would be sufficient.
>>
>> These social issues are one thing. The more difficult part IMO is
>> determining how the plugin system would work. Wordpress and Drupal offer a
>> good model with their systems of hooks. For instance, there could be an
>> on_page_load hook. A plugin could register with that hook, which would
>> tell
>> LG under-the-hood to run the plugin whenever the page loads. The hook
>> would
>> pass an object into some kind of init function, where it could be
>> manipulated in PHP and then returned. We could come up with a small
>> handful
>> of these hooks that would handle just about any use case the community
>> might
>> have. (Off the top of my head: on page load, at a scheduled interval, on
>> loading the "add box" menu, on loading the "add box content" menu, on
>> loading the admin guide index page.)
>>
>> Here's a trivial example of sorting all the boxes on a page by title:
>> https://gist.github.com/jswelker/7c672c56be62b9d5fe58
>>
>>
>> Josh Welker
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>> Cindi Blyberg
>> Sent: Friday, September 26, 2014 8:16 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] LibGuides v2 - Templates and Nav
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 7:29 AM, Alex Armstrong <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > @Cindi: In my defense, I was being rhetorical as to why there's no
>> > plugin system. I wasn't trying to second-guess how you develop your
>> > products.
>> > Though I'm glad you're considering allowing more sophisticated
>> > customization for LibGuides. Navigation in particular is a thorny issue.
>> >
>>
>> No worries! I hope my response didn't come off as reactionary. We are
>> happy
>> to answer questions, even rhetorical ones. ;)  (I hear you, but we were
>> like, yeah, why *doesn't* that exist? Let's *do* it!)
>>
>> As for Gist/Git, there are repos out there, 20-some of them.  We would
>> very
>> much like to replace the Lounge with something else in the future, and
>> while
>> I think GitHub is too high a bar for most of our users, it could play a
>> role
>> in us sharing with you and vice-versa.
>>
>>
>> > There's some simple stuff thatare worth documenting. For example, Josh
>> > mentioned that:
>> >
>> > "The admin controls in LGseem to all be loaded dynamically via
>> > javascript, which makes them both very hard to customize and very easy
>> > to break. I have also noticed that changingthe ID of certain HTML
>> > elements in your template can have the unintended(and undocumented)
>> > effect of erasing particular admin features from your template."
>> >
>> > I've listed these IDs here: https://gist.github.com/alehandrof/
>> > 9f083aa03c287931d9f0#file-required-for-admin-html
>>
>>
>> We actually had this on our list of things to add to the LibGuides
>> documentation. So, thanks for that, Alex! :)  I'll see that it gets
>> added--you're not the first one to alert us to this issue (nor was
>> @gollydamn).
>>
>>
>> > Any ideas on where/how we can share things like this? I tried tweeting
>> > it to my 6 followers. To my surprise, it was not widely reported on :p
>> >
>>
>> We are happy to RT - just tag us @springshare. We also have a blog
>> <http://blog.springshare.com>, and a web newsletter that goes out to
>> every
>> person with an account. I realize that this is us sharing rather than you
>> sharing--if something else works, go for it, and if we can help, just ask.
>> Keep being awesome, and know that we welcome your feedback. :)
>>
>> Thanks!
>>  -Cindi :)
>>
>>
>> On 2014-09-25 23:48, Cindi Blyberg wrote:
>>
>> > OK, one more tidbit on this.  I was chatting with Slaven, our CEO, and
>> > told him of the chatter on the list and the idea of a
>> > community-developed, curated set of plug-ins, along with templates,
>> > themes, etc., and he's totally excited about this idea.  He (and I!)
>> > would love it if you all would chime in on this and other ideas on the
>> > Lounge so that we can figure out how to make them happen.  We're going
>> > to set up a group on the Lounge for techie admins, but our Lounge
>> > admin is in the midst of moving so it might take a day or two.
>> >
>> > Thanks for all this great feedback, everyone!  We are listening, and
>> > want to make these things happen.
>> >
>> > -cb
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 3:22 PM, Cindi Blyberg <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> >  Hi Alex,
>> >>
>> >> That's a great question! I would surmise that a plug-in system and
>> >> other advanced tech features don't exist yet for a couple of reasons.
>> >> First, we're a small company.  We have eight products and a small
>> >> development team; right now the priority is getting out v2 apps.
>> >> Second, we have more than 4500 LibGuides customers, and some have
>> >> more than one site.  The vast, vast majority of those folks use
>> >> LibGuides out of the box, with a few color customizations that they
>> >> accomplish with the UI (or a lot, as you've seen...).  Some folks are
>> >> advanced enough to figure out and alter the default CSS and put their
>> >> customizations in the Custom JS/CSS field.  Then there is this group.
>> >> :)  There are a few LibGuides admins who do customization at this
>> >> group's level who aren't on this list (or are you?
>> >> :)
>> >> ).
>> >>
>> >> I'd also second the Lounge (springsharelounge.com) as a good group.
>> >> There's an academic libraries group there, which is quite active.
>> >>
>> >> Cheers.
>> >>
>> >> On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Alex Armstrong <[log in to unmask]>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>  The web content workflow and governance issues that were brought up
