etc.

Tumbling

amanda — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:46:32 +0000

I’ve been posting random bits and pieces to a Tumblr blog for a while now, so maybe you want to head over there for fresh content. Someday soon I’ll figure out what that means for this space (integrate the two? ditch this domain?), but for now, I’m just enjoying the ease and fun of Tumblr and trying not to overthink it.

MoMa Library

amanda — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 17:24:12 +0000

The MoMa Library has this lovely tumblr site. [via swissmiss]

Your cute type

amanda — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:11:40 +0000

Who doesn’t love a vintage ad? Especially when it imparts pearls of wisdom about not wearing mousey colours and how flattering a forehead double-roll is to the triangular faced amongst us. Also? More cute collars, people!

One Pager 2.0

amanda — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:56:53 +0000

Maybe it’s just me but lately I’ve been seeing more and more excellent examples of one-page websites. That is, the content of an entire website represented in a single page. Over at Influx, we started tossing the idea around a while ago, at which time we* built a template to indulge a thought experiment and create a light proof-of-concept.

Well, Aaron and Nate have now done a brilliant job of updating the code and design of One-Pager to version 2.0 and I think the time is right to see something like this in action on a library website. For real.

For more info, check out Aaron’s post and the O-P page on Influx.

*I use “we” in the most royal of senses; my involvement went as far as heartily endorsing the concept and waving an appreciative thumbs-up from the sidelines while my compatriots did all the heavy-lifting.

User Research

amanda — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:16:37 +0000

I was at Computers in Libraries a couple of weeks ago, where I had the distinct pleasure of moderating the UX track and doing a short session on user research (hat tip to Nate Hill on this; Nate was originally scheduled to speak about designing for usage patterns — a session I was keenly looking forward to! — but when he couldn’t join us, I agreed to cover the time slot and used his session description to present a brief overview of the topic). My slides are right here (pdf) and are sketchy (at best) without the accompanying commentary, but the odd word or two on the slides should provide a very high-level introduction to the various kinds of user research and what they’re good for. It’s a huge research interest for me right now, so I suspect I’ll have more to say about it in the coming months. For now, peruse away.

It’s okay. You have our permission to nap.

amanda — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:06:59 +0000

I don’t know about your library, but I’m guessing your users take naps there as much as ours do at our library. I can really get behind a few SleepBoxes to give them a comfy place to recharge.

[via Minimalissimo]

Instagram + WordPress

amanda — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:19:20 +0000

Being a big fan of Instagram, I was thrilled to stumble over Instapress, a plugin for WordPress that provides some neat ways to integrate your Instagram stream and your blog, including a gallery. Lovely!

These 10 Steps

amanda — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:14:02 +0000

Join Aaron Schmidt and I on January 25th for a workshop about building user-friendly library websites! We’ll be covering the following topics:

Determining the purpose of your website
Identifying your users’ critical tasks
Wrangling content
Writing for the web
How and when to conduct usability tests

More info and registration right here.

2011 Reads

amanda — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:30:39 +0000

When 2011 rolled in, I promised myself that I’d read at least 50 books over the course of the year. I surpassed that goal by one title and thanks to Goodreads, I’ve got a handy way to display all 51 on this very page. I doubt I could do much better in terms of volume this year, so let’s just say that if I manage 50 again, I’ll be pleased. Here’s what I read in 2011, displayed in chronological order by date completed. It was a good year for books.

With apologies to Beatrice Warde

amanda — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:38:42 +0000

I just finished reading Just My Type by Simon Garfield (a lovely, fun read for type enthusiasts and newbies, alike), where I came across this wonderful broadside by Beatrice Warde. A firm, defensible sentiment that I couldn’t help but think works for the library as much as it does for the printing office. Here you go, with apologies to Mrs. Warde.