Artifact name: LI843 Group Website Project
MLS Outcome #4: Employ current and emerging technologies effectively for communication, and to search for, identify, repackage, and deliver information resources.
Reflective statement: Web Design and Development introduces the basic principles of web creation, design, and maintenance. Students gained technical programming skills in HTML and CSS while exploring overarching issues like usability, accessibility, and standards for web designers. The theory of usability and prioritizing the user’s experience elucidated by Steve Krug (2005) and Jesse James Garrett (2010) formed the foundation for this course and was integral in the construction of this artifact. Focusing on usability and prioritizing the user’s experience implies that throughout the process of conceptualizing, creating, and maintaining a website, the user is at the forefront of the web team’s mind. The design of the site is simple and intuitive, and a special attention is paid to testing the web site with actual users at each level of production. This group-created website — created using WordPress as the content management system (CMS) — acts as a subject guide on graphic novels for academic librarians. We repackaged existing information into a streamlined website to serve as a tool for academic librarians looking to develop a graphic novel collection. As a way to increase user participation with this website, we included Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter and a reviews blog. In the creation of this website, I learned how to better work in a team setting, the importance of utilizing web design conventions, the value of user testing and knowing your desired audience, and integrating that feedback into an existing product. As a result of the hands-on experience gained in website creation and now maintenance, I am confident in my ability to translate the needs and desires of hypothetical or real clients into a web-based product and I understand the importance of providing a service like this graphic novel subject guide to the LIS community.
Alyssa Vincent 