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To elaborate a bit more, there are two end goals in my mind:

1. An information resource for how to apply good design and usability
principles to library websites.
2. To have a widely adopted set of web standards in the library community,
which would be a big help in getting buy-in from librarians and
administrators for making large user-centered changes to the library's web
presence.

Josh Welker


-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Welker [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:43 AM
To: Code for Libraries
Subject: RE: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was: LibGuides v2 -
Templates and Nav)

John,

I see your point. What I had in mind would be focusing on front-end
technologies, mainly user interface and design patterns. Backend tech trends
change so often that any document would be obsolete by the time it is
finished. There would also have to be a group committed to regularly
updating this information.

Josh Welker


-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Scancella, John
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:34 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was: LibGuides v2 -
Templates and Nav)

Hey guys I am new to this list so I beg your pardon if I am responding to
the wrong people.

I have been trying to follow the conversation below and agree with Michael,
I am still not clear what the end goal is.

Having been developer for a number of years now(and looking at this from
that perspective), I worry that any suggestions/best practices now will be
wrong in the near future (change is constant). I know it stinks, but I don't
see any other way but wade through lots of technical documents to understand
WHY they(document writer) suggest something. What is applicable now to
someone is not the case for someone else/ or in the future.

Case in point, which is better to use for hosting a web application Tomcat
or Jetty? The answer is "it really depends". Until we have computers that
can write/manage code for you, I don't see this changing.

John Scancella

-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brad
Coffield
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 10:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Library community web standards (was: LibGuides v2 -
Templates and Nav)

I agree that it would be a bad idea to endeavor to create our own special
standards that deviate from accepted web best practices and standards. My
own thought was more towards a guide for librarians, curated by librarians,
that provides a summary of best practices. On the one hand, something to
help those without a deep tech background to quickly get up to speed with
best practices instead of needing to conduct a lot of research and reading.
But beyond that, it would also be a resource that went deeper for those who
wanted to explore the literature.

So, bullet points and short lists of information accompanied by links to
additional resources etc. (So, right now, it sounds like a libguide lol)

Though I do think there would potentially be additional information that did
apply mostly/only to libraries and our particular sites etc. Off the top of
my head: a thorough treatment and recommendations regarding libguides v2 and
accessibility, customizing common library-used products (like Serial
Solutions 360 link, Worldcat Local and all their competitors) so that they
are most usable and accessible.

At it's core, though, what I'm picturing is something where librarians get
together and cut through the noise, pull out best web practices, and display
them in a quickly digested format. Everything else would be the proverbial
gravy.

On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 10:01 AM, Michael Schofield <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> 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]
>



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