K-State Libraries: Library Interfaces Team

Minutes Jul 10

Present: Askey, Bell, Bonella, Coleman, Kaus, Loberg, Maringanti, McCraw, Trushell, Von Elling
Absent: Brooks-Kieffer, Haddock
Next Meeting: Jul 24, 2008

Announcements

New Google Search Appliance, purchased jointly by the Libraries, Research and Extension, and CTS, has arrived.

Voyager Help pages are loaded, but they are currently not opening in a new window. Askey with confer with Maringanti to alleviate this problem.

Additional Forms page on the intranet has been reorganized, sorting the forms into categories. Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Site Redecoration

The default style for links will be underlined. Links in lists look cluttered when underlined, so on the main pages lists of link will not be underlined. Page maintainers will make this decision for their own pages.

The redecoration will begin the last week of July or the first week of August. Projected turn around time for project completion is approximately 2 weeks for the bulk of the site. During this time, a moratorium on page changes will be declared.

Askey will create step-by-step documentation for applying the new templates to the old pages, as well as holding a mini-training session before the project begins. All page maintainers are encouraged to attend to learn how to redecorate their own pages. Time and work-load permitting, they may also volunteer to redecorate "orphan" pages. 

Beyond simply applying the new template, now is the time to fix the content and clean up any pages that look strange.

Any page maintainer who has vacation plans during this redecoration phase should inform Askey, so their pages may be assigned to another decorator. As sections of the site are completed, send Askey an email so he can keep track of the overall progress.

Askey will send an email to library staff (LIT first) explaining the project, so they will be prepared when the project begins.

Minutes May 08

Present: Askey, Bell, Brooks-Kieffer, Haddock, Kaus, Loberg, McCraw, Von Elling
Absent: Bonella, Coleman, Maringanti, Trushell,
Next Meeting: May 22, 2008

Announcements

Mary Radnor and Jenny McCraw volunteered to learn to edit the Voyager Opac Interface. Askey will begin showing them the intricacies in mid-June.

Haddock reported that the Wildflower site has been up for 10 days with no problems. Thanks go to Yongli.

Voyager Help Pages

The only comments have been positive, so the pages will go live about mid-June. How fortuitous! Just in time to give Mary and Jenny practical experience while learning the interface.

SFX Menu Changes

Brooks-Kieffer demonstrated the latest version of the Get It menu, made easier by the SFX software upgrade. The team liked the changes: no section headings and linking on the action instead of the database name. It was also decided that the GO button was redundant and should be eliminated.

It was suggested that the "no online copy found, please search the catalog" statement needed to be emphasized in some way, as it is easily overlooked.  It may be possible in the future for SFX to search the holding records in the catalog, in which case the purpose for the statement will change.

LibraryThing for Libraries

The original quoted price was a mistake, and the current quote is 4.5 times that original amount. McCraw continues to negotiate, but needs a firm price before the proposal can go before LLC for approval, again.

Additionally, it would be counterproductive to offer a service to our patrons only to eliminate it later for being cost-prohibitive.

Site Migration (with a note about the redecoration)

Tsk, tsk, bad form mixing typefaces in a header bar. But, behold the advantages to moving the page title below the header bar: page title is easier to see, the stacked library logo can be used on all the pages, and (drum roll, please) those who care about typography will not go into cardiac arrest.

Team members committed to moving the site onto the new templates this summer. And, by the end of summer, they may well be.

Summer Meetings

Meetings will be scheduled normally for the summer, but we will probably only meet once a month. Kaus did suggest it was about time for another Voyager meeting.

Cake?

Sadly, no cake.

Minutes 24 Apr

Present: Askey, Bell, Bonella, Brooks-Kieffer, Coleman, Haddock, Loberg, Maringanti, McCraw, Von Elling
Absent: Kaus, Trushell,
Next Meeting: May 08, 2008

Announcements

Maringanti has had several successful individual and small group sessions focusing on del.icio.us and suggested that it might be time to consider targeting a larger audience.

LibraryThing for Libraries

There have been only positive comments about providing this for our users. McCraw awaits official word from LLC before preparing a PPR.

Site Redesign

Following a few final tweaks, the redesign will be ready for comment. Keep in mind that this is a redesign of the template not the site. Consider it a redecoration not a renovation.

The switch to the new design will occur this summer. Every page will require some work as all footers will break. The current multitude of templates treated the footer in very different ways, making it impossible for the new template to accommodate all of them.

Voyager Opac Interface

Anyone with a burning desire to learn the intricacies of the Voyager Opac Interface should contact Askey.

