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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]