Think and wonder. Wonder and think.
— Dr. Seuss
Hi and welcome to my blog!
I have made this blog for the university course I’m completing (more about that in the About Me post). You’ll find a new blog post each week on something new and exciting about technology in the GLAMR industry.
Check out my ‘About me’ post. It is the first post of many to come.
See my university journey unfold and stay tuned!
Week 8
This week’s post is about the website I designed (https://houndstoothpubliclibrary.wordpress.com) and the recommendations I chose to use in my web design from the following articles:
1. Vision
Gambrell (2015) states that having a vision on the library’s website is essential as it defines the library’s goals and guides the future decision about the library. It is important to align the vision with the library’s mission statement. Also it is suggested to keep these statements under 2 sentences. Therefore, I have put the information about the library’s vision and mission statement at the bottom of the homepage. Both the vision and mission statements are under 2 sentences each and are accessible on the homepage of the website.
2. Easy access to Search
One of the most common action users want to take on a website is to search (Piola, 2018). It is important to make the search box prominent and available on every page (Gambrell, 2015). To allow the users of my website to do this with ease, I have made the search bar available on every page. It is placed in the same location and always remains consistent on every page to ensure the users journey is kept simple and easy.
3. Keep Navigation Simple
The suggested maximum number of displayed options to have in order not to overwhelm users is five to six (Gambrell, 2015). It is important to keep limited options to allow users to easily navigate and access the content they require. Therefore, I have created and placed six main navigation menu items. I used the main headings of Home, Online collections, Kids & Youth, Services, Membership and Contact Us.
4. Simple Home Page as it is the gateway
As the homepage is the most visited page, first impressions are absolutely critical.
Gambrell (2015) advises to keep the homepage simple and to not clutter it with too much information. As the layout of the website is a critical element in keeping the user engaged, I attempted to make the homepage as simple and visually appealing as possible. Gambrell (2015) suggests placing primary user actions (e.g. search), location and hours and library news and events on the homepage. My websites home page is broken up with images and small amount of content to keep users engaged. The viewers will see the navigation menu, main image, followed by content of current events occurring at the library, six navigations icons and finally the mission statement. The search bar and contact information are placed in the header or footer of the webpage as it is information frequently accessed and remains consistently available.
5. Empower All Your Users. Make the Library Website Accessible
Accessible websites are a requirement by law and are necessary for all individuals with disabilities to access information with ease on websites. Accessible websites empower all users. Gambrell (2015) suggests using the free tool Colour Contrast Analyser to see if the website is accessible for the colourblind. I avoided using red and green colours as much as possible as the most common kind of different type of colour blindness is the red-green type (Department of Health & Human Services, 2020). The library webpage successfully reached the standard requirements when the Colour Contrast analyser was used. Also, each webpage had clear page titles that describe what will be found on each page making it easy for users to understand what to expect.
There were still other aspects of accessibility that could be achieved with further help of a webpage expert such as having the website navigable by keyboard only for people who have motor skills issues, as well as having larger text under the webpage icons to aid people who have low visibility.
References
Department of Health & Human Services, S. G. o. V. (2020). Colour vision deficiency (colour blindness). Retrieved from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/colour-blindness
Gambrell, K. (2015). 7 best practices for creating a user friendly library website. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/blog/article/7-best-practices-for-creating-a-user-friendly-library-website
Piola. (2018). 8 tips to improve your library’s website design. Retrieved from https://meetpiola.com/8-tips-to-improve-your-librarys-website-design/
Week 6
This blog post is about discussing the overall design and accessibility for a chosen website in the GLAMR institute. I have selected the Campbelltown Library Website to explore. You can access their webpage via this link –https://www.campbelltown.sa.gov.au/library
The Campbelltown library website can be accessed through the Campbelltown City Councils webpage.
The library tab can be found on the top horizontal menu bar, third from the right. The header with the Campbelltown logo, the horizontal menu, the three icons (home, phone and letter), and the search bar in the upper right hand side always remain consistent on every page, making it easy for the webpage visitor to navigate around the website. The footer on the page also remains the same on every page. The information users would seek out frequently, are provided on the footer, to provide quick and easy access.
If you hover over the library button, a range of options appear for the webpage visitor to choose. You can also click on the Library tab which takes the user to view the library homepage. The library homepage has the same menu options that appear when hovering over the library tab.
The website’s structure is a broad and shallow hierarchical structure and the organisation scheme is a topical scheme. The homepage is simple with blue and white colours. There could be more contrast with the font colour being a darker blue. This would be better for visibility, although it is still of an acceptable standard. There is a navigation menu on the left hand side and main page have the same options displayed in large buttons. The large buttons and fonts make it easier to access the website for users with low vision and also for people with fine motor skill issues.
There are 17 different menu options on the page. It would be more advisable to group some of the options together. It is suggested to have five to six main navigation items displayed as a maximum number (Gambrell, 2015). This is to ensure the users are not overwhelmed. It may also be useful to put easily recognisable icons for the menu options.
The website has a text to voice reader for the website. Which is great for people with poor or no vision. However, it was difficult to use on my laptop. I would probably have someone from IT look into it, to ensure that the software is working properly in general and is working on different devices, eg. Microsoft and Mac computers.
The navigation of the website is difficult with only the use of “Tab”, “Shift+Tab” and “Enter” keys on the keyboard. A mouse needs to be used for access to some parts of the website making it not completely user friendly for all. ‘People who use keyboard-only or voice-only will not be able to access parts of the website that rely on a mouse click’ (Government of Western Australia, n.d.). It would be useful to have the website tested to see the ease of usability of the all the websites features and then to modify any required parts.
This website does not have an accessibility help menu which would be helpful to add. It would offer all ‘users the chance to view…pages through an entirely accessible lens’ (Sutton, 2017)’. Making the website a better experience for everyone.
References
Gambrell, K. (2015). 7 best practices for creating a user friendly library website. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/blog/article/7-best-practices-for-creating-a-user-friendly-library-website
Government of Western Australia. (n.d.). Tips to make your website accessible. Retrieved from http://www.disability.wa.gov.au/Global/Publications/Understanding%20disability/Built%20environment/Accessible%20websites%20checklist.pdf
Sutton, H. (2017). Follow 5 steps to create elegant, accessible web design. Student Affairs Today, 20(2), 7. https://doi.org/10.1002/say.3033
Week 5
Comment on the reading/article:ABC News. (2017). When algorithms control information, what of democracy?. [online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/ai-democracy-google-facebook/8782970?pfmredir=sm
Reading this article was an eye opener. It is quite scary to think how technology is taking over in every aspect of our lives. Knowing that an algorithm can evaluate our character by our social media likes and know us better than the closest people we know, is a definitely scary thought. It’s even more frightening to know that these algorithms have the power to manipulate our opinions and behaviours by sending us selective information and altering how we view specific political agendas. Despite this, it’s nice to know that these algorithms can also have a positive impact on the world by using the data they collect to assist vulnerable people.
Do I think that the general public is aware of this issue? Well yes and no. I believe people know some things about technologies that they hear through the news or conversations through friends and family. People do have a general idea about how the internet, our devices and social media are ‘listening to us’ and how that results in specific information or advertisements being targeted at us. However, I don’t think they know, understand and actively think about the full extent of the impact of algorithms. It is important for the public to know where the information they interact with comes from and to have transparency with how algorithms work.
A few actions can be taken to ensure that these algorithms are not being used for selfish organisational purposes or in any other negative way. There definitely needs to be regulations and policies made by the government in terms of how these algorithms and technologies are allowed to be used. They need to be regulated in terms of ensuring organisations aren’t using this technology to manipulate a person for either personal or organisational gain. Having regulations is important to ensure that these technologies are being used ethically. Even though making regulations and policies would be a difficult task due to the forever emerging and changing technologies, it is one that needs to be done. Laws also need to be placed to ensure that if the technology is used in an unethical manner that people face appropriate consequences for their actions.
It is important for everyone to be educated and understand how these technologies operate to ensure they are not victims of manipulation by technology. It’s scary to think that soo many people out there may be susceptible to manipulation because they are digitally illiterate. Considering the issue of the digital divide, this issue affects many people of the community and world. I believe safe use of technology and data ethics should definitely be taught at university but I believe it should be taught to people who do not to go to university as well. It should be taught to the upcoming new generations at schools, to people of a community as technology is the way of the future and this is something that concerns the whole population.
Week 4
Choose one element /tool of Web 3.0 and discuss how it could be used by an information service, give an example? What are the benefits or barriers? For example, think of augmented reality, virtual reality, Internet of things etc.
Libraries are always incorporating new technologies into their spaces and Virtual Reality (VR) has been offered to patrons of the GLAMR sector. VR “involves using 3D graphics and advanced interactions to immerse a real-world user in a simulated environment”(Oyelude, 2018). Libraries in particular have been trialling and bringing VR technology into their spaces as we move into the future. You only have to look at our own Adelaide City Council Library. They have an innovation lab where patrons can book in to experience and learn how to use VR technology (City of Adelaide, 2020). MOD. at UniSA also uses VR in parts of their exhibition which allows patrons to completely engage with the museum in a new way. The public libraries goal is to bring VR to their communities. Digital technologies like these are not common and it gives people of the community an opportunity to use explore new technology (Figueroa, 2018). Below are some benefits and disadvantages of having this technology in libraries:
Benefits
Barriers
References
American Library Association. (2017). Virtual Reality. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/virtualreality
City of Adelaide. (2020). Innovation Lab. Retrieved from https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/library-services/computers-hubs-labs/innovation-lab/
Figueroa, M. (2018). In a Virtual World How school, academic, and public libraries are testing virtual reality in their communities. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/03/01/virtual-world-virtual-reality-libraries/
Oyelude, A. A. (2018). Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in libraries and museums. Library Hi Tech News, 35(5), 1-4. doi:http://dx.doi.org.access.library.unisa.edu.au/10.1108/LHTN-04-2018-0023
Stambol. (2019). 3 Reasons VR at Your Local Library is Awesome. Retrieved from https://www.stambol.com/2018/02/05/3-reasons-vr-local-library-awesome/
Week 3– This week I had to discuss the question below about an article I read.
Article: Dara, R. (2019, December). The dark side of Alexa, Siri and other personal digital assistants. The conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-alexa-siri-and-other-personal-digital-assistants-126277
Q: Discuss the security implications raised in this article, current and/or future, for a library.
Libraries are constantly changing. Libraries attempt to keep up to date with the latest technological advances. There is popularity gaining with artificial intelligence and personal digital assistants. This article talks about some advantages of using digital assistants but also some potential security threats. The author, Dara raises security implications about the use of digital assistants. The use of digital assistants in a library setting would also pose these security threats.
Digital assistants collect and store data. They also listen to background conversations and noise to help retrieve information tailored specific for the user. If patrons were to use a digital assistant to search for information, do database searches, place books on hold, all this information would be saved. This information may be personal, identifiable and sensitive data that a library patron may not want or even realise it is being stored. It would also leave patrons that are non-users of this technology potentially having data collected such as their voice, purely by being in the same area as a digital assistant. This raises user and non-user privacy issues. All the stored information also has a possibility of being hacked, which could leave many library patrons open to having their information misused.
Most of these personal assistants devices store the information they have recorded on third party platforms which they keep until a user has deleted it (Smith, 2019). This poses the question of how and when will a library visitor delete their information stored? Some companies such as Apple, do protect a user’s identity by using anonymous ID’s, having their servers encrypt any information and giving users all the information of what and how their information is stored. This gives users more power in knowing what happens with their data and gives them the option if they want to choose to continue to use this service(Apple Inc, 2019). Although it may still not be guaranteed. Not all companies have clear guidelines on their privacy and security. There is also no effective government regulation of these devices. It’s pretty scary to think that these devices are constantly surveilling you. It definitely brings into question the privacy issues associated with the device. Are they too risky to have available in a public space such as a library? Especially where there may be individuals who may not fully understand the full security risks of such a device, such as vulnerable people including children or digitally illiterate people (Lynskey, 2019)
References
Lynskey, D (2019), Alexa, are you invading my privacy?’ – the dark side of our voice assistants. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/09/alexa-are-you-invading-my-privacy-the-dark-side-of-our-voice-assistants
Apple Inc. (2019), Privacy Policy – The Apple Privacy Policy. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/
Smith, C (2019), Your Library Needs to Speak to You – Getting ahead of the voice assistant hype. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/06/03/voice-assistants-your-library-needs-to-speak-to-you/
Week 2
This week we will be looking into my home network!
My home network is a star network typology as each node connects to a central point, from where data is distributed. It is known to be best used for wireless networking (Skoien, 2018)
It has both wired and wireless components. The following diagram demonstrates how my home network works.
Explanation of diagram
The telephone wall socket is the beginning of the Local Area Network(LAN) for our home. It is the point where the Local Area Network connects to the Wider Area Network(WAN). A cable connects the telephone wall socket to the modem. Now historically you may have needed two separate devices, one being the modem which connects the home to the internet and the other being a router which creates the home network. However, we have a merged modem and wireless router and so we only need one device to carry out both functions. Sometimes these devices are also known to be referred to as gateways (Xfinity, 2019).
All of our devices such as our iPad, laptops, iPhone, televisions, google home mini, apple watch are all wirelessly able to be connected within our home network to access the internet and also to be able to share information between the devices.
We also have a wired network in our house for better internet connection whilst using the PlayStation. As there is only one telephone wall socket in our house situated is in the study; the wireless connection isn’t strong enough to reach the PlayStation in our living room. This results in delays when gaming. To ensure a connection with minimal latency a Powerline Ethernet adapter was placed into the wall socket in the study, which is also connected to the modem with an ethernet cable. There is another Powerline Ethernet adapter placed in the wall socket in the living room and is connected to the PlayStation with an ethernet cable. These two Powerline devices communicate with each other and deliver a stronger internet connection whilst gaming.
The following tables are some advantages and disadvantages about wired and wireless networking which is also discussed by Goodman (2019) in more depth on his tech blog.
Advantages
| Wired | Wireless |
| – Strong connectivity – Fast data upload, download speed and sharing speed – More secure than wireless | – Ease of connecting multiple devices -Ability to move around while using devices – Ease of access – Can share data easily as doesn’t need to be connected by cables |
Disadvantages
| Wired | Wireless |
| – A lot of wires and cables needed to connect multiple devices – No ease of movement with devices around the house – Limited to number of connection ports | – Can sometimes have poor connectivity – Security concerns if not password protected – Slower data sharing speeds sometimes can be obstructed by walls, furniture etc |
Each of our devices in the house is backed up either on personal external hard drives or on iCloud or Dropbox which are external cloud services. Our home network is also password protected for security.
This is a really good YouTube video explaining how a house network and other components of it work.
References
Goodman, P (2019), Wireless Network vs Wired Network: Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved from https://turbofuture.com/computers/Wireless-Network-vs-Wired-Network-Advantages-and-Disadvantages
Skoien, K. R (2018), Wireless Network Topologies, Retrieved from https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/wireless-network-topologies
Xfinity (2019), Router vs. Modem: What’s the Difference? Retrieved from https://www.xfinity.com/hub/internet/modem-vs-router
WydeaWonders (2007, September 14). Home Networking Ideas. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jug9pH6V2WA&feature=emb_logo
Week 1: Introduce yourself
My name is Akrati and welcome to my first blog post.
I am currently studying at the University of South Australia, commencing my very first Semester in the course Masters of Information Management (Library Services and Records Management). I am very excited to finally be following my heart and taking steps to be in the career of my dreams!
I have previously completed a Bachelor of Oral Health and worked in the dental field for a number of years. I then moved into a completely different role, working as a Specialist for Apple. From there I worked with EY for a short period of time where I went to schools and educated students about smart money management. Over time I realised I had gained a number of skills that fit in well with working at a library and so here I am.
I live with my fiancé, Chris and we will be getting married next year. It’s going to be a big Indian wedding! I have a 2 year of Spoodle named Puri and a little black cat, named Zeus. My hobbies include travelling, reading books, and also partaking in acting, producing and behind the scene roles in the film industry. You can always find me doing something new, whether it be starting a new art project, taking a dance class or roaming the streets of Adelaide!
Akrati's University Journey 