The Taming of the Site: Helping Users Find What They Need Where They Expect It

Helping users find the need-to-know information on a library website can be difficult, especially if the site’s structure itself confuses them or leads them to unexpected places. A library site may start small but grow larger and more unwieldy every year until users are lost in a maze of disconnected, outdated, or even missing pages. In this episode, you\u27ll find out how to update your site\u27s information architecture (IA) and simplify your navigational structure. You’ll also learn how identifying content owners makes content clean-up easier to finish and simpler to maintain. We’ll walk through steps to make sure your IA informs site navigation in a way that leads users the way they need to go. We’ll also discuss how to identify important content and distill it in a way that helps users get what they need without becoming frustrated. After this episode, you\u27ll be able to help users easily find what they need and make sure it\u27s still relevant when they get there

Drive-Thru User Testing

User testing doesn’t have to be expensive or tedious. Join us to find out more about drive-thru user testing: cheap, quick, and easy ways to find out what your users expect from your services. Find out when to use different types of user testing to figure out the specific answers to your questions -- and which methods may seem easy when they aren’t

Ready, set, oh no? Prepare for possible online accessibility issues before they arise

Trying to make your online resources more accessible but aren\u27t sure where the vendor\u27s interface might cause problems? Do you collect Accessibility Compliance Reports (sometimes referred to as a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template or VPAT) and file it away without doing anything with the information contained within? Find out how the Online Resources and Services Librarian at the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences Library Resources has partnered with UND’s Equity Compliance and Education Manager to take accessibility compliance to the next level. We’ve augmented the basic University requirement to check a box into a more comprehensive process that ensures we’re proactively attending to our users’ current and future needs. We work internally and with vendors to identify and track the potential failing points of our online resources as identified in their ACR. We then, prior to purchase approval or renewal, develop a plan to mitigate the accessibility barriers within the platform and provide equally effective alternative access to the material. Once the resource is made available within our ILS, we inform users of known accessibility barriers and make sure they know how to contact us with questions or for assistance. In this lightning talk, we’ll discuss going beyond basic internal requirements to establish more rigorous measures that better meets users where they are and before they know they need help. You’ll discover how to identify and track potential problems, how to communicate to your users regarding accessibility concerns, and how to maintain contact with your vendors and publishers to advocate for your users

Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

ALA Core\u27s AvramCamp is designed to be a safe and inclusive day-long workshop for people of marginalized genders, including women, non-binary folks, and trans men, to come together and discuss challenges these groups commonly face while working in the library technology field. Each AvramCamp begins with a workshop to talk about Impostor Syndrome: what it is, how to recognize it, and strategies to overcome those feelings of being a fake or a fraud. Participants are encouraged to engage with the facilitators, creating a lively and honest discussion around an often private and sensitive topic

Virtual Collaboration: Exploring New Frontiers

Librarians looking for professional development opportunities, especially in states like North Dakota where many serve small populations in rural areas, will benefit from thinking creatively about organizing a conference. Two sections of the North Dakota Library Association (NDLA) used Blackboard Collaborate Ultra as a platform to produce a fully online conference. This virtual “unconference” was interactive and robust, with speakers from across the state, interactive whiteboards, poster rooms, meeting space for special interest groups, and more. In this workshop, we will share what we have learned about Collaborate Ultra, including its strengths and weaknesses. We hope to brainstorm and discuss other potential applications, including classrooms, professional development, online meetings, group work, and supporting distance students and colleagues. Please bring your device and join us in a working session where you will experience Collaborate Ultra first-hand and discover how this tool can facilitate learning and collaboration and impact the work you do.https://commons.und.edu/cfl-lpp/1005/thumbnail.jp

A New Frontier: Lessons Learned from NDLA\u27s First Online Un-Conference

NDLA’s Health Science Information and Academic & Special Libraries Sections held its inaugural fully online “un-conference” using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. A fully online conference can be a robust, low-cost alternative to a traditional conference that could be an advantage to librarians looking for professional development opportunities in this rural state. In this session, the planners will discuss creating this experience and lessons learned.https://commons.und.edu/cfl-lpp/1002/thumbnail.jp