Designing Web Sites for Academic Libraries, Part 1

An ACRL Online Seminar
July 14 - August 8, 2008

Registration is now open!

(Registered participants, log into Moodle here. Trouble accessing Moodle? Contact Jon Stahler at jstahler@ala.org.)

Course Description:
This course focuses on the basics of Web site planning and design and content development with a concentration on academic libraries. The course will also examine Web standards, usability, and accessibility. XHTML and CSS (external) will be introduced. Students will be expected to be able to create a basic HTML Web page before beginning the course. However XHTML/HTML basics tutorials will be provided for those who need more practice. Students will plan and design a representative site during the course.

Designing Web Sites for Academic Libraries, Part 1. is a primarily asynchronous seminar, allowing participants to work through course material at times convenient to them throughout the week. Participants may also choose to schedule online chat time with the teacher, as they feel necessary. Specific material and activities are expected to be covered during each week of the course. Threaded discussion forums will be available for use in activities and other course-related conversations.

Weekly Schedule

• Week 1: User Centered Design: Needs Assessment and Design Planning
• Week 2: Review of HTML/XHTML and CSS Standards
• Week 3: Creating Draft Organizer Page
• Week 4: Final Project: Validating XHTML, CSS (External), and Accessibility Standards

This seminar will be delivered through Moodle.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Understand and apply Web Standards
• Plan and design a Web site for Usability and Accessibility for selected users/groups.
• Develop basic Web site contents for selected users/groups.
• Use DreamWeaver or a text editor (MX2004 or higher preferred) to create usable, accessible, and interesting Web pages. You may use FrontPage if you already know what you are doing with it.

Participants will end the session with a completed Web site plan, design, and a main Web page illustrating how the design will be implemented and will allow for minimal usability and accessibility testing. These pages will also be validated XHTML with external CSS.

Course Materials:
All of the required readings and activities for the course will be available on-line but it will be useful to have available the references in the Recommended Materials listed below.

• Graph Paper for laying out CSS design.
• Freeman, Elizabeth and Eric (2005). * Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML. O'Reilly. ISBN: 0-596-10197-X
• Niederst, Jennifer (2006). Web Design in a Nutshell , 3rd Ed. O'Reilly. ISBN: 0-596-00987-9
• Meyer, Eric (2007). CSS Pocket Reference, 3rd. Ed. O'Reilly. ISBN 10: 0-596-51505-7 | ISBN 13:9780596515058 (9.99 list price)
• Bickner, Carrie. (2004) Web Design on a Shoestring. New Riders Publishing: Boston ISBN 0-7357-1328-6
• Donald Norman (1988). The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books ISBN: 0-385-26774-6
• Jennifer Niederst (2006). Web Design in a Nutshell , 3rd Ed. O'Reilly. ISBN: 0-596-00987-9

*Strongly recommended for those students who come to class with no HTML experience.

Audience:
Librarians and other information specialists who want to learn to design usable, accessible, standard Web pages that will attract the intended users and encourage and invite them to persist and return to the site.

Experience working with the academic library patrons in any subject area chosen is assumed. Level of instruction is intermediate in regard to academic library experience, beginner in regard to XHTML/CSS and Web design experience.

Participants must understand paths -- directories or folders and where files are saved -- in a Windows or Mac OS environment. FTP or other experience uploading Web pages to a Web server will be expected. Some basic assistance will be provided.

Instructor:
Diane Kovacs, Kovacs Consulting

The instructor has been teaching Web Design and related topics for more than 14 years including LIS590LWL Designing Web Sites for Organizations for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign GSLIS LEEP program. She is the author of The Kovacs Guide to Electronic Library Collection Development: Essential Core Subject Collections, Selection Criteria, and Guidelines (Neal-Schuman, January 2004) and The Virtual Reference Handbook: Interview and Information Delivery Techniques for the Chat and E-Mail Environments by Kovacs, Diane K. Neal-Schuman Publishers (2007) published concurrently in the United Kingdom by Facet Publishers (2007)

More information on Diane Kovacs

Course Requirements:
Your participation will require approximately three to five hours per week to:

• Read the online seminar material
• Post to online discussion boards
• Complete activities, which will result in a basic draft academic library oriented Web site
• Complete a seminar evaluation form

Registration
ACRL member: $150
ALA member: $195
CACUL member: Can $205 (charges will be made in U.S. dollars)
Nonmember: $205
Student: $65

Registration is now open!

Register with Credit Card

• You will need to log in with your ALA ID & password. If you do not have an ALA ID & password, you will be asked to create one in order to register.

Register by PO

• Download and complete the PO registration form.
• Submit the form along with your actual PO to ALA registration (fax or mail; see form for details).
• You will not be considered registered for the course until both your PO and the registration form have been received and processed by ALA registration.

Member rates apply to personal memberships only. Want to join ACRL or ALA? Complete the online membership form, available on the ALA Web site. If you join ALA/ACRL within five days of registering, we will adjust your fee (please fax a copy of your completed registration form to ACRL at 312-280-2520).

Payment may be made by credit card or purchase order (PO) only.
If paying by PO, the PO number is required at the time of registration.

Class size is limited to 60 participants. Full refunds will be granted up to 14 days prior to the start of the seminar.