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Transcript of Publishing An e-Journal Reader Requirements UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums,...
Publishing An e-Journal
Reader Requirements
UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher and Further Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.
Pres 4
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Session Aims
In this session we will:• Discuss what readers might expect from our Web
publication(s)• Highlight any issues which will need to be resolved
in order to satisfy these requirements• Look at some examples
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Exercise
Complete exercise on “Reader Requirements”
What reader requirements have you identified?
What issues need to be addressed?
E
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Reader Requirements
Access to individual articlesAccess to complete issues
Accessible (to blind / no plugins needed)
Citable and bookmarkable
Articles maintained (no broken links)
Searchable (in various ways)
Table of Contents
Available on Web
Feedback mechanism
Available by email, on PDA, etc.
Annotation / discussion
Innovative
Usable interfaceAttractive design
Quality
FormatNavigation
Functionality
Content
Good, relevant content
Everything works
Innovative
Interface
Reader Requirements
Ease of printing No adverts
Notification when released
Customisable
Findable (via search engine)
Persistent
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Contents• Identifying Reader Requirements• Design Issues• Identifiers• Notification• Printing • Searching• Handling:
• Out-of-date content• Broken links
• Architecture• Identifiers
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User Interface
Cultivate Interactive and Exploit Interactive:• Design brief produced• Design outsourced• Simple but usable interface• Uses CSS and (X)HTML• Accessible to all browsers & robots• E-Book format being evaluated
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Design of Electronic Publications
What type of interface should you use for the home page:
• Preamble • Menu• News • Content “teaser”• Flash screen• …
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Attractive Design
“Having had a look around at several web sites and e-journals, we found that you have managed to combine simplicity, elegance, completeness and advanced technical backing.”Susan Leech O'Neale, CERN, Sep 99 http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/
http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/mag-features/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/mag-features/
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Design Brief
Design brief for Exploit Interactive produced:• Background about publication• Definition of structure (Feature Articles, Regular
Columns, News & Events, Etc.)• Preferred solutions (standards based, no use of
Flash, PDF, etc.)• Importance of accessible design• Available budget• Design solution provided by ILRT, University of
Bristol
Issue:Do you outsource the design (and information architecture) or do it inhouse?
Issue:Do you outsource the design (and information architecture) or do it inhouse?
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Design Features
Indented margins (IE only)
Footer (enhanced during lifetime)
Footer navigation
Acknowledgments
Local navigation (here in Features section)
Flagging external (and broken) links [added later]
Global navigation (home & search page)
<h2> with grey background
Internal links to references
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Cultivate Interactive Design
http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/vakhum/http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/vakhum/ Key featuresKey features
Indented margin
Indented margin
Site-wide navigation
Site-wide navigation
Issuenavigation
Issuenavigation
Lead-in / abstract: used asmetadata
Lead-in / abstract: used asmetadata
LogoLogo
Similar approach taken for Cultivate Interactive with minor differencesSimilar approach taken for Cultivate Interactive with minor differences
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Cultivate Interactive Design
Internal links to references
Internal links to references
References can be followed from print
References can be followed from print External links
flagged
External links flagged
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Cultivate Interactive DesignAuthor details, including photo, contact info. and biography
Author details, including photo, contact info. and biography
Citation detailsCitation details
Link to translation service
Link to translation service
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Changing Look and FeelUse of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) makes it easier:
• Support new media types (e.g. print)• For publisher to change appearance (single file)• To allow reader to change appearance either using browser
options or by selection of CSS
Note we provide different style sheets for IE and NetscapeNote we provide different style sheets for IE and Netscape
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Changing The Look-and-FeelA Style Sheet Selector is being developed to allow readers to change the appearance. Of use for:
• Visually impaired• Specialist devices
A Style Sheet Selector is being developed to allow readers to change the appearance. Of use for:
• Visually impaired• Specialist devices
Issues:• Should we allow readers to be
able to chose an ugly appearance
• Shouldn’t this be done in the browser?
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User Control Over Look and Feel
Giving users control over the look and feel: Is good for accessibility (visually impaired, colour
blind, etc.) Can provide support for new devices (digital TV,
…) Can be useful for standard device in unusual
conditions (PCs in bright conditions, …)
But: Lose control over branding Users can do silly things
User control – what do you think? Good idea Bad idea
User control – what do you think? Good idea Bad idea
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Design - Issues To Consider
Design Brief• It’s needed. But should it be outsourced?
Design Technologies • What formats and technologies, should you specify in
the design brief – Flash, Shockwave, JavaScript, …
Testing The Interface• How should you test the design?• What if it’s not acceptable?
Personalisation• Should readers be able to change the design?
