Comments on: I [want to] love libraries

By: LibraryNation (Kathleen)

LibraryNation (Kathleen) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:38:13 +0000

That side-bar navigation pains me with it’s un-usability. I’m so disappointed that resources went into this that could have been used to create something truly wonderful.

By: John DeB

John DeB — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:05:48 +0000

I had a similar reaction during my first visit to the site, though I didn’t wonder so much whether it was trying to be 2.0, so much as I suspected it was trying to be too much at once, thereby becoming not much of anything. I like your reaction “I don’t even know what it’s trying to do.”

I am also with Karen re @yourlibrary–please, somebody drive a wooden stake into the heart of that campaign! Just because they registered it as a trademark (which I thought was really rude) doesn’t mean the have to keep using it. But the Campaign_Phase_II.doc indicates we’re a long way from freedom as first kids@ and then teens@ is upon us.

By: Daniel Nicolas

Daniel Nicolas — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 23:27:47 +0000

I’m totally stealing your breakdown and points and using them to critique the world!

=) I’m only 1/2 kidding. Awesome article!

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:45:39 +0000

Great analysis of this website!

What struck me most about this site is that it represents a problem that I think we have as a library industry. We make it dueced hard for our users to get anything valuable with just a little bit of effort.

For example, I clicked on the “Careers in Libraries” link hoping to see a nice little chart of they types of librarianship with corresponding salary ranges. I was completely annoyed to be sent out to a range of surveys and government studies. I don’t want to read through a government survey and I’m positive our users don’t either.

If we keep making this so hard, we can’t really blame people for looking for easier solutions to their information problems.

By: Szeretem a könyvtárakat!/? Izé... at élet és könyvtár

Szeretem a könyvtárakat!/? Izé... at élet és könyvtár — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 10:04:52 +0000

[...] Jessamyn West pár napja az ALA I Love Libraries jövendő portálját támadta le rendesen az emberiség nevében. A vicces a dologban az, hogy ő is benne volt a készítő brigádban. Elsőként a beharangozás volt elszúrva, mert áprilisra volt reklámozva ezerrel, hát most éppen július eleje van. Nem jött be, amit talán egy Apple/MS megengedhet magának, egy könyvtáros nem ; ) [...]

By: Chuck0

Chuck0 — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 05:28:28 +0000

It sounds like ALA is just reflecting the typical user experience at any public library.

I still can’t walk into a public library and put a flyer on their bulletin boards. I still have to explain that, yes, the flyer is for a nonprofit project.

Don’t expect ALA to understand Web 2.0 when most librarians are stuck in Library 1965.

As I like to say, Web 2.0 is the Dot-com Bubble with rounded corners.

By: Leo Klein

Leo Klein — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:51:34 +0000

The best way to go about this is to look at what other sites are doing and then apply the good examples to your needs.

Instead, it seems that many projects evolve in a sort of technological isolation.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:22:01 +0000

@john – that’s odd, no I didn’t. I copied and pasted it from someplace else. That may explain at least one of my problems, huh?

By: John Overholt

John Overholt — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:09:07 +0000

Jessamyn, did you mean to have “https” in that first URL?

By: Jonathan Rochkind

Jonathan Rochkind — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:50:12 +0000

1.0 site? More like a .5 site.

Whatever that means.

By: royce

royce — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:37:00 +0000

About a year ago I swore off any attempts to look at the ALA website ever again. Sounds like I am not missing much.

In response to the last comment:
When are people going to realize that resistance 1.0 is futile 2.0?

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:03:45 +0000

Also I feel that I should point out, there’s nothing strictly wrong with having a nice brochure-like 1.0 site as long as you don’t pretend it’s anything but a brochure. People still do it. I know Jenny did some pretty hard lobbying for more and better tools and encountered more resistance even than she was expecting.

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:12:14 +0000

Jessamyn, I had the same 1.0-as-2.0 reaction to the new ALA website wireframes.

I agree on the “what is the goal” issue of this site. I think it was conceived in the heady moments of an ALA presidency but then never quite got ported to “and we’re accomplishing ‘X.’”

Though if it kills the “@ your library” meme, I’ll be thrilled right there…

Pete, yes, those are appropriate qualification quotes. ;-)

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:39:01 +0000

Excellent rundown, Jess! One more for the list: The page entitled “Five easy ways to find a library fast” lists, um, four ways to find a library. Perchance the 5th way is Peter’s idea to Google it…

By: Peter Bromberg

Peter Bromberg — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 03:09:08 +0000

“In short, this is a 1.0 site that is pretending to be a 2.0 site and is a perfect example of how all the blogging tools in the world won’t make your organization responsive and interactive if your corporate culture is restrictive and controlling…I don’t even know what it’s trying to do.”

YES, YES, a thousand times yes! Great analysis. The problem here (at least one of the problems) is that it doesn’t look like ALA had a goal for this site. I have the feeling that the idea was, “hey let’s have a website called “I Love Libraries”, and then a bunch of things got thrown into the pot.

Another problem, which seems endemic to library “marketing” : It’s about US, not them. So much library marketing is us talking about how great we are, instead of trying to demonstrate how we might be relevant to the customer’s life in any way. (note to KGS, note appropriate use of quotations—and apostrophe!)

Oh, and how about this: If I want to find my library, I’ll put my library’s name into google and press -return-.