News & Noteworthy

A LITA Guide to responsive web design

A LITA guide to responsive web design

For Immediate Release
Fri, 04/11/2014

Contact:

Valerie Edmonds-Merritt
Program Coordinator
LITA Division
312-280-4269

vedmonds@ala.org

CHICAGO — Tablets, desktops, smartphones, laptops, minis: we live in a world of screens, all of different sizes. Library websites need to work on all of them, but maintaining separate sites or content management systems is resource intensive and still unlikely to address all the variations. By using responsive Web design, libraries can build one site for all devices—now and in the future. In “Responsive Web Design for Libraries: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource, experienced responsive Web developer Matthew Reidsma, named “a web librarian to watch” by ACRL’s TechConnect blog, shares proven methods for delivering the same content to all users using HTML and CSS. His practical guidance will enable Web developers to save valuable time and resources by working with a library’s existing design to add responsive Web design features. With both clarity and thoroughness, and firmly addressing the expectations of library website users, this book:

  • shows why responsive Web design is so important, and how its flexibility can meet the needs of both today’s users and tomorrow’s technology;
  • provides in-depth coverage of implementing responsive Web design on an existing site, steps for taking traditional desktop CSS and adding breakpoints for site responsiveness and ways to use grids to achieve a visual layout that’s adaptable to different devices;
  • includes valuable tips and techniques from Web developers and designers, such as how to do more with fewer resources and improving performance by designing a site that sends fewer bytes over fewer connections;
  • offers advice for making vendor sites responsive;
  • features an abundance of screen captures, associated code samples and links to additional resources.

Reidsma is Web services librarian at Grand Valley State University, in Allendale, Mich. He is the cofounder and editor in chief of Weave: Journal of Library User Experience, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal for library user experience professionals. He speaks frequently about library websites, user experience and responsive design around the world. Library Journal named him a “Mover & Shaker” in 2013. He writes about libraries and technology at Matthew Reidsma.

The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of ALA, educates, serves and reaches out to its members, other ALA members and divisions, and the entire library and information community through its publications, programs and other activities designed to promote, develop, and aid in the implementation of library and information technology.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing@ala.org.

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