WordPress is the content management system (CMS) that now powers an estimated 39.5% of all websites, including more than a few library sites. A big part of the ongoing appeal of building WordPress-based websites is its usability and extensibility. Because of the range of features, plugins and documentation available, you don’t need to be a […]
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For the Record: Collecting COVID-19 experiences of the profession
This is a text-based version of the recent talk given by Dr Amy Staniforth (CILIP Cymru Wales) & Kate Lomax (Artefacto) about the For the Record project at the CILIP Cymru Wales Conference 2021. It was March 2020… Amy: In March 2020 we, the CILIP Cymru Wales Committee, had just had to cancel our annual […]
Why we’re building a Data Detective Agency – An Artefacto Labs Update
The Data Detective Agency is an Artefacto Labs project that we’ve been working on since sometime late last year. It’s taken a bit of time as we tried different approaches and ironed out some unnecessary complexity. It’s an experiment in delivering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for library staff in new and interesting ways. It’s also […]
Eventbrite, users and the software choices we make (with a free checklist)
We interact with a lot of different software every day. Some of it is pretty clunky (hi collection management software!), some of it quite specialised and for staff eyes only. But more and more of our software choices impact our users too. There’s a lot of software out there to make our lives a bit […]
CPD Hacks – Saving Google Alerts to a spreadsheet
This is part of a new series of short articles documenting ways to manage and optimise your current awareness workflow, to help you keep up with the latest research and news on topics relevant to your work. Did you know you can import RSS feed data directly into a Google spreadsheet? This can be a […]
ILI 2019 Invent and create: digital skills for library staff
This is the written version of a talk given recently at Internet Librarian International 2019 in Olympia, London. Slides are also available. === A participatory approach to staff learning The work we do with libraries encompasses a lot of different types of digital projects — including a lot of active learning-based training and other professional […]
Failcamp, Librarycamp and the power of unconferences: An interview with Sue Lawson and Richard Veevers
Failcamp is an unconference event celebrating failure in all its many, glorious forms. We recently asked organisers Richard Veevers and Sue Lawson to share their thoughts and experiences with Failcamp, Librarycamp and why you should run your own librarycamp right now. What’s been happening since Failcamp 2018 in Manchester? Richard: Work! I’m lucky enough to […]
User onboarding for galleries, libraries, archives and museums
User onboarding isn’t something that’s talked about in cultural sector much but it’s an important part of how people experience galleries, libraries, archives and museums. We always recommend organisations regularly review their onboarding User Experience (UX), both online and offline because this is how you first introduce users to your services. And it’s also how […]
Using IFTTT for automated current awareness
Automation can be a great help when it comes to keeping up with your sector while also avoiding information overload. By current awareness, we mean keeping up with the latest information on a particular field of knowledge or sector – a key part of continuing professional development. IFTTT (if this, then that) can be a […]
Doing more with digital signage – 2019 update
Digital signage displays have long been a fixture of galleries, libraries, archives and museums providing both wayfinding and collections information. We first wrote about digital signage back in 2017, focusing on rolling your own DIY solution with a Raspberry Pi. But the landscape has changed quite a bit since then so we thought it would […]