Primary Sources

The group discussed the databases suggested for inclusion on the primary sources page, as well as the submitted definitions. As the intended target audience are undergraduates, it was decided to use a definition written in plain English to eliminate confusion. It was also decided to stick to several basic databases (Alexander Street Press databases and Readers' Guide Retrospective) that would cover the most likely areas to be researched.

CatSep

Coleman inquired about the possibility of having the catsep searching instruction link open in a new window, thus preserving the original voyager session. Brooks-Kieffer suggested using the same solution used for MARCit (http://docs.ksulib.org/index.php?title=Modify_MARCit%21_records). As this requires editing the 856, Coleman will discuss the possibility with Michele Turvey.

And there was Cake (again!)

The team celebrated Askey being selected as the 2008 Hobrock award winner with triple chocolate cupcakes.

Site redecoration

Thanks to the diligent efforts of Yongli (who created the first prototype), Hiro, and Jenny Mc, as well as the active consultation of LIT, there is now a viewable beta of our redecorated site. Yes, redecorated (thanks, Laura). The sharp-eyed will notice that in the new templates, no content has changed, other than the header and footer content. A thorough site redesign from the ground up--something many people here, myself included, have mentioned as something we'd very much like to do--will have to wait for a different campus IT climate.

Without further ado, here it is:

http://www.lib.k-state.edu/znew/collaboration.html

Please note the following when viewing this:

• All of the links from this page work, but only those that are static documents have the new template design (e.g.- the catalog looks the same, etc.).
• Hiro has been working on a subject guide template. Preview it here: http://www.lib.k-state.edu/znew/subguides/biology.html We're debating options with this template and may end up creating two versions, one 'easy' and one 'hard.' I'll be speaking to subject librarians separately about these pages for their thoughts.
• Font sizes are typically much larger on the new templates, as we've eliminated Zentropy's nested font-shrinking ways, allowing the browser to handle fonts in the users' default manner.

Please have a look and share your comments, either by leaving a comment on this post or by sending them to your local LIT member.

Minutes 27 Mar

Present: Askey, Bell, Bonella, Brooks-Kieffer, Coleman, Haddock, Kaus, Loberg, Maringanti, Von Elling
Absent: McCraw, Trushell,
Next Meeting: Apr 10, 2008

Announcements

The meeting will be short, as there will be cake at 2:30, for Michael North's farewell.

We have never utilized the context sensitive help screens available with voyager, primarily because they open in the same window, which is less than helpful. Jason Coleman edited these help screens last year, but it is only recently that the combined forces of Hiro, Askey and Maringanti have conquered the problem of opening the help screen in a new window. Askey will work on replacing the canned files with Coleman's edited ones on the preview server for testing.

It was requested that the "Click here to chat with a librarian" font be reduced in the "Ask a Librarian" chat window as it overpowers the rest of the page. Askey will look into it.

Hale Library on Wikipedia

A link to this entry from the library pages was requested. After some discussion LIT felt that this had broader PR implications and that it would be better to create a page on our own site. Von Elling will contact Jenny Heikkila-Furrey.

Primary Sources Category

Sara Kearns requested a primary sources category be added to the databases pages. LIT agrees that this would be a good thing, though a brief explanation of what a primary source is should also be included. Bell will contact the subject librarians for their recommendations.

"LibraryThing for Libraries!"

Members of the Library Interfaces Team have presented a proposal that K-State Libraries adopt the use of LibraryThing For Libraries (LTFL) to enhance our users' experiene of our catalog. What is LTFL?

LTFL is a social cataloging Web application that augments the traditional library catalog and provides users with exciting new content about library materials, including recommendations and tag clouds.

To learn more about FTFL and view the complete poposal see below.

Download librarything_proposal_draft11.doc

Minutes 23 Mar

Present: Askey, Bonella, Brooks-Kieffer, Coleman, Haddock, Kaus, Loberg, Maringanti, McCraw, Trushell, Von Elling
Absent: Bell
Next Meeting: Mar 27, 2008

Announcements

Michael North is leaving.

K-State Libraries will be partnering with k-state.edu, and Research & Extension on the purchase of the new Google Search Appliance. Rather than put new software on old hardware, Google replaces the hardware when renewing the contract.

LibraryThing for Libraries

McCraw and Loberg presented their report. LIT offered a few suggestions, but endorsed the overall report. They will edit the report and send it out for LIT to read over. Next stop: LLC.

There was some discussion of query construction for data extraction. The Leisure Reading collection is one that needs special consideration given its transitory nature.