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URL Naming SchemeEntry Point
• Main entry point is <http://www.cultivate-int.org/>:– Memorable address– More manageable Web site
Issues• Issue has URL of form:
<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/>Articles
• Article has URL of form:<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/vakhum/>
Avoidance of File Names• URLs make use of default file name i.e. not:
<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/vakhum/default.htm><http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/vakhum/default.asp>
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NotificationHow do users find out when a new issue is available?“Spamming” lists can be irritating
http://www.cultivate-int.org/notification/http://www.cultivate-int.org/notification/
http://www.cultivate-int.org/notify/http://www.cultivate-int.org/notify/
Cultivate Interactive has 2 notification services:
• Netmind service (email sent when page changes)
• Local database of interested readers
Which is best?
Cultivate Interactive has 2 notification services:
• Netmind service (email sent when page changes)
• Local database of interested readers
Which is best?
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Print All
The “Print All” feature:
• Allows all articles to be viewed on single page
• Developed to allow single printout of all articles to be produced easily
http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/print-all/http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue2/print-all/
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Search FacilityYou should provide a search facility for your online publicationIf resources aren’t available, try a third party service, such as Atmoz or GoogleIf resources are available, try to use metadata and configure the search facility to reflect the Webzine structure
http://www.cultivate-int.org/cat-search/http://www.cultivate-int.org/cat-search/
Find articles in all issues published as Feature Articles which concern projects funded by DIGICULT
Find articles in all issues published as Feature Articles which concern projects funded by DIGICULT
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Out-Of-Date Articles
What do you do when an article becomes out-of-date?
What parts of an article are we discussing?
What are the pros and cons of different approaches?
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue5/metadata-masses/intro.html
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue5/metadata-masses/intro.html
Published 11 September 1996Widely cited and linked to
Published 11 September 1996Widely cited and linked to
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Annotations
You could allow the author to annotate the article
For example, see Jakob’s Nielson’s Alertbox column
What are the pros and cons of this approach?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9709a.htmlhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/9709a.html
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User Feedback
You could provide a general article feedback mechanism
What are the pros and cons of this approach?
http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/fd/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/fd/
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Updating Broken Links
Links in Exploit Interactive articles were breaking.
Should they:• Be fixed:
– Articles provide historic information and updating broken links would be rewriting history
– Readers of articles simply want links to work
• Be left– Fixing links is time-consuming– If you fix them, will you (the editor) know that the link is
pointing to the correct resource?
• Be annotated:– Annotated links so that end users get working links, but
are also aware that a change has been made?
• Use some new piece of magic?
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Updating Broken Links
Links in Exploit Interactive articles were becoming broken
Broken links in references:
• Contained icon indicating they were a link
• Icon updated once broken link spotted
http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/exploit-audit/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/exploit-audit/
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People Information
Case Study:• A regular contributor to Ariadne marries and changes her
name. Her email name is also changed.• What should we do to the contact email address in old articles?
In General
Information about people is volatile:• Names change (marriage, etc.)• Email addresses change• Postal addresses and affiliation changes• Status change (Miss, Mrs, Dr., etc.)
Possible problems:
• A search by Author will not find full set of articles
• Contacting authors via email or post may not work
In General
Information about people is volatile:• Names change (marriage, etc.)• Email addresses change• Postal addresses and affiliation changes• Status change (Miss, Mrs, Dr., etc.)
Possible problems:
• A search by Author will not find full set of articles
• Contacting authors via email or post may not work
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From Locators to Identifiers
The effectiveness of the Web to provide access to quality information is deteriorating:
• Increasing numbers of links are becoming broken• Resources change address as Web sites are
reorganised to:– Reflect organisational changes– Exploit new technologies (e.g. content management
systems, databases, etc.)
• Resources are moved when authors move to new jobs
A move from locators to (more stable) identifiers is needed in order to provide end
users with more reliable services and to ensure that important resources are not lost
A move from locators to (more stable) identifiers is needed in order to provide end
users with more reliable services and to ensure that important resources are not lost
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From Static HTML To DatabasesA move from storing information in HTML files to use of structured databases is needed:
• In order to be able to update information in a manageable way (e.g. Jane Smith has married, John Brown is a Professor, etc.)
• In order to be able to deploy new technologies
These architectural issues are needed in order to provide more robust user services.They will be discussed in the Publisher Session
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Future Developments
Ideas for new functionality for the readers:• Automated news feeds (summaries of articles) which
can be embedded in third party Web sites • Summary information available using WAP phones
[to evaluate ease of conversion of other XML types]• Email access to newsletter • View similar articles (using search and metadata)• Personalised interface• VRML, simulation, multimedia, …
New author / editorial board functions could also be added:
• If cookie=“editor” display validation checks• If cookie=“author” display statistics