Cindi,

A LITA interest group sounds like it would be ideal. I think it is very
important for this document to be associated with an official professional
library organization if it is going to carry any weight or credibility with
rank-and-file librarians.

Josh Welker


-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Cindi Blyberg
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was: LibGuides v2 -
Templates and Nav)

*puts on LITA hat*

There are several ways that LITA/ALA could play a role here.

Publications:
There is a series of books called LITA Guides.  Great way to get the word
out widely, but a static format.
http://www.alastore.ala.org/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=lita

There are also Library Technology Reports - a periodical.  Still static, but
published more regularly:
http://alatechsource.org/ltr/index

There is also the LITA UX Interest Group.  IGs are fluid, volunteer-run (not
appointed), and can pretty much do what they want.  Publish and update
something? Sure!  Establish and run a virtual conference? Definitely! Have
meetings and programs at conferences? Yes!  Caveat: must be a LITA member.

Happy to provide more info if needed.

-Cindi
of the many hats

On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 10:34 AM, Joshua Welker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I definitely agree that we should adhere to larger web standards and
> that we should actively discourage conventions that libraries have
> adopted over the years that have nothing to do with wider standards
> and best practices (e.g.
> tabbed search boxes, content in sidebar regions). In fact, much of our
> work would just be bringing together information from several
> standards into a common location and putting a "librarian" stamp of
> approval on it.
>
> Some topics I had in mind:
>
> -Accessibility standards: screen readers, color blindness, keyboard
> navigation, alt tags, etc.
> -Text: readable fonts, colors, text alignment -Page layout: navigation
> location, sidebars, headings and subheadings, search box designs,
> database pages, mobile friendliness -Best practices for specific
> library platforms: LibGuides, DSpace, etc.
>
> Some official name would be required, of course. I also think it would
> be great if we could write a draft, bring it to an official ALA group
> like LITA, and get them to adopt it after making their own tweaks.
>
> Josh Welker
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
> Of Michael Schofield
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:01 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was:
> LibGuides v2
> -
> Templates and Nav)
>
> I am interested but I am a little hazy about what kind of standards
> you all are suggesting. I would warn against creating standards that
> conflict with any actual web standards, because I--and, I think, many
> others--would honestly recommend that the #libweb should aspire to and
> adhere more firmly to larger web standards and best practices that
> conflict with something that's more, ah, librarylike. Although that
> might not be what you folks have in mind at all : ).
>
> Michael S.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
> Of Brad Coffield
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:30 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was:
> LibGuides v2
> -
> Templates and Nav)
>
> Josh, thanks for separating this topic out and starting this new
> thread. I don't know of any such library standards that exist on the
> web. I agree that this sounds like a great idea. As for this group or
> not... why not!
> It's 2014 and they don't exist yet and they would be incredibly useful
> for many libraries, if not all. Now all we need is a cool 'working
> group' title for ourselves and we're halfway done! Right???
>
> But seriously, I'd love to help.
>
> Brad
>
>
>
>
> --
> Brad Coffield, MLIS
> Assistant Information and Web Services Librarian Saint Francis
> University
> 814-472-3315
> [log in to unmask]
>