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September 18th, 2007 Brian Herzog
Sparked by a discussion in the ning Library 2.0 forum, I recently revamped my Library’s 404 error webpage (what displays when the webpage someone is looking for is not found).
Until earlier this year, we just had the standard “404 error: file not found” page, which is common and boring. I had made it a little more interesting just by adding our logo and some helpful information. But Darlene’s call for injecting humor and casualness in this situation got me to rethink it, and I came up with our current page.
Libraries are always fighting the traditional stuffy stereotype, and little things like this can make the patron experience more interesting and memorable. Also, it really was fairly easy to do, and I think in this case, a little effort goes a long way (of course, ideally, this page would never be seen).
But let your 404 page be seen - Darlene also started a flickr Library 404 Page group, so please add your screenshots. Also, some live, non-library examples are available at sendcoffe.com.
And before anyone asks: I didn’t put too much thought into the books in the photo. This is just the shelf closest to the Reference Desk. But really, I think these titles lend themselves pretty well to the process of discovery of something missing - plus, this is the “self-help” section.
404, 404 error, chelmsford, chelmsford library, error page, librarian, librarians, libraries, library, public libraries, public library, web page, website
Tags: 404, 404 error, chelmsford, chelmsford library, error page, librarian, librarians, libraries, Library, public libraries, public library, web page, website See Also
Posted under Library, Marketing, Websites | 2 Comments »
September 6th, 2007 Brian Herzog
Earlier this week, the Online Educational Database released its rankings for the top 25 librarian bloggers. Although I am tops with some people, I am not tops with them. Sigh.
But don’t despair; I have a theory. As I was looking down the list, I noticed something: they all have a cool, easy-to-use name. librarian.net. LibrarianInBlack. The Travelin’ Librarian. See? Compared to them, “herzogbr.net blog : A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Fear and Loathing at a Public Library Reference Desk” is a bit cumbersome.
PageRank? Subscribers? Pshaw. I’m convinced that if I just had a catchier name for this blog, I would be much more popular.
I had actually thought about the whole name thing a few months ago, and came up with a couple options. But a friend of mine recommended against adopting one. The logic was this: it might be counter-productive to rename an already established entity, because that would be confusing and erode whatever name recognition already existed. Which makes sense.
But now, not making the top 25-tier, well, that’s just the clincher. I’ve decided I am going to start using a new name - and redesign the entire website, as well (which I’ve been meaning to do for awhile, anyway). My goal is to design solely with style sheets, and use WordPress as a CMS, to finally move away from my oh-so-’90s static html pages with table-based layout. It’ll take a little while, but I’ll keep posting my progress.
That being said, I would like to get back to the list of top 25 librarian bloggers. First of all, congratulations to everyone on the list. Thank you for contributing to the overall library world - even Annoyed. Well… maybe.
I was also curious how my blog fared based on the metrics the OEDb used. As near as I can tell, here’s where I stand in each category:
So, with an overall score of 15, I’m really not that far out of the running - #24 and #25 both scored 17. Of course, as Jessamyn (a.k.a. #1) points out, the methodology of this study is somewhat questionable, so who knows.
Besides, there’s always next year.
blog, blogs, librarian, librarians, libraries, library, online education database, rankings, top 25 librarian bloggers
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Posted under Library, Personal, Technology, Websites | No Comments »
July 28th, 2007 Brian Herzog
Created for LibCamp Boston, here is one method for using del.icio.us to create dynamic subject guides of web resources for a library’s website.
Why do this?
Social bookmarking websites (like del.icio.us) allow for easy, no-tech-skills-needed creating & editing of web content. This content can be shared with others in a variety of ways (web searching, rss feeds, or on your library website).