Google Books in SFX and Voyager

Based upon the search metadata (ISBN, ISSN, OcLC #, etc), the Get It menu may now contain a link at the bottom to Google Books content. There is a metadata pre-search that will determine the text used in the Google Books link displayed on the Get It menu: the entire books is available, a portion of the book is available, information about the book is available, or an editable alternate search. Because Ex Libris is partnering with Google Books and we are an SFX beta site, we are one of the first to offer this, with a full release scheduled for May. So, search WorldCat and see how it works for yourself.

We were also offered the option of installing this into the Voyager catalog, but given copyright issues, this would be much less helpful.  There is an additional philosophical issue to consider. Google Books' sponsors offer the books for purchase, and by putting the link within the library catalog, this could be considered an endorsement.

Dynamic Result Clustering on the Google Search Appliance

Use the "Search all Libraries sites" box on the Staff Intranet page. This now produces a series of links on the right side of terms that appear in connection with the term searched. While not necessarily any more useful than the results displayed on the left, they offer another potential method of discovery. As we generate more content, these clustering results will become more meaningful. It was decided to continue to display these clusters. For an added bit of fun, look for sentences or create haiku with the resulting clusters.

Minutes 28 Feb

Present: Askey, Bell, Bonella, Coleman, Haddock, Kaus, Loberg, Maringanti, McCraw, Von Elling
Absent: Brooks-Kieffer, Trushell
Next Meeting: Mar 14, 2008

Announcements

The LibraryThing for Libraries subgroup had a fruitful initial meeting.

Askey demonstrated that progress is being made in adding the problem reporting link into catalog record display.

Site Redesign

While the most recent complete version was unavailable for viewing (the very essence of work-in-progress) some specifics such as color, borders, and link style were demonstrated.

The redesign, being a stylistic change only, rather than a change in content, will not be subject to usability testing. It was suggested that perhaps there is a class on campus studying usability that might consider using the main page as a potential project, as certain links (ie e-Journals) are more highly used than they are useful.

Proxied Links in the Catalog

Silence is golden. Again, accolades to Michelle Turvey for making this possible and painless.

Online Journals in the Catalog

The separation of print and online versions of journals in the title display was raised. Voyager uses a left-anchored find instead of a true browse, meaning that only the shortest version of the various title tags in the bibliographic record affects the order of display. This can lead to a large separation between the print and online versions of the title. There is no easy fix and requires educating staff and users to look beyond not only the first match, but possibly the first page of matches.

LIT Blog

A sad and lonely place. Everyone is encouraged to use it more for discussion, ideas, issues, and ongoing projects. Especially since others have found it.

Blog Indexing

When blogs are created they are set as public or private. Private blogs are not indexed, by the world or by us. Askey will investigate whether there is a way to index blogs internally, without allowing it globally. Those who wish to be able to search their blogs using the library search box are encouraged to evaluate whether or not the blog is really private.

And there WAS Cake!!!

Moist. Delicious. Orange (flavor not color). Ahhh, could this be the start of a new tradition?

Staff power search

Late last week, I quietly added a 'Search all Libraries site' search box to the main staff intranet page. What this does is search all of:

• www.lib.k-state.edu (including the intranet)
• ksulib.typepad.com (all blogs that can be indexed)
• docs.ksulib.org (the wiki)

The wiki was a new addition, as it was previously unindexed. It offers its own search function, but this box will allow cross-searching of the bulk of our content for staff. Please share this around the Libraries and encourage people to use it.

LIT Cake

Well, actually, it's called Orange Cake, and comes from the original Moosewood Cookbook (now out in yet another revision). Making use of my legal rights under fair use, here's the recipe:

Orange Cake

• butter for the pan
• 1.5 cups butter, softened
• 1.75 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 t. grated orange rind
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 T. baking soda

Whisk together these three things:

• .5 t. salt
• 1 cup sour cream or yogurt
• .5 cup orange juice

Glaze:

• .5 cup orange juice
• 1-2 T. sugar
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 2-3 T. dry sherry or orange liqueur (I used 1.5 T. high-octane rum), optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 10-inch tube or bundt pan.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
4. Stir in orange rind and vanilla. Set aside.
5. Sift dry ingredients in another bowl. Add to butter mixture alternating with sour cream or yogurt/OJ mixture, beginning and ending with dry mix. Mix by hand after each addition, just to combine (I used a stand mixer on low speed, and was pleased with the results).
6. Place in pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then turn onto plate. Cool completely.
7. Combine glaze ingredients in small pan and bring to boil. Simmer for three minutes, uncovered. Pour hot glaze on cooled cake. Let stand at least ten minutes before slicing.