Further to my earlier posting about a new way to manage Camelot news, there are now some examples to look at.
I’ve created 2 versions of a possible new Camelot page which includes news from Counterculture.
- The first version displays the latest 10 items of news, showing the heading (linked to the full posting on Counterculture) and the first 180 characters of the news item.
- The second version displays also displays the latest 10 items, but only the heading (linked to the full posting on Counterculture) and the number of comments. This version also lists the latest discussion – the most recent 10 items which have had comments made on them.
It could be that neither of these is ideal, and that some sort of combination of the two would be better. Any suggestions would be very welcome.
Please let me know what you think of these two versions, and any other thoughts you might have about the new process, by adding a comment to this posting.
Catherine Jane
I always find the first line or so helpful, rather than just the title, so I like the first version better. But I also like to see "Latest Discussion" as in the second version, so may be there could be a place for it somewhere on the page as well?
I like the second simpler one better. It is more in tune with the way people scan web pages. If people want to know more about a particular story they can dig deeper – right click open in new tab. It also makes people think more about an appropriate title when they post something up.
I tend to like the 2nd one, with the additional info it manages to fit on the screen.
Will There still be a way to filter news items on this main page to display only news marked "All Libraries", or whatever we want to see?
If not, or if most users simply use that ‘All’ default, then 10 items may not be enough to hold some single day’s postings. It’s not usually too interesting to know that copier X is out of toner somewhere, for example.
I like the second version to look at.
However, under the latest discussion heading many of these are not discussions rather the "comment" is simply a statement that the problem is fixed.
It would be better if when an equipment issue is resolved that the posting is removed all together. Maybe a tick box could be checked when an item was resolved that the comment/service item would be automatically archived.
I prefer the 2nd version. Easier to scan and investigate further as required – not so busy.
I prefer the 2nd version also, but would like the inclusion of the date the news item was posted, as currently displays in Camelot news.
Jenny
As the second version seemed the most popular, I’ve done some more work on this one. The display now includes the date and the latest postings now also display the category.
I don’t agree that postings should be removed – even if the comment is just to say the problem has been fixed. If you’ve seen the original posting, it can be confusing if it later disappears, and the fixed comment is important.
I had thought about filtering as Dave suggests, but what would I filter out? What is a nuisance to one person could be essential to someone else. These headings on Camelot are only meant as a scanning aid – you can always go to Counterculture itself to see everything or filter as you wish.
Catherine
If Camelot news is to be viewed by ‘everyone/All libraries’ wouldn’t it be best to have Counterculture headings there that are posted for all libraries, instead of all the specific branch info?
See following recent posts as e.g.s to see what I’m talking about.
Dave
# 18 Sep 2008: Spare copies of DDC 19 and AACR2, 0 comments (All Libraries)
# 18 Sep 2008: Database Outages, 0 comments (All Libraries)
# 18 Sep 2008: New rubbish bins under lending desk at Edu, 0 comments (Education Library)
# 18 Sep 2008: Problems finding a printer, 0 comments (MB Library)
# 18 Sep 2008: PSL Reload station out of paper, 1 comment (Physical Sciences Library)
# 17 Sep 2008: Non UC posters for display in Edu Lib, 0 comments (Education Library)
# 17 Sep 2008: Flashing Light, 1 comment (Physical Sciences Library)
# 17 Sep 2008: Libraries and Web 2.0, 0 comments (All Libraries)
# 16 Sep 2008: Federated Searching Recommendation, 1 comment (Federated Searching)
# 16 Sep 2008: Bins, 0 comments (Physical Sciences Library
Dave – but "everyone" includes those of us in the branches who do need to know what’s happening in the branches!
If someone only wants to read the "All libraries" stuff and skip the branch library information then they can use the categories on Counterculture to do that. But the display on Camelot needs to include all postings.
Deborah
Could..
"Latest News in Counterculture" be changed to…
"News"?
and
"Latest Discussion in Counterculture"
be changed to "Discussion"?
I find all those words hard work
Also could the year be dropped for the date so those of us who don’t notice it don’t have to scan so far to the right after reading "News"?
When it gets to the beginning of the month will dates display as "01 Jan" or "1 Jan". If the second then text of headline may jump to the left making them a bit trickier to scan
In the interests of even less words could the libraries in brackets just be changed to a 3 ltr code – e.g. PSL, ENG, EDU etc. – I would find this quicker to scan and adequate information. Also for more fun could this be a hyperlink to either the home page for the respective branch or the contact details for the respective branch say should I want to ring them regarding something i have just read that they have posted.
Another one is could "10(comments)" just be changed to "+10" so it is easier to scan and could the "+10" be a hyperlink to the beginning of the comments? I often find myself wanting to read the discussion rather than the followup discussion rather than the original posting which means i have to scroll down further.
Could it also make coffee and toast?
All these lovely comments! Thank you everyone.
I can’t promise to do everything asked – though I will try to get it to make coffee and toast, Adam. It’s a matter of how much time I should spend trying to make a rolls royce version when a corolla version will be quite adequate.
I do think that all news needs to be displayed and we will need to learn to filter out what we don’t need to read. However I think some simple changes in practice when making a posting will help as well. I’ll get back to everyone about that shortly.
Catherine
I think I agree with the suggestion to change the headings to "News" and "Discussion" – eventually, once the changeover has become embedded. At first, I think it would be useful to spell out where the news is coming from – otherwise the change may be a bit confusing.
Catherine
Can "Sept" be changed to "Sep"? At the moment some have "Aug" and the following text is out of line with those that have a four letter month