Tag Archives: LIS Website

LIS website usability testing

The LIS Website team invites LIS Staff to help us out with our usability testing activities. Many of you have already been involved–either through your work during the building phases of our site, or by sending us feedback about the site–and we thank you for your input. We will be incorporating these observations into our recommendations for changes and adjustments to the site.

As we turn our focus to usability testing in the form of observational testing sessions, we want to provide the opportunity for interested LIS staff to participate. The LIS Website team’s current usability testing plan involves using an audio/video/screencapture tool, and coordinating and conducting testing with student, faculty, and staff testers (along with other methods).

Please note: if you submitted questions to the usability testing form that was previously advertised, you do not need to resubmit them—we have them in hand and will incorporate them into our testing. If you have additional tasks or questions you feel are essential for testing, please send them to liswebteam@middlebury.edu. If you are interested in helping us with the testing, please let us know by emailing the team. Thank you!

No MIDCAT in new library site???

Many researchers are surprised and dismayed that there’s no easy way to get to MIDCAT in the new library site.  There is!!!  If someone can’t find MIDCAT, they’re probably using Internet Explorer version 6.  In IE 6, the “Library Quick Search” portal–with MIDCAT, articles, journals and more–displays at the bottom of the front page rather than at the top.  We tested the new site on multiple browsers, but alas, this issue didn’t become apparent until after launch.  We’ve reported the problem and hope for a resolution soon.

If you can’t find MIDCAT, try scrolling down.  Pass it on!

Library Spotlight

The front page of the new library site (at http://midd2.middlebury.edu/academics/lib today, and at go/lib later tomorrow) has a “Library Spotlight” section that will feature news and tips for library users. The content will come straight from the LIS blog.  Anything here that’s tagged “Library Spotlight” will show up there too.

If you know something that library users would want to know too, please post it to the LIS blog and add the “Library Spotlight” tag to your post.  The neat thing is that you’ll be getting the word out to LIS staff and library users all at once.

Use the “Library Spotlight” tag for information such as:

  • new library resources, collections, web sites, search techniques, go shortcuts, etc.
  • hidden library treasures and answers to common questions
  • changes in library hours, services and facilities

Thank you in advance!  The more “Library Spotlight” posts there are, the better the library site will be.

LIS Wiki Gets a Facelift

Not to be outdone by the College website’s extreme makeover tomorrow, the LIS Wiki got its own facelift today.  To help our readers find what they need, it now  features audience-specific collections of links to wiki content. Anyone still can search the wiki, but readers who prefer browsing now have a new option.

The LIS Website Team compiled these links with your help–thank you!  If you don’t see your favorite wiki content in the audience-specific lists, please log in and contribute.

If you have feedback or questions, or if you need help with editing the wiki, let us know!  Post a response here in the blog, or write to liswebteam@middlebury.edu.

New WordPress Themes

New WordPress themes have been added to WordPress at Middlebury.  This blog has been updated to use Translucence, an interpretation of theme designs drafted by White Whale as part of the Web Redo project.

Translucence, like ShadowBox, is a theme series that includes a number of variations and options for layout.  This blog is currently configured to use a flexible width such that the width of the blog will vary with the size of your browser window.  As well, it is configured to include  2 right sidebars (instead of a single left and right sidebar).

Feedback/comments/suggestions welcome.

LIS Web Site

Thanks for your attention and questions today in the LIS staff meeting.

As promised, here’s a link to the new LIS page, which links to all other LIS content.  We’re almost done!  Of course, all pages may be tweaked, updated, revamped or revised after usability testing.  In other words, our site still will be a work-in-progress even after the launch…

Please post any comments or questions here in the blog.

Please contribute to our new wiki pages

To help readers find what they need, the LIS Wiki soon will feature audience-specific collections of links to content in the wiki. The LIS Website Team needs help compiling these lists of links. Make your favorite wiki content more visible — log in and contribute!

What LIS wiki content do you want LIS Staff, College Faculty/Staff, Students, or visitors to see?  Please add links to these pages by next week:

We’ll review these audience-specific pages at our meeting on Wed 1/20.  When they’re ready, we’ll revise the LIS wiki opening page so that it directs users to them.  Anyone still will be able to search the wiki, but users who want to browse will have a new option.

If you have feedback or questions, or if you need help with editing the wiki, let us know!  Post a response here in the blog, or write to liswebteam@middlebury.edu.  Thank you in advance!