UKOLN
Raising Awareness

"A centre of excellence in digital information management, providing advice and services to the library, information and cultural heritage communities."

UKOLN is based at the University of Bath.

ILI 2006 Conference - October 2006

The following proposal has been accepted by the Internet Librarian International 2006 Conference held at the Copthorne Tara Hotel, London, on Monday 16th - Tuesday 17th October 2006.

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0: Addressing Institutional Barriers

Title
Web 2.0 and Library 2.0: Addressing Institutional Barriers
Speaker
Brian Kelly
Abstract
At previous ILI conferences we have heard from the early adopters of the benefits of using Web 2.0 technologies within library and learning contexts. However there are often significant barriers which need to be overcome in order to deploy such services within a sustainable service environment.
In many cases, such barriers may, perhaps surprisingly, reflect not concerns over licensing costs and resource implications, but organisational cultural barriers based, perhaps on conservatism, but also on issues such as reliance on third party services, and related concerns over data protection, IPR and other legal concerns.
Such organisational barriers may result in tensions between innovators within departments and central IT service departments. There can be a danger that polarised positions may be taken - as satirised by Little Britain's "Computer Says No!" sketch.
This talk will highlight some of the areas of tension which organisations may face and outlines approaches which can be taken to overcome such barriers.
Date And Time
The talk is part of the "A101 Setting The Stage for 2.0" Track A session on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 which was held on 16th October 2006 from 10:30-11:30. The talk will last for 15 minutes.
Materials
About - [MS PowerPoint] - [HTML]

Reflections On Personal Experiences In Using Wikis

The following talk was given as a replacement for a talk by a speaker who could not attend the conference.

Title
Reflections On Personal Experiences In Using Wikis
Speaker
Brian Kelly
Abstract
At This brief presentation reviews personal experiences in making use of a variety of WIki tools over the past two years.
Date And Time
The talk is part of the "A103 Wikis and Social Software" Track A session on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 which was held on 16th October 2006 from 13:45-14:30.
Materials
About - [MS PowerPoint] - [HTML]

Master Class: Accessibility 2.0: A Holistic Approach To Web Accessibility

Note that the following mastercalss was scheduled but cancelled due to lack of numbers.

Title
Masterclass: Web Accessibility 2.0: A Holistic Approach
Facilitator
Brian Kelly
Abstract
The importance of Web accessibility is widely accepted, especially in public sector organisations. However, although the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has been tremendously successful in raising awareness of the importance of accessibility to Web resources, organisations are beginning to question whether the guidelines are still relevant in a Web 2.0 environment. Do the low level of conformance with the guidelines reflect limitations in the guidelines rather than a lack of willingness to seek to widen access to Web resources. When designing web sites for accessibility, you should not ignore the guidelines, but place them in a wider context with a user focus. Resource implications need to be addressed, as does the accessibility of the web service, not just the resources themselves. Blended accessibility is the desired outcome, just as blended learning is gaining currency within the educational sector.
The importance of Web accessibility is widely accepted, especially in public sector organisations. However, although the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has been tremendously successful in raising awareness of the importance of accessibility to Web resources, organisations are beginning to question whether the guidelines are still relevant today, in an environment in which use of the Web is pervasive in a wide range of areas and technological developments including, but not limited to, the web 2.0 environment, may provide alternaoive approaches to accessibility - and, indeed, whether the low level of conformance with the guidelines reflects limitations in the guidelines rather than a lack of willingess to seek to widen access to Web resources.
This workshop session will review some of the limitations of the approach developed by WAI and argue, that, rather than ignoring the guidelines, there is a need to place them in a wider context with a user focus, which recognises the contextual aspects to accessibility, that resource implications need to be addressed, and of the importance of the accessibility of the purpose of the Web service, rather than the accessibility of the Web resources themselves. This approach leads to the notion of 'blended accessibility' - a notion which relates to a 'blended learning' approach which is gaining currency within the educational sector.
Date And Time
This Masterclass session was scheduled to take place from 14:00-17:00 on Sunday 15 October, 2006 but was cancelled due to lack on numbers.
Materials
About

Image of Brian KellyBiographical Details

Brian Kelly is UK Web Focus, a post funded by the JISC and the MLA which advises the UK's higher and further education communities and museums, libraries and archives sector on best practices in use of the Web. Brian is an experienced presenter, and has spoken at all the previous Internet Librarian International conferences. Brian works at UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management, which is based at the University of Bath.