

Libraries – erin white

Libraries – erin white
library technology, UX, the web, bikes, #RVA
	Talk: Using light from the dumpster fire to illuminate a more just digital world
This February I gave a lightning talk for the Richmond Design Group. My question: what if we use the light from the dumpster fire of 2020 to see an equitable, just digital world? How can we change our thinking to build the future web we need? Presentation is embedded here; text of talk is below. [&#8230;]
	Podcast interview: Names, binaries and trans-affirming systems on Legacy Code Rocks!
In February I was honored to be invited to join Scott Ford on his podcast Legacy Code Rocks!. I&#8217;m embedding the audio below. View the full episode transcript — thanks to trans-owned Deep South Transcription Services! I&#8217;ve pulled out some of the topics we discussed and heavily edited/rearranged them for clarity. Names in systems Legal [&#8230;]
	Trans-inclusive design at A List Apart
I am thrilled and terrified to say that I have an article on Trans-inclusive design out on A List Apart today. I have read A List Apart for years and have always seen it as The Site for folks who make websites, so it is an honor to be published there.
	Coming out as nonbinary at work
This week, after 10 years of working at VCU Libraries, I have been letting my colleagues know that I&#8217;m nonbinary. Response from my boss, my team, and my colleagues has been so positive, and has made this process so incredibly easy. I didn&#8217;t really have a template for a coming-out message, so ended up writing [&#8230;]
	What it means to stay
Seven years ago last month I interviewed for my job at VCU. I started work a few months later, assuming I&#8217;d stick around for a couple of years then move on to my Next Academic Library Job. Instead I found myself signing closing papers on a house on my sixth work anniversary, having decided to [&#8230;]
	Back-to-school mobile snapshot
This week I took a look at mobile phone usage on the VCU Libraries website for the first couple weeks of class and compared that to similar time periods from the past couple years. 2015 Here&#8217;s some data from the first week of class through today. Note that mobile is 9.2% of web traffic. To round [&#8230;]
	Recruiting web workers for your library
In the past few years I&#8217;ve created a couple of part-time, then full-time, staff positions on the web team at VCU Libraries. We now have a web designer and a web developer who&#8217;ve both been with us for a while, but for a few years it was a revolving door of hires. So let&#8217;s just say I&#8217;ve hired lots [&#8230;]
	Easier access for databases and research guides at VCU Libraries
Today VCU Libraries launched a couple of new web tools that should make it easier for people to find or discover our library&#8217;s databases and research guides. This project&#8217;s goal was to help connect “hunters” to known databases and help “gatherers” explore new topic areas in databases and research guides1. Our web redesign task force [&#8230;]
	Why this librarian supports the Ada Initiative
This week the Ada Initiative is announcing a fundraising drive just for the library community. I&#8217;m pitching in, and I hope you will, too. The Ada Initiative&#8217;s mission is to increase the status and participation of women in open technology and culture. The organization holds AdaCamps, ally workshops for men, and impostor syndrome trainings; and [&#8230;]
	A new look for search at VCU Libraries
This week we launched a new design for VCU Libraries Search (our instance of Ex Libris&#8217; Primo discovery system). The guiding design principles behind this project: Mental models: Bring elements of the search interface in line with other modern, non-library search systems that our users are used to. In our case, we looked to e-commerce websites [&#8230;]