It turns out that JavaScript has proven more useful for my job than Python. I certainly use it more. I assume this is an inevitable result of being a Web Librarian. JavaScript has seeped into my professional life. Part of me wishes this was different. If I were at a research institution, I might find […]
Recently, I wanted to build a nice table for the web, with things like toggles, column sorting, pagination and so on. I know better than to try coding this from scratch, and that instead I should use a component library to make things easier. My initial instinct was to turn to Bootstrap, which is a […]
Use a code formatter! That’s it. That’s the whole post. If you’re writing code, you should probably assure that it’s formatted to some kind of standard. That’s what formatters do. They will style your code according to best practices so that you don’t have to worry about it. While there are various opinions on what […]
I’ve written a few times on this blog about our library’s augmented reality (AR) game, which we’ve been using during information literacy sessions. The game has been mostly successful, but we’ve had trouble with the computer vision part of it: sometimes the game identifies markers that are not actually there, and therefore shows shapes in […]
There’s something to be said for coding at night. Programmers have long had a reputation for being up at all hours, working until exhaustion with the aid of caffeinated beverages. In my opinion, there’s merit to this stereotype. Really good coding requires immersive concentration, which can be hard to come by during the distracting daytime. […]
I have recently swapped some of my responsibilities with a colleague at my library. I am no longer e-resources librarian, rather, I am now head of circulation. I am excited about this. At our library, many librarians wear multiple hats, so despite these changes, I nonetheless remain the web librarian. There are things about circulation […]
Since 2016, I’ve hosted many of my Python projects on PythonAnywhere. It has been a reliable and easy platform to use, but recently I’ve been worrying about its future. While I don’t have any particular insights into the health of the PythonAnywhere organization, the technology seems to have mostly stagnated. It makes me wonder how […]
There are a lot of reasons that I really like Ubuntu. Foremost among them is the availability of help: there are a wealth of posts on Ask Ubuntu and elsewhere that are often super useful when trying to solve almost any Ubuntu problem. It’s great. It’s especially good for someone new to Linux. But I […]
I did some JavaScripting yesterday that I thought might be of interest to librarians who use LibGuides and LibAnswers. The impetus for this was that some of the librarians at my college were dissatisfied with the “Email Me” buttons that are on LibGuides’ profile pages and profile boxes. I have to agree, the Email Me […]
