Week 12

I'm intrigued by XML. As I understand it, it is something like a partner to HTML; XML carries (stores and transports) the data, focusing on "what data is", whereas HTML displays the data, focusin on how it looks (http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp). "XML is information wrapped in tags" (http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp). XML allows for back-adding data (going back and adding new/deleting old information). Since XML stores data in plain text, it makes it possible to merge information from incompatible systems. This, of course, simplifies creating and maintaining information systems, as developers can't predict every element the system will need at the beginning of a project; new needs will develop over time, and will need to be incorporated into the system. XML makes this possible.





Works cited:
www.W3schools.com. "Introduction to XML." Accessed 11/2712016.

Week 7

System usability is vital to any information system. I believe that it is the first step toward accessibility, as it allows developers to know if the system they’re working on is useful enough to be worth using. While there is definitely more to system accessibility, it’s a very important step. I think that a helpful addition to heuristic studies would be an initial accessibility evaluation. Since heuristics include elements like user control and freedom, matching the system & real world, and flexibility (Nielsen, 1995. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/), including tests for accessibility and ensuring that websites and other facets of info systems are usable by all seems like a sensible addition.

While week 7 focused on usability, not accessibility, I believe that the two are inseparably connected; after all, for a system to be usable, it needs to be accessible to all, including those with disabilities. 

Nielsen, J. (1995). Ten Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/ Retrieved October 22, 2016.

Week 9

Week 9 notes:

Physical accessibility to library buildings has always been on my radar. If it’s difficult to get into the building or navigate the stacks, a library is useless to someone with a restrictive physical disability. What hadn’t occurred to me was web accessibility and less visible disabilities like color blindness and seizure disorders. It just never occurred to me that it’s as important for a library’s website to be accessible as the building itself. If a user can’t access the information s/he needs, the library is useless. “nearly 24.5 million people in the United States are unable to retrieve information from library websites unless web authors make accessibility and usability their goal” (Fulton, C, 2011, p. 38)

The thing is, it’s not that hard to make a website accessible—and it’s the library’s duty to do so in 

order to serve the community. “The most important thing a library can do to make informed decisions about adaptive technology is understand the needs of the community it serves. Only after a library 

builds insight into disability types and technology preferences of its users can it select appropriate 

products and services that will adequately meet their needs” (Gruder, 2012, p. 21). If a web developer keeps the needs of all patrons in mind and uses common-sense web building techniques in mind (like 

using CSS instead of HTML), websites that are accessible to most—if not all—patrons are possible.

Fulton, C. Information Technology and Libraries. “Web Accessibility, Libraries, and the Law.” March 2011 34-43.

Gruder, C.S. Library Technology Reports. “Making Libraries Accessible: Adaptive Design and Assistive Technology. October 2012.