Category Archives: Library

What Do Libraries Call Users, and What Do Library Users Think of Themselves in relation to Libraries?

  Do library users think of themselves as library “patrons?” In American Libraries Magazine, Anthony Molaro wrote a piece titled “Just Who Do We Serve?”  There, Molaro mentioned an interesting fact that caught my eyes. Did you know that library … Continue reading

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Making Library e-Books on the e-Book Reader Visible

***  This post has been originally posted to the ACRL TechConnect blog. *** Browsing Experience in the Virtual vs. the Physical Space However entangled our lives are in virtual spaces, it is in the physical space that we exist. For this … Continue reading

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Usability in Action (2) – The Role of a Homepage

What to place and where to place the many elements of a website’s homepage is often the result of a delicate negotiation and compromise between what users want and what the site owner wants.  While the most ideal case is … Continue reading

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Management is Not the Decision-Making Team

While reading the post below, this caught my eye.  What do you think? Would this apply to libraries as in software development industry? “The “management team” isn’t the “decision making” team. It’s a support function. You may want to call … Continue reading

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Usability in Action (1) – Don’t Offer Irrelevant Options in the First Place

Many assume that adding more information would automatically increase the usability of a website.  While there are cases in which this would be true,  often a better option is to make that needed information not necessary at all for a … Continue reading

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Tips for Everyone Doing the #codeyear

***   This post has been originally posted to the ACRL TechConnect blog.  *** Learn to Code in 2012! If you are a librarian interested in learning how to code, 2012 is a perfect year for you to start the … Continue reading

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Making Years of Service Meaningful – My thought on #hlth

By now, I believe almost everyone in the library-land would have heard about the Harvard Libraries Town Hall meeting debacle. (If not, see this post by Tom Bruno.) Like everyone else, I don’t have an inkling about whether the reorganization … Continue reading

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About the Merit of an e-Reader as a Single-Purpose Device

Despite the popularity of an e-book reader, I was never really tempted to purchase a Nook or a Kindle.  I figured since I have an iPad, it would be completely pointless to own and use a e-book reader, which I … Continue reading

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Published! Chapter 8. Mobile Use in Medicine: Taking a Cue from Specialized Resources and Devices

The presentation that I gave with my colleague, Marissa Ball, at Handheld Librarian Online Conference II (February 17, 2010.) is now out as a book chapter in the new book published by Routledge, Mobile Devices and the Library: Handheld Tech, … Continue reading

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Two Simple Ways to Upgrade the User Experience of Your Library

If you ever had the feeling that your library space might look somewhat dull and unexciting, there might be some relatively simpler ways to change that.  The university I work at has two separate campuses and I work at one … Continue reading

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