Preparing and deploying pages for Intersessions

Intersession Hours & Spring Break

When to post

• Put tickler on calendar for 15-16 days prior to intersession
• Post hours 10-14 days prior to intersession

What to create

• Create (or modify existing) intersssion hours calendar
• Create a What's New Blog entry

What to update

• LIBRARY HOME PAGE
• Link to intersession hours in What's New
• Nullify Live Chat link
• The topmenu bar on the home page includes a file which has the LiveChat linking script. You will need to rename two files.
  
• (1) FROM topmenubar-home-chat.php
• TO topmenubar-home-[HOLD]chat.php
  
• (2) FROM topmenubar-home-SansChat.php
• TO topmenubar-home-chat.php
• CHAT LINK ON ALL OTHER PAGES
• The top banner on all other pages is controlled by a php include topsection4.php
• Rename topsection4.php to topsection4[HOLD].php
• Rename topsection4[sansChat].php to topsection4.php
  
• HOURS & LOCATIONS PAGE
  
• Uncomment hidden code for link to intersession hours on /loc/index[intersess].php
• Update link to correct intersession hours calendar
  
• Place link to intersession hours in What's New section of LS homepage
• When appropriate, make a link at the top of the LS homepage.
• Leave a copy of the existing locations and hours page in their folders for after the break.
• Rename /loc/index.php to /loc/index[HOLD].php
• Rename /loc/index[intersess].php to /loc/index.php
• ASK A LIBRARIAN PAGE
  
• Update /help/ask-winter/spring.php
• Rename ask.php to ask[HOLD].php
• Rename ask[winter, etc.].php to ask.php
• GET HELP! TAB ON CAMPUSGUIDE
• Add a box with "ask.php" text for whichever break.
• MOBILE WEB (http://library.austincc.edu/m/)
  
• Create /m/index[Intersess].php with a DIV="Interess" which has the intersession hours. {Update as appropriate.}
  
• Rename index.php to index[HOLD].php
• Rename index[Intersess].php to index.php

Pages to load on LS web server

• Revised home page
• Revised /loc/index.php page
• intersession hours page
• Revised ask.htm
• Revised /m/index.php
  

First day after the break

• Replace pages loaded on server with original pages
• Or, rename pages back to original names.
• Reverse the instructions for "Nullify Chat Link" on Library Home Page
• Remove intersession hours links on Library Home page
• Remove the box on the Get Help! tab for CampusGuides

Changing Style Sheets per ACC Web

Changing the LS Web Site style sheets
to dovetail with the ACC Web Site style sheets

ACC Webmaster has finally conceded that we can forgo designing for the 800x600 resolution monitors. Hooray !!!

In a couple of weeks, he will be publishing the ACC web site using 960px width style sheet.
Correction: He will be publishing the Faculty/Staff page soon using 960px width style sheet. Other pages will be changed during the summer. (4/26/11mp)

Note: We've been using 900px on all but the Library Home Page to accommodate our kind of content. (The library home page has been using a variation of the ACC stylesheet with its 768px width.)

I will be working on converting the home page to the new style sheet (csslayout-home.css). Then I can easily change the style sheet (csslayout-page4.css) for the other library web pages after that.

New note: There are some Spanish Language pages that we may have to look at separately. At least, we need to double-check these. mp 2/22/11

See the attached document on wiki page (http://acclswiki.austincc.edu/cm/wiki/?id=78591) which outlines and describes major division widths for the new library home page style sheet.

Major Divisions LS Home

• container = 960px (whole page)
• topsection = 958px (contains the banner)
• main-content1 = 242px (contains the left sidebar with menu and rotating read poster thumbnails)
• main-content3 = 575px (center of page with changing content [midinfo = margin-left=10px] and quick search boxes)
• main-content4 = 239px (contains the right sidebar with What's New, Quick Links, ACC Online Services, Feedback)
• footer = 958px (contains the standard footer information and links)

Notes as of 4/26/11:

• Home page changes were made and are successful. Changes made:
• csslayout-libhome-960.css created for the home page.
• MetaStyleScript-home960.php created to link to the new css file. (Will be renamed MetaStyleScript-home.php when ACC deploys this summer.)
• Changes for the rest of the pages on the LS web site:
• csslayout-page960.css created for the rest of the pages
• MetaStyleScript-sub960.php created to link to the new css file. (Will be renamed MetaStyleScript-sub.php when ACC deploys this summer.)

Review will need to be conducted to see what breaks when we changeover during the summer.

Some test pages to see what this looks like now:

• http://library.austincc.edu/index-libhome-sideExpand.php
• http://library.austincc.edu/help/studyguides960.php
• http://library.austincc.edu/help/infolit/InfoLit-Overview960.php

Using CSS gradients in HTML5

I've been exploring some elements of HTML5 and was happy to see a new tool in one of the add-ons (extensions) of Firefox that helps me understand the use of CSS gradients.

Colorzilla has a tool called CSS Gradient Generator which generates the CSS style(s) for whichever colors you choose, etc. I say styles because it uses the style elements for different browsers. Here is an example:

---------------------------

<style type="text/css">
<!--
.boxback{
background: -moz-linear-gradient(left, #f1e767 0%, #feb645 100%); /* firefox */
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, right top, color-stop(0%,#f1e767), color-stop(100%,#feb645)); /* webkit */
filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#f1e767', endColorstr='#feb645',GradientType=1 ); /* ie */
}
-->
</style>

---------------------------
Note: Just in case you are unfamiliar with what "webkit" is: WebKit is an open source web browser engine. WebKit is also the name of the Mac OS X system framework version of the engine that's used by Safari.


You can see this work in a sample file that I created and loaded on the LS Web Site:
http://library.austincc.edu/gradient-demo.htm

Faculty librarian

The dean has asked me to revise the LS web pages to say "faculty librarian" instead of "librarian" or "reference librarian." A quick check for "reference librarian" by doing a google search of the library web site produced 95 results. A similar search for just "librarian" produced 145 results. I'll need to analyze the 234 guides and 1828 pages as well.

Proposed outline of Project:

====================================
LS Web Change "librarian" > "faculty librarian"
====================================

---------------------------------------------------------------
1 Objective:
To emphasize that librarians are faculty members.
---------------------------------------------------------------

• 1.1 Replace instances of "librarian" on LS web pages with "faculty librarian"


• 1.2 Replace any pictures of librarians with pictures of librarians with students

-------------------------------------------------------------
2 Methods:
-------------------------------------------------------------

• 2.1 Identify instances on LS Web Pages


• 2.1.1 Full and Mobile LS web site
  
• 2.1.2 CampusGuides
  
• 2.1.3 LS Catalog


• 2.2 Make a second backup copy of all pertinent folders on the LS Web Site


• 2.3 Use global text replacement software to find and replace instances of "librarian" with "faculty librarian."


• 2.4 Have HLs and Web Cmte alert librarians to replace their pictures on LS Web pages to include students.

-------------------------------------------------------------
3 Issues
-------------------------------------------------------------

• 3.1 Not all instances are appropriate to replace


• 3.1.1 Ask a Librarian
  
• 3.1.2 Head Librarian
  
• 3.1.3 Official title: Reference Librarian


• 3.2 Some tutorial formats may be problematic for global replacement


• 3.3 CampusGuides do not have a global replace option.

-------------------------------------------------------------
4 Solutions
-------------------------------------------------------------

• 4.1 Disguise phrases we don't want altered.


• 4.1.1 First alter "Head Librarian" and Ask a Librarian with global replacement to something like "Head XXLIbrarian", etc.
  
• 4.1.2 Then replace "librarian" with "faculty librarian."
  
• 4.1.3 Go back and replace the altered phrases to their original wording.
• Note: I ran into many variations and case sensitive instances of "librarian" using my text-replacer program (TextCrawler). By approaching this folder by folder, I am easily able to identify like instances of variations, etc., and replace appropriately. It is slower, but fairly easy to do.
  


• 4.2 Identify pages with official titles and don't use global replacement there.


• 4.3 Work with tutorial authors to identify and alter appropriately


• 4.4 Web Cmte will need to work with Springshare (CampusGuides) to determine if there is a global solution.
• Note: I've changed the wording on the Get Help! page that most campusguides are linked to so that should take care of the most apparent instances. We'll have to closely examine other possibilities before asking individuals to edit their guides for this phrase.

Documenting library@austincc.edu account uses

I am documenting the ways we use the library@austincc.edu email account.

This account is used for others (from outside of Library Services) to communicate comments, questions, requests to us.

There are automatic subject lines generated by our own email forms as well as by our LivePerson Chat service:

1-- (Ask a Librarian)
Many links on multiple web pages solicit user interaction, e.g., Get Help. These use the email form that generates the subject line, "Ask a Librarian Email."

2-- (Feedback)
The library home page has a feedback on the bottom which uses an email form that generates the subject line, "Website Feedback Email."

3-- (LivePerson )
When no one answers the chat invitation inititated by our LivePerson Chat subscription (or an Ask Academic bypass), an option is given to email a question; that subject line is "When you were offline (via LivePerson)."

4-- (ILL)
ACC employees and students can submit an interlibrary loan request online; that subject line is "Interlibrary Loan Request: username."

5-- (No specific subject line)
Other legitimate requests come directly to that email with no subject line. [Note: The library web manager has tried to minimize spam by utilizing an email form, with Captcha, linked to all instances of the character phrase "library@austincc.edu" on the library website. Periodically, she checks to see if other web authors have used mailto with that email address.]


OTHER LS DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTS REPORTED:

• III-related accounts:
• tsalrsad - used for listservs [ma]
  -- no one sends email to it
  -- no standard subject line
  -- can probably go away when departmental emails will expire in the summer
• other campus ones - rgclrsad, rvslrsad, etc. [ma]
  -- no one sends email to them
  -- can go away when departmental emails will expire in the summer
• lsnotice - used for notices and responses [mg]
  -- no standard subject line (But...When it is sent out to others there is a standard subject line: ACC Library Notice. So, if a recipient uses the reply feature, it will show "Re: ACC Library Notice" However, sometimes people just use the email address to send back some explanation, etc., and then there is no standard subject line.)
  -- important - needs to remain in some form


• E-Resources Librarian
• ereslib - used to register admin access to vendor platforms primarily [aw]
  -- receive vendor email
  -- no standard subject line
  -- will need to continue in some form
• Other????