Examples
The process I used to create this
- Create del.ico.us account
- Add your bookmarked web resources to your account
- Use your own structured language in the tags field to create whatever categories you want
- Using a “post to del.icio.us” toolbar button is helpful
- Create javascript code to embed on html page
- Add to your html page and upload to your web server
Web resources for using del.icio.us as subject guides
del.icio.us, lib2.0, libcamp, libcamp boston, libraries, library, library 2.0, public libraries, public library, subject guide, subject guides
Tags: del.icio.us, lib2.0, libcamp, libcamp boston, libraries, Library, library 2.0, public libraries, public library, subject guide, subject guides See Also
Posted under Conferences, Library, Technology, Websites | 12 Comments »
April 21st, 2007 Brian Herzog
During Jessamyn’s Pimp My Firefox talk at cil2007, something occurred to me. So much of the code used on websites today was written by someone else - themes, rss feeds, widgets, etc.
I think this is great, as freeware/open source/creative commons all allow people to share good ideas - repacking them, repurposing them, resuing them.. you know, recycling.
(not to mention that this has been my style of coding ever since I started coding in 1996. I am almost exclusively self-taught, which means I learned from seeing something I liked on the web, viewing the code, and figuring it out. Often, this meant I grabbed the code and tweaked and modified it to do what I wanted. You can learn a lot through trial and error)
So, it was during that session that I got the idea for this new movement, the “made with recycled code” movement. By “movement,” of course all I mean is create a little icon and stick it on my webpage. And not being a graphic designer, it’s not even a very good icon, but I think it’s a catchy phrase.
If you like it, grab it from flickr or the psd file from my website (big [575x575px, 316kb]; small [130x130px, 119kb]).
cil2007, code, coding, freeware, jessamyn, jessamyn west, made with recycled code, open source, recycle, recycled, recycled code, rss, site made with recycled code, themes
Tags: cil2007, code, coding, freeware, jessamyn, jessamyn west, made with recycled code, open source, recycle, recycled, recycled code, rss, site made with recycled code, themes See Also
Posted under Random, Technology, Websites | 1 Comment »
January 27th, 2007 Brian Herzog
Eccentric patrons are actually kind of fun to work with when they are nice and polite. This week’s reference question was asked, not only by a very nice and polite woman, but also someone who was previously featured here.
She called Thursday afternoon, and again wanted to know when her SSA check would arrive. Very happily, I accessed my own blog and used the links I put there to find the 2007 calendar to answer her question. I know I’ve used other peoples’ blogs to answer reference question, but this is the first time I’ve used my own. Neat.
Anyway, the patron continued:
Patron: …so you think the check will be in my mailbox on Friday? Thanks. Okay, can you help me with a personal matter? Can you find out if a company named Hillard in Chelmsford is still in business? They came to fix my outside hose faucet that was leaking and he replaced it and then it was leaking again and he replaced it and now since its cold and the town is flushing the pipes the faucet is leaking again and when I called them last week they told me that two faucets couldn’t both be bad and I am just wondering if they are still in business after talking to their customers like that.
Me: Oh. Well, I don’t think I can tell if they are still in business. But I can see what I can find on them. [type, type, type] Well, I did find them mentioned on the internet, although they’re listed as being in Lowell.
Patron: Well, I guess that’s possible. I never can keep straight the town lines, since they move them all the time.
Me: And I checked a database we have of all the businesses in the country, and they are listed in there. It looks like they’ve been in business for 12 years, and the owner is Gary Hillard.
Patron: Okay, I guess I’ll give them another call…
Now, I didn’t feel like I completely gave her the answer she wanted, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do. How do you tell if a company has gone out of business in the last week? But she must have been satisfied, because she very quickly moved on to the next topic:
Patron: …not to change the subject, but can you find a web space on your comptraption that sells things not made in China?
Me: Oh, I think so - are you looking for products made in the U.S.A.? [type, type, type] I found a couple website that…
Patron: Yes I used to work at a store and there was a woman on the second floor who wouldn’t touch any of the products because she said they were covered in sweat and that those oriental girls only get five cents a day and I don’t like that so I was just looking for a way to not buy from Chinese people. Well, thanks for listening to me, good bye. [click]
If you’ll notice, I never did give her any of the websites I found. I’m only making a presumption here, but I can’t imagine this patron shopping online, anyway - perhaps she just wanted someone to listen to her.
But I got interested in it, so here are a few of the websites I did find (no endorsement implied):
libraries, library, made in usa, reference question, referenceusa, ssa
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Posted under Library, Reference Question, Resources, Websites | 3 Comments »
