Notes from the first day of Code4libBC 2025.
Everyone’s Sick of AI: Lessons learned in the early stages of deploying VR
James Fournie, VCC
- VCC has a lot of trades
- prompted by pandemic, difficult to do in-person lessons
- ACR Program: VR to learn how to do things, such as welding, paint cars
- culineary program: practice techniques, such as whisking hollandaise or choux pastries
- doesn’t waste eggs
- safe for students
- app to practice butchery
- how can the library support this?
- bough 2x Meta Quest 3 headsets and began learning about them
- culinary approached library about lending their Quest 2 units
- questions/challenges: privacy, content/licenses; had shared accounts
- managing devices
- VCC IT had begun setting up Meta Horizons Managed Services (aka admin center, Meta for work, aka Quest for Business)
- manage useful admin features: SAML, OS updates, track/wipe devices, onboarding/content, MDM stuff (such as ArborXR)
- two modes: individual, shared
- individual: similar to buying for themselves, full experience, sign in with SAML, must agree to EULAs/etc., some things can be disabled, can add multiple accounts
- shared: user limited to predefined apps, no login/PII required, onboarding configured, session gets wiped
- considerations: rapidly evolving, somewhat wild west, not easy to control in individual mode, limited in shared mode
- VR/AR as platform: experiential learning: culineary, ACR, nursing/anatomy, etc.
- storytelling medium: art installations
- theater elsewhere, OpenBrush/TiltBrush
- how can support VR? providing access, guiding users: privacy, safety, content
Sustainable Local Development; or, Two PHP Scripts in a Trench Coat
John Durno, Systems Librarian, University of Victoria
- 20 year of CRUD: creating, reading, updating, deleting
- small apps that fill the gaps
- examples: database of databases, desk stats collection widget, locations maps, online fine payments, course videos
- some are memories, but many still live
- how to keep these things running with not a lot of resources
- avoid unnecessary dependencies, especially frameworks, JS libraries (less maintenance)
- minimize languages and dbs (PHP, MariaDB almost all the way)
- resist new shiny things
- not every web app needs an admin interface, okay for some updates to happen server-side
- if there is an admin interface, don’t make it public, restricted such as by IP
- consider a separate database user for public stuff that have restricted permissions
- interfaces can be simple and ugly: providing a service not selling a product
- we don’t need version control
- looking ahead:
- documentation? anyone who make changes should be able to figure it out by looking at code
- succession plan? we’ve all been here “forever”
UX in Libraries: A community practice group
Janis McKenzie, SFU & Mark Goodwin, UBC
- build a community of practice group
- informal group: BC UXIG: grassroots collection of librarians, well-attended standalone workshops and talks
- UX in Libraries Interest Group: proposing a formal BCLA interest group
- BCLA board must approve terms, member must be “point person”
- BCLA can provide subsite, online forum, host recordings, resources, shared news/promote events/etc.
- pipeline for proposing talks at BCLA
- follow up: looking for members, input, sign up for miling list
- Case Study: UBC LibGuides Portal Redesign – example of something we’d talk about and discuss
- UX & Digital accessibility at UBC Library:
- user-centered design process: research > define > idea > prototype > test > implement
- UXDA practice: user data > practitioner experience/expertise – scholarship/best practices
- key UXDA models: service-oriented architecture, accessible/inclusive/universal design
- LibGuides previous state: giant list
- user testing methodology:
- A/B test of two prototypes
- interviews in a pop-up booth with chocolate and headphones
- tasks and questions
- Design A:
- Design B: more compact with search at top, and dropdown menus
- 4 participants – key findings: more favourable of B. A was too overwhelming, B still has some confusion with mix of accordions and some not, value the search box, some labels
- recommendations:
- clean and straightforward layout with clear pathways,
- use of concise and descriptive text to help with navigation,
- search button in traditional location,
- use of clearly understandable labels
- did some accessibility testing
- portal page with search, subjects, topics then split on secondary page
- found users either knew exactly of area, or if unsure would use search
- future steps: more assessment, continuing user-centered design process
Making the Web Accessible: Putting WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 into Practice
Cynthia Ng
Break
Documentation of library access policies & decisions to align with authentication technology business rules
Caitlin Lindsay, UBC
- started getting varied questions
- access environment:
- UBC transitioned to SSO: OpenAthens
- transition highighted access edge cases outside of “authorized users”
- univeresity activities includ affiliations and research beyond the scope of user cases in license agreement
- system of record change in 2020, moved to single info system, reconsider individual status for access to library resources
- first steps: decision workflows
- OpenAthens business rules: access based on role within system of record, but some complexities in workflow and eligibility scenarios, such as University Transition Program for Gifted High Schools Students (considered student, but not in ILS)
- business rules and auth workflows did not answer all access questions
- info held within a small group of staff, document access decisions, siloed system, service considerations
- most staff don’t have enough info to answer all questions, frustrating for users, so the more documented and they can answer at point of service, the better
- reviewing each edge case one at a time, collecting info from staff who process, adding/locating access decisions, documenting dormant user groups
- future goals: finish the document, consider how to share, what other info to add
Manipulating MARC: Indigenous Cataloguing Beyond the Standards
Taya Jardine & Christina Needham, UBC
- use own internal system instead of LOC for classification
- originally created in 1970, land/community based
- subject heading thesaurus, under review
- 035 to note date and person performing enhancement
- 041/546 language if written in Indigenous language
- 100/245 as written on title page
- 246 subtitle (including translation) on title page
- 300/336/337/338 physical description
- 500 notes significant contributors not on title page, glossaries, maps, timelines
- 505 table of contents
- 520 summary
- 545 biographic info for materials with Indigenous authors, illustrators or other contributors
- subject headings: nation or people group, topical, geographical
- 655 genre/form headings
- 090 classification and cutters: Brian Deer Classification Adaptation
Developing introductory, interactive workshop modules on GenAI Critical Literacy
Michelle Ng, Emily Carr University
- why: wary or against, some are major proponents; need for discussion
- for students, staff, faculty
- process: went from thinking about all the tings to algorithmic/critical literacy for agency and make own decisions
- learning outcomes of workshop: understand how GenAI tools are trained conceptually, respond to prompts on conceptual level, able to evaluated tools as an info system and source
- workshop: ~1 hour in 2 parts with short lecture and activities
- Part 1: pool, short lecture on key LLM concepts, hidden layer simulation activity (role play simplified version of LLM), short lecture to reinforce activity takeaways, formative assessment
- Part 2: activity, short lecture one valuating info sources and system, think/group/share/activity to elicit discussions on how AI outputs and systems can be evaluated, and impacts by/on humans in an AI systems; Q&A
End of day 1 talks
That’s all the talks for today. See you tomorrow!
