Tag Archives: Web Design

How to Create and Run Your Website

Posted on 6 December 2010 by Rick Mason

The San Jose Public Library has launched their new website. It has a clean design, with clear indications of how to find the information being sought.  But what really got my attention was the relationship of the library staff to … Continue reading →

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New Hybrid ILS Front End

Posted on 14 August 2010 by Rick Mason

A regional group of public libraries in Antwerp, Belgium have announced a new hybrid OPAC for their library software. They have merged WordPress with AquaBrowser to create a web presence with the capabilities they felt were most important for their … Continue reading →

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Unicorn Validator

Posted on 5 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Unicorn, W3C’s unified validation service, is live. As someone who has found the W3C html, css and feed validators to be valuable tools in web design, the merging of the three tools into one interface is a terrific step.  With … Continue reading →

Posted in Library 2.0, News, Online Services, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Positive No

Posted on 3 August 2010 by Rick Mason

No One Nos : Learning to Say No to Bad Ideas is an article on A List Apart that discusses when and how to address those situations where, for a variety of reasons, your best option is to tell someone … Continue reading →

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A Brief History of Markup

Posted on 14 July 2010 by Rick Mason

I just received my copy of the newly-published HTML5 For Web Designers by Jeremy Keith, and remembered that the first chapter is available online.  It is a quick and interesting read, no matter how involved in web design.  In fact, … Continue reading →

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iPad Peek

Posted on 7 April 2010 by Rick Mason

A good service for web designers who want to see how their website will work on the iPad: iPad Peek found via WeblogToolsCollection

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Mash-Up the OPAC

Posted on 16 March 2010 by Rick Mason

ILS user groups can be one of the greatest sources of tips, tricks and inspiration for tech-oriented library staff. There was a recent discussion on the Innovative User’s Group that has led to an interesting way to embed various media … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Software, Tutorials, Video, Web Design, XML | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Accent Folding

Posted on 28 February 2010 by Rick Mason

A List Apart has been a steady source of thought-provoking inspiration over the years, not only from a website building perspective, but also because much of what they publish crosses boundaries and impacts other projects and interests in my life. … Continue reading →

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Library Website Fails

Posted on 8 December 2009 by Rick Mason

I see these types of messages all the time on library-related websites, and I agree that it sends the message that those who manage those sites don’t have a good grasp of current web technology: Time to Update? by David … Continue reading →

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Springo

Posted on 10 November 2009 by Rick Mason

I have always been a fan of the idea of creating a mediated search engine – one in which the results have been reviewed in order to ensure a lean, relevant results list. The reality of the idea is, shall … Continue reading →

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punypng

Posted on 24 September 2009 by Rick Mason

punypng is a great service for those who work with the .png image format.  If you work on web sites, presentations, or other projects that involve image files, this is really worth adding to your toolkit. What it does is … Continue reading →

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Social Your Site

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Jenny Levine makes a great case on The Shifted Librarian for adding a feature to your sites that allows users to easily share your content via social networks.  Not only will this offer a way for your users to help … Continue reading →

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Open Web Tools Directory

Posted on 7 July 2009 by Rick Mason

Mozilla’s Open Web Tools Directory is a site designed to quickly connect the user with a variety of online tools for a variety of projects.  The categories include Design tools, Coding tools, Debuggers, and more.  Many of the projects listed … Continue reading →

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Web 3.0 Concepts Explained in Plain English

Posted on 8 June 2009 by Rick Mason

Web 3.0 Concepts Explained in Plain English is a collection of presentations, all striving to describe the next phase of web activity and development.  If all you look at is the single slide that sums up the differences between the … Continue reading →

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Why HTML 5

Posted on 5 June 2009 by Rick Mason

This has been a busy week; so much so that the previous post, HTML 5, Google Wave, and the Future of the Web was started last weekend, with some editing and additions each day, and them actually posted yesterday.  Note … Continue reading →

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HTML 5, Google Wave, and the Future of the Web

Posted on 4 June 2009 by Rick Mason

Amidst a great many other topics, HTML 5 has been on my mind the past couple of weeks.  It started on Tuesday, May 26th, with Kevin Yank posting HTML 5 : Now or Never? on the SitePoint blog.  He was … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Google, Groups, Libraries, Library 2.0, News, Online Services, Open Source, Publishing, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HTML 5, Google Wave, and the Future of the Web

Social Backrub

Posted on 31 March 2009 by Rick Mason

This is just one of my passing thoughts, which I suspect is understood by many, but not necessarily expressed this way: Google’s PageRank is, for all practical purposes, a form of social networking applied to the concept of a particular … Continue reading →

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TicTOCs in the OPAC

Posted on 19 March 2009 by Rick Mason

File this as a future wish-list item for your online catalog: There is a new and interesting way to connect an OPAC search result for a journal to the full-text journal articles, and it is called ticTOC.  The application of … Continue reading →

Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Periodicals, Search, Web Design, WebSearch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Web Tech Guy and Angry Staff Person

Posted on 9 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Web Tech Guy and Angry Staff Person (an exaggerated tale) is a video designed to be a provocative look at the arguments for opening library/museum data to web 2.0 social uses The video isn’t so much exaggerated as much as … Continue reading →

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Readability

Posted on 4 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Readability is quite simply one of the easiest-to-use and effective usability aids I have seen in quite a while. Follow the link, set the controls for your most comfortable reading style, drag the “Readability” button to your bookmark toolbar, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Online Services, Web Design | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment