26 Dec 08
in
general, library as place | 1 comment
The old train station in Luckenwalde, Germany, about an hour away from Berlin, has been converted into a public library. It is beautiful. Their website is even pretty nice. I can’t make any claims about how it functions as a library but it is sure easy on my eyes.
The furniture for Luckenwalde’s library was designed by Quinze & Milan who also created some of the furniture for Seattle Public Library. Also having their stuff in the Roosendaal, NL public library might make them the goto firm for high end library furniture.
The January 2009 issue of Wallpaper reports that a goal of the Luckenwalde project was to make the library a focal point for the town (much like the former train station was, I assume). The striking design certainly helps meet this goal and I’m interested to know if the services they provide are equally as notable. For more, see the links at de estación a biblioteca - public library in Luckenwalde.
Anyone reading this been there? I’d love to hear a report.
15 Dec 08
in
usability, web stuff | 1 comment
The
website for Clyde Common in Portland contains the most appropriate use of
mystery meat navigation I’ve ever seen.
Generally, not making links (and their destinations) completely apparent is bad form, but this site intentionally obfuscates things to engage the user. Go to the site and mouse over the sections. You’ll be rewarded with cute, simple animations. *
The wine and cocktails chunk tickles me not only because of the repetition of the word
tail, but also because the pig looks like he’s had a strong pull.
The last time I remember being so taken with something being intentionally more difficult than normal is when I saw this clock.
* You’ll also encounter two unannounced PDFs which is is typical on restaurant sites and hardly ever welcome.
12 Dec 08
in
fun, library as place | comment
“Phillip is Looking for His Friends” by thehubatwts
11 Dec 08
in
meta | 39 comments
In late October I wrote a semi-cryptic Facebook status update telling people that I gave notice at my job. Then a few weeks later a few people emailed me when they saw my job at the NPPL listed on the PNLA Jobs website. Sorry that I haven’t been able to say anything until now, but Ts were getting crossed and all of that.
I’m super excited to let interested parties know that I’m now the Digital Initiatives Librarian for the District of Columbia Public Library. Not quite sure what a Digital Initiatives Librarian does? Well, it is vague on purpose but I can tell you that I’m going to be doing website visioning, usability testing, web presence development and planning all sorts of fun projects. Much of this stuff is going to fall under a subdivision of the DCPL Information Technology Services department that we’re calling DCPL Labs (still in beta so expect to find some lorem ipsum). You can visit the DCPL Labs Projects page for some details of what we’ll be starting with, but I’m most excited about:
- Our iPhone application. This is probably the simplest way I’ve seen to search for and place holds on library items. It is built and is in the process of being submitted to Apple for inclusion in the iTunes application store. The current version is about .8 and we have an exciting roadmap for future functionality.
- Content Creation Stations. We’re giving DCPL Neighborhood Libraries some great hardware and training to help people produce digital content and put it online. We’re going to aggregate this content somewhere on the DCPL site.
- We’ve got a nice looking and usable design for a new library website that is in the process of being built.
- DCPL staff education. I’m going to be helping write modules for a learning program, hosting a Library 2.0 interest group for DCPL employees, and writing a tech awareness blog called The Dish. Writing a different style blog, something much more general and link-bloggy than walking paper should be fun and challenging.
Another aspect of the job that is fun and challenging is that I’m not moving to DC. I’ll be telecommuting from Portland and visiting DC as needed. In our estimation this might be for a few days monthly or every other month. I’ll be working from home (which probably means I’ll get back to posting more pics of Mao on the green couch to flickr) and my local haunt, Red Square Cafe. This flexibility also means that I’ll still be doing some traveling for neat presentation and workshop opportunities.
The DCPL is implementing a big transition, including some major construction projects. It is encouraging that the library is considering their digital presence in this transition, and I’m honored to help with the task.
4 Dec 08
in
general | 4 comments
Consider pouring yourself a coffee or tea and taking a few minutes to walk around your library and look at the signs you see. Where do they fall on this graph?
perhaps replace “friendly/mean” with “helpful/unhelpful” too
How many of your signs fall into the desirable quadrant I?
Ready for the real test? Print out the graph and hand some copies to library users. Pour them a coffee or tea and have them rate your signs. Is there a difference?
Much of the discussion surrounding signs in libraries has been around the attitude of the signs and the policies from which they stem. While this is
very important, let’s not forget that they don’t often conform to the rules of graphic design either (i.e. they’re not pretty). Chances are that your library doesn’t have a graphic design department, so this isn’t a surprise.
If you’d like to improve the looks of your signs but don’t know where to start, you could do worse than to thumb through the go-to
The Non-Designer’s Design Book. It isn’t going to turn you into an expert sign designer over night, but it will introduce you to some basic principles that can improve the appeal of your signs.
A great example of what can be achieved after reading
The Non-Designer’s Design Book is this sign that
Anna Warns redesigned for the class I’m teaching for the UW’s iSchool.
She writes:
Old sign:
This one is ugly and friendly. The message of conserving paper is a good one and anyone who’s been near the public access computers printer knows that there is a lot of waste. The sign is just…old and sad. While it’s clear that someone put a little effort into this, it’s horribly out-dated and is too wordy. Another problem with sign is the location - it is on the printer table and not able to be seen until you pick up your print job.
New sign:
The new sign has much less wording. It is concise and much of the message is implied through the graphic. The font will hopefully relate a computer/techy feel next to the earthy image and create context for the sign. I intend to put this one up in the library and change its location so it is relevant.
Is this concern for aesthetics superficial? I don’t think so. Having thoughtfully designed signs and pamphlets around the library makes things easier for patrons, and illustrates that the library takes pride in what it does.
2 Dec 08
in
walking paper scraps | 1 comment
→ Host your own muxtape style MP3 player with OpenTape. This is a .12 release, bit it works for the most part. I made walking paper music in about as much time as it took to upload three mp3s.
→ Make Google Reader easier on your eye with Helvetireader, a userscript for any browser that can handle it. You lose a bit of functionality but you probably aren’t using it anyways.
1 Dec 08
in
fun | 7 comments
1 Dec 08
in
general | 2 comments
Could make for an interesting library display.
[via]
19 Nov 08
in
general, walking paper scraps | 1 comment
→ Don’t talk to strangers — scan them instead.
2D codes + fabric + mobiles phones = people wearing hyperlinks to their social networking profiles. Next up is RFID chips broadcasting your profile wherever you go. It could make for serendipitous connections!
→ Why Apple is great at interfaces when others are not
Short answer: Because they take fun and pleasure into account.
→ Rule of Thumb - Giving a Speech
When giving a public science lecture to a general audience, there will always be one weirdo who asks questions that have nothing to do with your lecture. There will also be one smart-aleck who asks questions to show how smart he is. The faster you silence both of them, the happier your audience will be.
→ Obama’s Victory Speech Does Well on BitTorrent
Within 24 hours of president-elect Barack Obama delivering his victory speech to the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Chicago, another hundred thousand gathered in a BitTorrent swarm, to download a copy of the historic event.
→ Type Tester
A handy CSS tool. 1. Choose values for different elements and see them displayed. 2. Three columns let you compare. 3. Snag the CSS.
18 Nov 08
in
fun, gaming in libraries, general | 2 comments
Genre-X is a library book group for 20 and 30somethings at the Oak Park Public Library. They don’t always meet in the library, however. They meet at local watering holes. This is great, but it isn’t the only thing they’re doing right. They recently had a hi-lo gaming event with a Nintendo Wii and board games, and DJs. 
What’s more, they had a group member draw and hand screen posters for the event too. This seems like a small thing but it was quite a nice touch. It let a group member contribute to the project, emphasized something local and DIY, and provided added value that a lame 8.5×11 photocopy simply would not have added.
A follow up post states that event was a big success, attracting over 60 people to the library after hours.
Two bonuses. 1. The genre-x blog is particularly attractive. 2. When you visit the “about” page on the site, it doesn’t first go into details about the group or the library. It highlights the people behind the group.
Congrats to the folks at OPPL for connecting with a group that libraries have traditionally ignored.