>> >> are
>> >>> really important. I would love to discuss them at excruciating length.
>> >>> But
>> >>> content ownership conundrums and the frustrations of WYSIWYG editors
>> >>> are broader issues that can be usefully taken up in other threads.
>> >>>
>> >>> I de-lurked here because I saw an opening to discuss LibGuides with
>> >>> other people who have a stake in it, especially as a lightweight
>> >>> CMS. I think Josh's description of its limitations was very good.
>> >>> His feature propositions, including that of a curated plugin system,
>> >>> were even better.
>> >>> I have a question though: Why doesn't it exist already?
>> >>>
>> >>> LibGuides is limited, though the v2 API looks promising for
>> >>> client-side stuff. We should be talking with Springshare about
>> >>> improving workflows for admins -- such as (an example I came across
>> >>> today) being able to upload more than one image at a time. And, in
>> >>> the meantime, there's other stuff we can do now: community docs,
>> >>> templates, themes, best practices, etc. I've been surprised by the
>> >>> lack of this material, considering how widely LibGuides is
>> >>> implemented.
>> >>>
>> >>> Does anyone else find this stuff interesting?
>> >>>
>> >>> Alex
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> On 09/25/2014 05:48 PM, Cindi Blyberg wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>  One more great guide to share - a literary journal from a k12 in
>> >>>> Australia:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> http://home2.scotch.wa.edu.au/theraven_winter2014
>> >>>>
>> >>>> For you LG admins out there - it's a series of RT content types
>> >>>> that's governed by an external stylesheet.  They have LibGuides
>> >>>> CMS, and this private guide is in its own group.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> *back to lurking*
>> >>>>
>> >>>> On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 2:00 PM, Cindi Blyberg <[log in to unmask]>
>> >>>> wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>   Jesse reminds me that I meant to point out that there is a "Paste
>> >>>> from
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> Word" button in the RTE that will strip out all that microsoft
>> >>>>> nonsense.
>> >>>>> Not quite what you were asking for (suppressing tags from the
>> >>>>> RTE--I passed that suggestion on to the devs) but it's what we
>> >>>>> refer people to who break their formatting accidentally with a
>> >>>>> massive paste.  There's also a "Paste as Plain Text" button that
>> >>>>> has a similar effect.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 1:32 PM, Jesse Martinez
>> >>>>> <[log in to unmask]
>> >>>>> >
>> >>>>> wrote:
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>   I can commiserate!
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>> The tactic we've used at our university was to use the data
>> >>>>>> migration from
>> >>>>>> LGv1 to LGv2 as a means to convene guide authors and rethink
>> >>>>>> * the future overall layout of our guides (new side menu has been
>> >>>>>> our design choice but complicates preexisting three- and
>> >>>>>> four-column layouts);
>> >>>>>> * their intended use (pastiche of related but independent boxes
>> >>>>>> on the guide or something with a simple flow/concise content --
>> >>>>>> it's a philosophical discussion, for sure);
>> >>>>>> * breakdown of content (when it is appropriate to have long
>> >>>>>> detailed pages or break down into sub-pages, which have their own
>> >>>>>> issues...);
>> >>>>>> *  the strict use of accessibility policies (must set up strict
>> >>>>>> policies about funky colors & fonts, minimize use HTML tables,
>> >>>>>> content column layout w.r.t. responsive design, etc.).
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> I feel our internal conversations and meetings about rethinking
>> >>>>>> LibGuides
>> >>>>>> v2 with our staff have gone over well, and reiterating
>> >>>>>> appropriate "best practices" or suggestions whenever I field a
>> >>>>>> LibGuides question have birthed some improvements in guide
>> >>>>>> construction. It's an ongoing battle, of course!
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> There are some heavy-handed tactics in place here too. For
>> >>>>>> instance we've hidden the Fonts button in the guide editor using
>> >>>>>> CSS.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> span#cke_12 {display:none;}
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> This doesn't stop custom html or copy/pasting Word content (ugh)
>> >>>>>> from getting through, but it does allows us to say, "nope, we're
>> >>>>>> not supporting Comic Sans!"
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 12:56 PM, Joshua Welker <[log in to unmask]>
>> >>>>>> wrote:
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>   I lol'ed several times reading your message. I feel the pain.
>> >>>>>> Well, it is
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>  nice to know I am not alone. You are right that this in
>> >>>>>> particular is
>> >>>>>>> an
>> >>>>>>> organizational problem and not a LibGuides problem. But
>> >>>>>>> unfortunately it has been an organizational problem at both of
>> >>>>>>> the universities where
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>  I've
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>  worked that use LibGuides, and it sounds like it is a problem at
>> >>>>>> many
>> >>>>>>> other libraries. I'm not sure what it is about LibGuides that
>> >>>>>>> brings out the most territorial and user-marginalizing aspects
