Library Web Training & Standards

Presentation for Content Developers

Library WebOps November 1st & November 5th, 2012

Guest speaker: Jonathan Woodcock, CPA

Agenda• Staff Training Model

– What, Why, How, When– Discussion

• Library Public Website Development Standards– What, Why, How, When– Discussion

• WebOps Update

Why Now?

STAFF TRAINING MODEL

Why is it changing?

• As with LibGuides, while CMS/Drupal frees us from some tasks we have to fit the model, no outliers without cause.

• In the glorious past- 1999 Earth Sci, History, Civ Eng- 2007 Civ Eng- Current Civ Engmay find ourselves squeezing things in

Why is it changing?

• The standards will mean that we can focus on content.

• We’ll have to do more than pay lip-service to web accessibility. Remember hearing JAWS handle this?

WCMS: a user's perspective

• What it does for you:– Simplifies publishing a website so you can focus on the

content.– Provides a basis for workflow planning through roles

and version control.– Meets minimum technical requirements for accessibility.

• What it does not do for you:– Create your content.– Make your content useable.– Make your content accessible.

Benefits of trained staff

• Subject matter experts can be your content generators.

• Task redundancy (CPA practices a 3-deep model).

• Websites are part of business communication just as much as phones and email.

• The web is never done.

New training requirements

• Core competencies for Web Content Maintainers

• SEW Courses:– Writing for the Web– Effective Web Content Planning– Writing Web Accessible Content– WCMS for Content Maintainers

Effective web content planning

• Project management for websites.• Straightforward, reproducible process.• Content is far more work than you think.• The web is never done.

Implementation

• Courses currently offered • Benefits to current workflows• Requirement for new CMS

implementation

Discussion time

• Additional training• Support

LIBRARY PUBLIC WEB STANDARDS

Web standards

• Standardized best practices • Philosophy of web design

Why web standards

“In general, standards exist to make things simpler and easier. Isn’t it convenient that most electrical devices in your country use the same electricity supply, and there is a common language for business and daily interactions?”

How the Library standards came to be

• Commonly-accepted best practices and web development guidelines

• Campus guidelines• Provincial legislation• User feedback

The standards

• Four categories of standards:– Interface Look & Feel– Functionality – Compliance– Help

• Implementation

Discussion time

WEBOPS UPDATE

Upcoming work

• Session on Usability and User Needs Assessment Project

• Early Drupal experimentation

• New working groups