Library websites of the future

@vacekrae
Library Websites
of the Future
Rachel Vacek, Head of Web Services, University of Houston Libraries
2014-2015 President, Library & Information Technology Association
SLA Texas Chapter Fall Meeting | 11.13.14

@vacekrae
Overview
Web design and development trends
New library services and trends
Library websites of the future

@vacekrae
Web Services department
Rachel, Robert, Sean, Keith, J, Chung
We specialize in web and software development, user
research, usability testing, interaction design, graphic design,
system administration, system integration, content strategy,
and digital project management.

@vacekrae
Web design and
development trends

@vacekrae
Best practices in 2011
http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/libr_pubs/40

No more navel gazing!
@vacekrae

@vacekrae
Design trends
Responsive
More emphasis on typography
jQuery plugins to enhance UX
Large and beautiful background images
Large and unobtrusive video
Scrolling instead of clicking
More and larger touch targets
Flat, material design
Microinteractions
Personalized storytelling
Personalized user experience
Grid style layouts
Personal portraits
Scalable vector graphics
Font customization within CSS
Customized image galleries
Mega navigation menus
Expanding search bars
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/web-design-trends-2014/

@vacekrae
5 different
responsive sizes
for BYU’s Library

@vacekrae
Large and beautiful background images

Flat Material
design -
mostly flat
design that
uses very
subtle
gradients,
layering, and
animation to
retain a
sense of the
tangible
world
@vacekrae http://www.google.com/design/

@vacekrae
Development trends
Agile development practices
Gradual improvements make it easier to assess and roll back if
necessary
No more major redesign projects
Users don’t like change, so small incremental changes make it
less of a shock to the system

@vacekrae http://www.commonplaces.com/who-we-are/our-process

Typically, a fresh design will be a worse design simply
because it's new and thus breaks user expectations.
A better strategy is to play up familiarity and build
on users' existing knowledge of how a system
works.
-Jakob Neilsen
@vacekrae

@vacekrae http://blog.uxpin.com/4345/gaze-stars-interview-louis-rosenfeld/

@vacekrae
New library services
and trends

@vacekrae
New library services and trends
Data management services
Data visualization services
GIS services
Social and collaborative citation
tools, and bibliometrics
Mobile content delivery
Enhanced and more accessible
scholarly content
Electronic publishing
Identity management
Web-scale discovery tools
Cross-institutional systems and
development partnerships
Multidisciplinary research
Liaisons embedded in curriculum
and development
Capturing and archiving campus
digital research outputs
http://www.nmc.org/publications/2014-horizon-report-library

@vacekrae
Social and collaborative research
User search behavior and their
workflows are changing
More tools are being created to
help facilitate social research,
sharing, and collaboration
Linked data and semantic web
data enriches discoverability of
research and researchers

@vacekrae http://www.slideshare.net/lisld/thinking-about-technology-differently

@vacekrae
Discovery vs. Discoverability
Discoverability of more than just
content and collections
Include people and expertise,
research guides, unique
collections, exhibits, specialized
services
Include library website content
Include local repositories
Integration of materials that are
not held by the library, but which
are interesting and available to
users
Integration of potentially available
materials to support demand
driven acquisition
More semantic data about entities
and their relationships
http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/002206.html

‘Discoverability’ might be interpreted
in the context of how well those
systems served their users.
- Lorcan Dempsey
@vacekrae

Discovery is more than the discovery
layer. Discovery often happens
elsewhere. Make institutional resources
discoverable (inside-out).
- Lorcan Dempsey, Vice President, Research,
and Chief Strategist, OCLC
@vacekrae

@vacekrae http://www.slideshare.net/oclcr/the-inside-out-library-redux-scale-learning-engagement?related=1

@vacekrae
Library websites
of the future

@vacekrae
Key characteristics and actions
Embrace current and upcoming
web design trends seen primarily
outside libraries
Offer more services that support
the research process
Include more social and
collaborative interactions between
researchers and institutions
Conduct more user testing and
contextual inquiries
Offer full library discovery, not just
content
Prepare for linked data
Highlight unique digital assets more
Make iterative changes, not full-blown
redesigns
Practice agile development
methodologies
Strive to create positive user
experiences

Connect users to materials and
services in their own workflows by
making them more familiar,
discoverable, modern, usable,
desirable
@vacekrae

Thanks!
@vacekrae
Credits
Web Design Trends To Look Out For In 2015http://www.elegantthemes.
com/blog/resources/web-design-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2015
Bowlby, Raynna; Franklin, Brinley; and Lin, Carolyn A., "Utilizing LibQUAL+® to Identify Best
Practices in Academic Research Library Website Design" (2011). UConn Libraries Published
Works. Paper 40.http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/libr_pubs/40
Dempsey, Lorcan, Constance Malpas, and Brian Lavoie. 2014. "Collection Directions: The
Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting" portal: Libraries and the Academy 14,3 (July):
393-423. http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/library/2014/oclcresearch-collection-
directions-preprint-2014.pdf
Roger C. Schonfeld and Ross Housewright, Faculty Survey 2009: Key Insights for Libraries,
Publishers, and Societies (New York: Ithaka S+R, 2010).
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Libraries, Discovery, and the Catalog: Scale, Workflow, Attention
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/thirteen-ways-looking-libraries-discovery-and-catalog-scale-workflow-
attention
Varnum, K.J. (2014). “Library Discovery From Ponds to Streams.” In K. J. Varnum (Ed.), The
Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know: A LITA Guide (pp. 57-65). Chicago, IL: ALA
TechSource.
Rachel Vacek
Head of Web Services
University of Houston Libraries
http://rachelvacek.com
vacekrae@gmail.com
@vacekrae

Thanks!
Rachel Vacek
Head of Web Services
University of Houston Libraries
http://rachelvacek.com
vacekrae@gmail.com
@vacekrae
@vacekrae
More Credits
Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2014). NMC Horizon Report:
2014 Library Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.http://www.nmc.
org/publications/2014-horizon-report-library
Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends to Watch Out for in 2014 http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/web-design-
trends-2014/
Stop Redesigning And Start Tuning Your Site Instead http://www.smashingmagazine.
com/2012/05/16/stop-redesigning-start-tuning-your-site/
The Redesign Must Die talk http://louisrosenfeld.
com/home/bloug_archive/2008/04/the_redesign_must_die_talk.html
Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2014). NMC Horizon Report:
2014 Library Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.http://www.nmc.
org/publications/2014-horizon-report-library
Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends to Watch Out for in 2014 http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/web-design-
trends-2014/
Thinking about Technology … Differently, by Locan Dempsey
http://www.slideshare.net/lisld/thinking-about-technology-differently

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