LIBRARIANS AS WEB DEVELOPERS:GAUGING THE BEST TECHNOLOGIES IN ACCESSING INFORMATION

Herabelle M. Villanueva

•Hi! I’m Hera.

•What do I do?

• I teach Computer Science

• Free time = arts, reading, developing, writing

•Web Dev’t and I.

•Ongoing XU Library Website Project

• The old website is Hard coded.

• Hard to update, add new pages/content

• Loads really slowly

• The design is cluttered

• Hard to navigate

• Etc.

•I’m trying to revamp this…

•…to this.

Outline

•Why Librarians? Why Web Development?

•What Technology?

•5 Things to Ask before Choosing?

•Other things to consider

•What to Do from Here.

WHY LIBRARIANS? WHY WEB DEVELOPMENT?

AN EXPERT KNOWS ALL THE ANSWERS - IF YOU ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

-LEVI STRAUSS

•“What’s in a Library?”

Everybody Else (CS People included): “BOOKS! Research Materials!”

Librarians: “…its more than just books.”

The Point? An expert knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions.

A Librarian knows what’s in the Library.

If someone asked you…

•Philippine Internet Statistics

•Global Rank: 16 (2014)•39,470,845 Internet Users in the Philippines (Approx. 39.43% of the Population)(http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/philippines/)

•Why Web Development?

•Are your audiences…• Elementary & High School Students?• College Students?• Professionals?

•Why Web Development?

•Why Web Development?

• Why NOT the Library? Many Options, Limited Time• I have no idea if what I’m looking for is there.

• It’s too far away.

• “Your deadline is near, your classmate is far. Google is your friend.”

• Why Go Online?• Almost everyone has an internet-capable device, almost every other building has free wifi.

• A lot of the people I want to reach are on the net.

• It’s easier than “Physical Marketing” (Manual Labor)

•Why Web Development?

•CROSS-PLATFORM: Internet + Device = web access

•ACCESSIBILITY: You can access it anywhere (with internet of course)

•REACH: The WEB is where a chunk you your audience is.

• MULTIMEDIA: Not limited to text or static content.

•Why Librarians? Why Web Development?

•A Librarian knows what’s in the Library.

•You HAVE what your audience needs.

•A good chunk of your users are on the Web.

LIBRARIANS who KNOW WHAT PEOPLE NEED + a TOOL for REACHING PEOPLE

•There is no single approach to choosing tools.•The following tools require no coding.

•Online Catalogs, Databases & Subscriptions•Social Media•Online Website Builders•Web Content Management System (CMS)

Using the Technology

•Online Catalogs, Databases and Subscriptions•Powerful search cataloging systems and databases linked to organizations, publications, etc.

•Why? Gives easy access to listings and other electronic resources.

•Both Paid and Free (Open Source)Subscriptions.

• CATALOGS (From Sourceforge)

• DATABASES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

• ACM Digital Library

• Bookboon.com

• BOOKS 24x7

• IEEE Digital Library

• Scopus

• Etc.

Online Catalogs, Databases and Subscriptions

•This will involve:

•Data Migration from the old catalog to the new one.

• If there is no old catalog database:

• MANUAL ENCODING (which is unavoidable when starting from scratch)

•Online subscriptions are renewed annually

• Money Involved.

•Social Media

•Allows you to interact with your audience through comments, liking/sharing of stories and experiences, etc.

•No coding.

•A good platform for marketing

• Makes sharing & posting information easy.

• Wide Audience Range

•FREE!

•Social Media

•Why?

•Not everything you want to share belongs in a catalog or in an online database.• Experiences & Stories

• Events & Milestones

• Connections & Conversations

•Build trust & familiarity, is visible, is easy to share, creates new connections and relationships

•Social Media

•Popular Platforms:

•Facebook

•Twitter

• Instagram

•Youtube

•Blogger

•Etc.

•This will involve:

•Posting of events and updates (but not really catalog information)

• Inviting people to follow you online

• Linking and following related pages/people/publishers

•Posting updates as soon as they come out (or as soon as humanely possible)

•Online Website Builders

•Create your website online based on existing templates

•No Coding

•Basic Website functionalities

• Includes Hosting

•Free!

•Online Website Builders

•This will involve

•Picking theme

•Customizing how the website looks

•Adding webpages to your site

•Managing the content of your web pages

•Note: The things you could do with free builders are limited. Content is usually static.

•Web Content Management Systems

•More complex but has more functionalities than an ordinary website builder

•Allows you to install plug-ins to your site for additional features

• Calendars, Tickers/slideshows

• Fb/twitter integration, chat

•Off the Shelf, Proprietary, and FREE!

•3 Prices

•Off The Shelf: Purchase an annual license. (Eg. Sitecore, Ektron, DotNetNuke)

•Proprietary (or Full Custom): Website is customized and coded by large organizations for you specific needs

•Free: Package is free, but some customizations (eg. Plug-ins) require payment. However, lots of plugins are free, so there’s rarely a need to buy one.

•Some CMS’s:

•This will involve

•Hosting your website

•Customizing how the website looks

•Adding webpages to your site

•Managing the content of your web pages

•Customizing the site by installing plug-ins

•Assigning user roles (different types of accounts with different access levels)

•5 things to ask:

•How much am I willing to SPEND?

•How COMPLICATED is the Website?

•Who’s going to UPDATE THE CONTENT?

•How will I HOST my website?

•How will I MAINTAIN the site? (Bugs)

• $$$

• Proprietary software

• hire a web developer to create a customized website that fits your needs

• Use paid plug-ins; more functional websites

• Not that much…

• Maximize Free, Open source technology

• Learn how to use the technology

• For teachers: Student Project

•5 things to ask:How much am I willing to SPEND?

• Simple/Static content (content that rarely change)

• Social Media

• Website Builders

• No coding at all

• Complex

• Content Management Systems

• Proprietary/Custom-built website

• For more complex functionalities, coding is required.

•5 things to ask:How COMPLICATED is the Website? (Functionalities)

• Only the site admin

• Website Builders

• Blog

• Multiple people, authors

• CMS: enables you to create different user roles (built in)

• Custom built websites can come with different users roles, but will probably cost more.

•5 things to ask:Who’s going to UPDATE THE CONTENT?

• You own a server/ hosting account

• CMS

• You can ask your web administration to give you a lot of storage space.

• Note: Different frameworks = different server needs

• You don’t have a hosting account

• Website Builders

• Or, upload a CMS to a Free hosting website

• Usually limited storage capacity = limited content

•5 things to ask:How will I HOST my website? (infrastructure/Server)

• All websites require regular maintenance.

• Website builders and social media are easier to maintain.

• The provider (Eg. FB) updates their websites regularly. (eg. Against attacks, malware)

• Hard-coded websites are harder to maintain. (Since you’re dealing with code)

• CMS’s require you to do more maintenance (eg. install Updatesand patches)

•5 things to ask:How will I MAINTAIN the site?

•Have some of your future users evaluate your design.•You can either use a top-down or bottom-up approach.• Integrate your social media accounts, school/community website and other library services inside your website.•Create your brand. Make sure it’s uniform for all platforms.

•Other Things to Consider

•Explore your options. Try what you can.•Embrace the technology.•Educate other people.•Extend your online presence.

•What to Do from Here?

THANK YOU! ^_^Facebook.com/littlehera

villanuevahera@gmail.com

Twitter: @heravillanueva