Questions and Answers

"I was curious about websites because we’re now beginning to accumulate websites and we were thinking about using a website service so it makes it very simple just to find it, click it, ship it and we have archival access to it. But the problem of course is these websites are so complicated and you don’t actually know what you’re fully accessing because there are lots of links; there are lots of portions that may go unexamined. Have you had any experiences with websites that are essentially transnational, that are essentially built in this country but linked to things that are governed by laws outside of U.S. control?

One Change at a Time: Pop up Usability Testing

Library staff know the bizarre tricks and jargon we use to navigate our system and websites while our users continue to struggle and never get as adjusted. The University of Minnesota Libraries have committed to running monthly web usability tests in-house that illustrate the user\u27s perspective. These tests guide us in implementing changes to our system and websites. With little more than a spare computer, Skype, and a group of diligent and willing staff, we\u27ve been able to learn incredibly useful things about our web sites and applications. In this session, we\u27ll describe our process, some examples of evaluations we\u27ve run, what we\u27ve done with the information, lessons we\u27ve learned along the way, and we\u27ll show you how you too can run usability tests at your library

User, How Do I Know You? User-centered Research for Library Websites

Websites are ubiquitous. They are everywhere and everyone seems to be using them. Thus, user experience has become popular, but not everyone uses user-centered research and design principles to design websites. Libraries are beginning to use the tools of user experience, design thinking, and user-centered research to improve library websites. User-centered research places the user at the core of the research and seeks to understand the user so that the resulting solutions can better respond to the needs of users. Who are your users? How do you learn more about your users? What are your users doing? How do you help your users be successful? This presentation will discuss the process of getting to know your users and the steps of user-centered research that can help with the design and development of library websites that respond to the needs of users

A Practical Guide to Integrated Communications: A Workbook for Nonprofits

Integrating your organization's communications can be difficult. You've likely given some thought to what you want to say, and new resources are always talking about defining the story, messaging, and call to action. This is important stuff, but it doesn't help with the tactical questions that users likely struggle with every day. How do you coordinate communications -- which might include email, direct mail, websites, social media, and other channels -- so they all feel like they're coming from the same organization without duplicating messages or bombarding people with requests for money and time? How do you try to integrate communications about your campaigns and the things you need with ongoing community building, putting out useful content, and curating the work of others? And how do you schedule it all so you can know what to do -- and when -- without ittaking over your life?Those are a lot of questions, and that's exactly why we created this workbook. This interactive guide is designed to serve as your blueprint as you work to bring together the many different channels you use to communicate with constituents, and the manydifferent ways you communicate with them. As you complete the worksheets, they'll walk you through an audit of what you're currently doing, teach you to think through what you should be doing, and help you create a tactical plan and schedule to organize your approach to what you're communicating, when, and through which channels. When you've finished, you'll understand how to create a cohesive integrated communications plan to keep people in the loop about your organization and the amazing things it accomplishes, to ask for money or other support, and to consistently engage supporters and keep them fired up about your cause.There are a couple of different ways to use this workbook. One is to plow through it from start to finish entirely by yourselfas a way to think through your own plan and the possibilities for your organization. Or you could consider it a thinking toolto help you work together with all the people involved in communications at your organization to come up with a plan. Inaddition, there are a number of worksheets that might be useful as standalone exercises -- don't feel you need to complete theentire guide if you can get value from individual worksheets

Location-Based Services: Time for a Privacy Check-In

Need to get directions when you are lost? Want to know if your friends are in the neighborhood? Location-based services – applications and websites that provide services based on your current location – can put this information and more in the palm of your hand. But outdated privacy laws and varying corporate practices could mean that sensitive information about who you are, where you go, what you do, and who you know end up being shared, sold, or turned over to the government. Can location-based services protect your privacy? Do they? And what can we do to improve the situation? Location-Based Services: Time for a Privacy Check-in is our new guide outlining privacy considerations for location-based services, including a side-by-side comparison of the privacy practices of several popular products. The guide highlights opportunities for consumers, businesses, and policymakers to work together to update and enhance privacy protections so that you are not forced to choose between using LBS and keeping control of your private information

How to Get A Great English Degree

This is the publisher's blurb: "Are you studying English at university either as your main degree or as a subsidiary subject? Are you finding it challenging? Is some of the reading very difficult? Are you struggling to write good essays? Are you uncertain about how to use references and sources? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then this lively, short guide to studying English at university could be what you’ve been looking for! Written by an experienced teacher and university lecturer, this book covers all the basics you need to know to achieve highly on an English course at university. It discusses: how to tackle difficult reading lists, how to write brilliant essays, how to analyse most literary texts including poetry, how to get to grips with literary theory, the texts you really need to know about, including a section on “The Bible” and the different literary eras; the websites you really need to look at. This book is ideal for students just starting their English degrees, or for someone seriously considering embarking upon one. Undergraduates in their second and third years should find it useful to help them double-check they’ve got the basics covered. The book contains a number of useful case studies based on real students’ experiences of doing English at university and is jammed packed with advice from students themselves who have overcome their difficulties.

Using Technology to Connect Public Libraries and Teens

Today’s teens use technology in most aspects of their lives: 95% of teens go online; 80% of online teens use social media (Lenhart et al., 2011); and 87% of older teens have a mobile phone (Lenhart, 2012). This article explores how public libraries can use technology to effectively connect with and serve their young adult patrons. A review of current literature suggests that librarians begin by involving teens in the planning of young adult services and teen library spaces. These services should include librarians trained in working with teens as well as access to technology and gaming. Libraries must understand how and why teens use technology and the Internet. They should then use this knowledge to plan and develop an online presence. Today’s librarians should use library websites and social networking sites to connect with teens. In addition, libraries must address other technologies that interest teens such as mobile devices and e-reading. Technology changes rapidly, and librarians must stay current on best practices for reaching out to and serving today’s teens

Social Networking and Online Videos Take Off: Internet's Broader Role in Campaign 2008

Presents findings from a survey on presidential campaign news and political communication, with a focus on the Internet's growing role, by news source, generation, sites, and party. Also tracks views on media bias and the Iraq war

Search Engine Use 2012

Presents survey findings about Americans' use of search engines and how they view their own Internet search abilities, search engine performance, and the collection of user information to personalize search results or target advertising