>> >>>>>>> of the librarian psyche.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Does anyone have any positive experience in dealing with this? I
>> >>>>>>> am on
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>  the
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>  verge of just manually enforcing good standards even though it
>> >>>>>> will
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>  create
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>  a lot of enmity. LibGuides CMS has a publishing workflow feature
>> >>>>>> that
>> >>>>>>> would force all guide edits to be approved by me so that I could
>> >>>>>>> stamp this stuff out each time it happens.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> To enforce, or not to enforce, that is the question-- Whether
>> >>>>>>> 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of
>> >>>>>>> outrageously poor usability, Or to take arms against a sea of
>> >>>>>>> ugly guides, And by forcing compliance with standards and best
>> >>>>>>> practices, end them?
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Josh Welker
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>> >>>>>>> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> >>>>>>> Behalf Of Will Martin
>> >>>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 11:34 AM
>> >>>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> >>>>>>> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] LibGuides v2 - Templates and Nav
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>   4. Admin controls are not very granular. With most aspects of
>> >>>>>>> editing
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> a guide, you either have the option of locking down styles and
>> >>>>>>>> templates completely (and oh your colleagues will howl) or
>> >>>>>>>> allowing everything (and oh your eyeballs will scream). Some of
>> >>>>>>>> these things could very well be improved in the future, and
>> >>>>>>>> some probably will not.
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>  This!  My librarians have successfully resisted every attempt
>> >>>>>>>> to
>> >>>>>>> impose
>> >>>>>>> any kind of standardization.  Visual guidelines?  Nope.  Content
>> >>>>>>> guidelines?  Nope.  Standard system settings?  Nope.  Anything
>> >>>>>>> less than 100% free reign appears to be anathema to them.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> The result, predictably, is chaos.  Our guides run the gamut.
>> >>>>>>> We have
>> >>>>>>> everything:
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> - Giant walls of text that no one ever reads.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> - Lovingly crafted lists of obscure library sources that rarely
>> >>>>>>> (if
>> >>>>>>> ever) bear any relation to what the patron is actually trying to
>> do.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> - A thriving ecosystem of competing labels.  Is it "Article
>> >>>>>>> Indexes", "Article Databases", just plain "Databases", or
>> >>>>>>> something more exotic?
>> >>>>>>> Depends which apex predator rules this particular neck of the
>> >>>>>>> jungle.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> - Green text on pink backgrounds with maroon borders.  Other
>> >>>>>>> pages in
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>  the
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>  same guide might go with different, equally eye-twisting color
>> >>>>>>> schemes.
>> >>>>>>> I'm not even sure how he's doing that without access to the
>> >>>>>>> style sheet, but he's probably taught himself just enough HTML
>> >>>>>>> to mangle things in an effort to use "friendly" colors.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> - Some guides have three or even FOUR rows of tabs.  With
>> >>>>>>> drop-down submenus on most of them, naturally.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> - A few are nicely curated and easy to use, but they're in a
>> >>>>>>> distinct minority.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> I've tried.  I've pushed peer-reviewed usability studies at them.
>> >>>>>>> I've
>> >>>>>>> reported on conference sessions explaining exactly why all these
>> >>>>>>> things are bad.  I've brought them studies of our own analytics.
>> >>>>>>> I've had students sit down and get confused in front of them.
>> >>>>>>> Nothing has gotten through, and being the only web type at the
>> >>>>>>> library, I'm outnumbered.
>> >>>>>>> Just the thought of it makes me supremely tired.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> I'm sorry if this has digressed.  LibGuides is not at fault,
>> really.
>> >>>>>>> It's an organizational problem.  LibGuides just seems to be the
>> >>>>>>> flash point for it.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Will
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>  --
>> >>>>>> Jesse Martinez
>> >>>>>> Web Services Librarian
>> >>>>>> O'Neill Library, Boston College
>> >>>>>> [log in to unmask]
>> >>>>>> 617-552-2509
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Brad Coffield, MLIS
> Assistant Information and Web Services Librarian
> Saint Francis University
> 814-472-3315
> [log in to unmask]
>



-- 
Brad Coffield, MLIS
Assistant Information and Web Services Librarian
Saint Francis University
814-472-3315
[log in to unmask]

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

Advanced Options


Options

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password


Search Archives

Search Archives


Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe


Archives

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003

ATOM RSS1 RSS2



LISTS.CLIR.ORG

CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager