What I Learned-ed 2: Beautiful CHIN

The plenary session of the CAIS conference was with Danielle Boily, Manager, Portal Management and Design, with the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN). (So if they had their budget cut, would it be “taking one on the chin”?)

This department's mandate is to "allow Canadian museums to engage their audiences through the use of innovative technologies." Started in the 1970s with a mandate to record the collections of Canada's museums, CHIN has substantially increased its size as the organization has matured. (Does that mean they have a middle-aged double chin? :-p ) She spoke about the work they are now doing to publicize Canada’s artifacts and treasures (do you have any Canadian treasures?). One branch of CHIN (cleft chin?) is the Virtual Museum of Canada, and they have engaged in a re-design of the websites. She shared some of the inspiring design principles they were following: (I believe she said that these originated from a presentation at Southwest by Southwest).

• Beauty in Design: there is an Aesthetic-Usability effect as beautiful things are easier to use. The tips: get emotional, think bigger, lead, be brave.

• The art of persuasion: persuasion versus manipulation. The tips: use curiosity, play hard to get, lighten up, take a chance, and be frisky.(Can you imagine how the “be frisky” went over in a room of librarians and information scientists? Then imagine what happened where they tried to imagine “frisky” web designers.)

• Thinking Visually: Solve any problem with a picture (portrait, chart, map, timeline, flowchart.)

I was thinking about these ideas in relation to both church and library websites. Both are information institutions, that rely heavily on text to communicate. I looked at some "best" church websites particularly for their aesthetic qualities. Some are very visual like Watermark or Renaissance. Others are edgy like Red Rocks. I don't know if I saw any site that was particularly beautiful. Suggestions?

Then there are library websites. Many are very functional but are any really beautiful? Or inviting? Something to think about as we re-design our own website. I know I want it to be functional but "a thing of beauty" as well? Can you think of a beautiful library website?

Read More

What I learned-ed 1: Peoples' Stories

So between the CSSR and CAIS society meetings I attended one plenary, one workshop, one banquet, one business meeting and twenty-eight papers, and ate untold number of cinnamon buns over four days. Yeah, I know, brain strained, body tired, belly fat.

So what did I learned-ed at the Learneds Congress?

I was reminded again that in Montreal, traffic lights are mostly decorative.

I learned that there is fascinating research being conducted by scholars and librarians. Inspiring stuff, and I needed the inspiration. I’ll share some of the more personally intriguing papers over the next few blogs. I learned once again that not even brilliant content can overcome a bad powerpoint presentation. I chose to use Prezi software that, incidentally, went over very well. (Thanks again Karen.)

I learned again that behind the research are interesting personal stories. Most research does not pop out of thin air. As I talked to researchers one-on-one, I heard stories about personal struggles, compassion, anger and frustration. These are real people wanting to change their little corner of the world. It is too bad that the academic and publishing structures will strip the personal out of the research. Now some research is strictly an intellectual exercise (“what in the heck was that flow chart??? It even confused you and you made it!!!”)

I can’t share all the private stories, but next time you hear about interesting research, ask about the story behind the story; the passion that gave it life.

It just might surprise you.

Read More