Tag Archives: lis website

LibX updated to include Summon searching

Middlebury’s version of the LibX browser extension has been edited so that it can now be used to search Summon.  LibX provides:

  • Toolbar & right-click context menu: Search your library catalog directly from the LibX toolbar or using the right-click context menu.
  • Support for off-campus access via EZProxy/WAM: Using the Library’s off-campus proxy, you may reload a page through the proxy, or follow a link via the proxy, making it appear as though you are coming from an on-campus computer.
  • Quick full text access to journal articles: LibX uses Google Scholar to search for articles and directs the user to the electronic copy subscribed to by your Library. Select a citation, then drag-and-drop it onto the Scholar button on the toolbar. You can use this feature even from inside a PDF file, which makes retrieving papers referenced in a PDF file a snap.
  • Support for embedded cues: LibX places cues in web pages you visit if your library has resources related to that page. Whenever you see the cue, click on the link to look at what the Library has to offer. For instance, book pages at Amazon or Barnes & Noble will contain cues that link to the book’s entry in Midcat. Cues are displayed at Google, Yahoo! Search, the NY Times Book Review, and other pages.

Weekly Web Development Round-up June 12-17, 2011

To give our colleagues a better idea of what’s changed in our web applications each week, we’ll be preparing this quick list for publication each Friday. Not all of the details of each change are included below, but we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have in the comments.

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Today’s Hours now displaying on LIS websites!

Users can now see today’s hours from the LIS web pages. The “All Hours” link takes users to the full Google Calendar, which has a pull-down menu for the various service points. More locations will be added in the coming days. Special thanks to the LIS Website Team, Carrie, and Ian for making this happen!

LIS site improvements since usability testing

Soon after the launch of the new Middlebury web site, the LIS website team conducted usability testing on the LIS parts of the site (see report 1, report 2). Many improvements have been made based on the feedback received during testing. Since part of the Team’s charge for this year included following-up on these recommendations, we thought it best to share some of the highlights. These changes were made with the help of many content managers and website editors; we thank you for your contributions!: Continue reading →

New Helpdesk Website

The new Helpdesk website (go/helpdesk) is live. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to find the information you need. We hope to accomplish this with:

  1. Improved navigation – our information is broken down into major categories; choose the category that makes the most sense for your issue, and
  2. A “Search Help” search box on our homepage; type in a search and get results only from our site and our wiki documentation. (Note: this will be more effective after Google has a chance to index the new site, and should work properly after break.)

If you have go shortcuts or bookmarks to pages on our site, they may no longer work.  If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or just have comments about the new site, let us know. We want to make your experience on our site as enjoyable as possible.

LIS website content managers

As part of its charge, the LIS Website Team has identified staff who are willing and able to oversee the various sections of the LIS website. These people will:

  • Serve as main contact persons for questions about their sections of the site
  • Ensure their section of the site is current and accurate (which may involve delegating tasks to others).
  • Be aware of formatting, style, and other conventions used on the LIS/College web site and follow them when making changes.
  • Keep current with the necessary skills and tools do this (or receive training)
  • Consult with stakeholders before implementing major refresh & enhancements.

Continue reading →

LIS Blog Update

I met with the LIS Website team this week and proposed some minor changes to this blog the most obvious of which is an update in the theme design. The other change I’ve just introduced are some quick links in the navigation bar below the header.

I welcome feedback about the new theme. I have about half a dozen variations of this design, each with different images in the upper right corner which I’ll introduce over the next month or so as a way of refreshing the appearance of this blog. If you know of other images that you think would fit this space, send them along and I’ll add them to the rotation.

Usability Testing the LIS Website (Part 2)

Presenting part 2 of 2 blog posts describing usability testing methods of the LIS Website team (as promised in the Usabilla post).

The Team presented the results of our findings at a meeting with Area Directors and since the presentation itself does a good job of providing an overview of the other tools we used, here it is: Web Team Recommendations.  We will be passing the torch to a new iteration of the LIS Website team soon.  They will be charged with following up on the status of these recommendations (among other tasks). In addition, we’ll be sharing these recommendations directly with the people in charge of the specific areas of the site.

Continue reading →