Basics of Web Design: Book Review

The Book

Title: Basics of Web Design: HTML5 & CSS3 
Author: Terry Felke-Morris

I read this book for the class LIS 5937: Web Design for Librarians. It was a good class though tedious. Web design is about attention to detail while keeping the big picture in mind. This book shows the reader which tools are available to build professional websites out of a simple notepad.

The Review

I particularly enjoyed this book because the text was laid out in a simple, logical manner. This was a book written about the web, but also written like the web. Hence, there were a lot of bullet points, lists and tables that allowed for easy digestion of the material.

In addition, the sections were laid out brilliantly from an editing perspective. As everyone knows, new information is constantly released on this topic, and books must be revised accordingly. The sections stand alone and could easily be removed, rearranged or edited in isolation.

Finally, I found myself using this text as reference material. The index was superb, and I was able to get to all the relevant information for the project at hand with little hindrance.

I wholeheartedly recommend this text to any novice/advanced beginner who needs a little guidance/an offline reference tool for web design. Quite frankly, all of the information in the book can be found online, but sometimes the structure of a book can help beginners get their feet wet.

The Citation

Felke-Morris, T. (2011). Basics of web design: HTML5 and CSS3. Addison-Wesley

That Time of the Semester

A Semester Has Ended

Since this semester is basically over, I'm going to have a lot of material to post. I will be posting about my overall experiences with Collection Development and Maintenance and Web Design for Librarians. First, I will review the textbooks that we used in the courses:

• Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections by Vicki L. Gregory
• Collection Management Basics by G. Edward Evans and Margaret Zarnosky Saponaro
• Basics of Web Design by Terry Felke-Morris

I understand that reviewing textbooks sounds a little less interesting than watching paint dry, so I understand if nobody cares to read these next few posts.

Dreaming of Springtime

What else would you do the day after Christmas? I'm keeping warm with thoughts of Web Design & Collection Development. Here's the official description of what my life will be like until April. (This semester has already wrecked one weekend, we'll see how extensive the damage will end up being.)

LIS 5937 Web Design for Libraries (3) This course will provide the student with an
introduction to Web Design basic including theory, concepts and techniques. Topics will
include best practices, structure, layout, style sheets, graphics, publishing, templates,
software, and other web applications. After this course the learner will be able to:

• Research, evaluate and describe the considerations regarding usability, accessibility, navigability, cultural sensitivity, global issues, and good design practices for websites in an instructional and informational resource environment.
• Create and modify web page elements using various web and graphic creation tools for appropriate layout and design objectives.
• Research and analyze current web design issues, elements, and considerations.
• Create a web site employing good design principles and using appropriate content for an instructional and information resource environment.
• Understand the use of graphic representations.

LIS 6511 COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE (3) Developmental

approach to building library collections of both print and non-print materials. Emphasis

upon evaluation, selection, and acquisition of library materials as they uphold the

objectives of the institutions for which they are selected and acquired.

Why I Hate Summer

Semester C is a Bad Word

I'm not sure how this is possible

It's been quite the semester

I took the classes Organization of Information I (LIS 6711) & Information Management Systems (LIS 5937) during summer C. I found that I was able to keep up (& stay interested in) the pace for about 5 weeks (the length of Summer A) before I got complacent. The last half of the semester was a drag. And that's not good when you have a research paper & a presentation due in that half of the semester. I probably would have felt more accomplished with Summer A/B classes, but that's not an option so I need to move on from that & not get bitter.

It wasn't hard...

...I was just a tad bored. I learned stuff, plenty of stuff. But mostly it put things I already knew into a library context. I knew about Metadata, I just needed to get procedural things strait--which is critical. I already knew the value of MIS in today's society, & most of the elements thereof, but I still needed to get a systematic overview of it.

Looking ahead

Now I get the privilege of looking forward to a new semester & all the bills & new syllabi & life-planning that goes along with it. Woohoo!

New Semester - First Summer

I am embarking on my first Summer C ever. I have avoided classes offered during this semester like the plague during my educational career. Yet, I find myself forced into this predicament by the fact that I do not want to post-pone my graduation. 

The classes I am taking are as follows:

• LIS 5937 Information Management Systems
• LIS 6711 Organization of Knowledge 1

My eyes will be scouring the following textbooks (freshly ordered from Amazon). No these are not listed in APA format. This is a blog for crying out loud!

• Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction (Chan, Lois Mai)
• The Organization of Information  (Taylor, Arlene G.)
• Fundamentals of Information Systems (Stair, Ralph)

New semester, I shall conquer thee.