LibraryLaw Blog

My night at the UGLI

Hit Man?

It's bothered me for years. I worked at the UGLI (Univ of Michigan undergraduate library) when I was a library student. One night, a scary patron who often came to the library was acting especially agitated, maybe on drugs.

That night he was muttering, "I'm going to kill him...I'm going to kill him..." and it wasn't the way you and I say it. He said more stuff like "gonna get a gun" or maybe it was "now I have a gun" I don't remember, but I definitely remember the word gun.

Then he came up to me, all calm and collected and asked me, "May I see the criss cross directory?"

Library web site design - Make it accessible

I can't emphasize enough how important I think it is to make library web sites accessible to people with disabilities. Patrons may be using text readers, alternative input devices etc.

I used to use voice input when I had miserably bad RSI.

Believe me, I wanted to shoot the folks who wrote web pages without giving keyboard alternatives (voice could compensate) for mouse clicks (voice could not).

This came up just now because I'm on a bit of a blogfest ... checking out other people's blogs (I can see that this could be a definite time sink).

Here's a good presentation from Jessamyn West's blog on how to make your library's web site accessible. The presentation is dated April 20, 2004.

She points out that using accessibility standards can help a variety of people:

"Users who can't see, hear, move, or process some types of information
Users who have difficulty reading or comprehending text
Users who may not be able to use a keyboard or mouse
Users who have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection
Users who may not speak or understand English fluently
Users who may have older browsers, or different browsers or operating systems"

This is like putting ramps leading to library front doors... allows not only patrons who use wheelchairs in, but makes it easier for parents with strollers, staff with book carts and various others.

Libraries, Ethics and Copyright presentations at TLA

Two ppts from the Texas Library Association on March 18, 2004 on libraries, ethics and copyright.

Gretchen McCord Hoffman, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. What Does It Mean to be an Ethical Librarian in the Copyright Context?

Carol A. Brey-Casiano, Director, El Paso Public Library
President-Elect, American Library Association
The Exciting World of Ethics and Copyright in the Electronic Environment

p.s. I came across these because I was looking for the presentation I gave at TLA 2003 - need it for a class section on Virtual Reference that I'm teaching soon at Univ. of Maryland. It seems to have vanished. If anyone happens to know where the TLA 2003 presentations are, let me know.

Laura Norvig is right

Laura Norvig is right - it's much easier to post to a blog than to update a web site.