ALAO 2008 presentation

Linking Users to the Library: Applications for Facebook, MySpace, etc. : 

Linking Users to the Library: Applications for Facebook, MySpace, etc. The ‘web 2.0’ frontier is to deliver applications to users’ preferred space -- whether their browser, their personal social networking page, or their desktop. The University of Cincinnati Libraries created a library widget for Facebook, MySpace and iGoogle, and a toolbar for IE and Firefox. The four members of the Library Toolbars & Widgets Task Force will describe our coding process, our update and maintenance strategy, our beta testing strategy, user feedback, and future plans.

PRESENTERS: : 

PRESENTERS: Linda Newman, Digital Projects Coordinator Linda.Newman@uc.edu Michelle McKinney, Reference & Instruction Service Librarian Michelle.McKinney@uc.edu Charles Kishman, Information Services Librarian Charles.Kishman@uc.edu Thomas Scherz, , Information Tech Analyst Thomas.Scherz@uc.edu

WEB REFERENCES: : 

WEB REFERENCES: http://ulsandbox.org/futech http://uclibs-widgets.pbwiki.com/ Current Widgets & Toolbars in Development can be found at http://ulsandbox.org/futech Documentation & notes can be found at http://uclibs-widgets.pbwiki.com

FireFox Toolbar: : 

FireFox Toolbar: Supports Windows & Firefox 3.0 Drop Down search menu with changeable icon indicating last chosen search engine. Stretchable search box Searches execute in same window Will automatically update XML/JAVA development environment

IE Toolbar: : 

IE Toolbar: Supports Windows and Internet Explorer 6 or 7 Drop Down search menu Searches open in new tabs or new windows depending on user ‘s configuration of IE Manual link to our update page Microsoft Visual Studio development environment

Facebook/MySpace Widget: : 

Facebook/MySpace Widget: Supports Flash view on Profile Page Supports expanded view on ‘Canvas’ Page Users will need a tutorial to add the widget in the ‘New Facebook’ environment. MySpace required that we remove Google Scholar from the drop down search menu.

Google Gadget: : 

Google Gadget: Our first widget! Written in PSP. Same PSP page is called by the Canvas view in both MySpace & Facebook, with alternate style parameters. The same Google Gadget that works in iGoogle can also be embedded in other web spaces, as we have done on our own Wiki and source web pages.

Why Library Toolbars & Widgets? : 

Why Library Toolbars & Widgets? Web 2.0 Referral from Web Team to Current & Future Technologies Library Toolbar & Widget Task Force appointed

Considerations: : 

University of Cincinnati Libraries Langsam Archives & Rare Books CAS CCM CECH Chemistry/Biology Classics DAAP Engineering Health Sciences Math/Geology/Physics Considerations: Shared Resources Branding Raymond Walters College Library Clermont College Library Law Library Organization

Choosing the Tools: : 

Choosing the Tools: Popular Tools & Web Spaces Tools created and promoted by other Universities

Presenting and Promoting the Tools: : 

Presenting and Promoting the Tools: Test Web Site for Tools & Widgets Move to ‘Live’ site

Beta Testing and Feedback: : 

Beta Testing and Feedback: A user survey exists on Survey Monkey – We will leave that in place and continue to gather feedback. See: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=NnVhWMMPvLElgw0kLnsTJw_3d_3d