Kathryn Courtland Millis and Tiffany Hebb DePauw University Libraries

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Extreme Browser Makeover
Kathryn Courtland Millis and Tiffany HebbDePauw
University Libraries In one afternoon, with no
money, you can customize library computers to
save time, direct people to recommended
resources, and be prettier too! Users of the
Firefox browser can markedly change its display
and function, and download (or adapt) thousands
of plugins to make reliable resources
(including your librarys) easier to find and
use. (Diehard IE fans the next version promises
some of this.) Come see how DePauw University
librarians are customizing Firefox to get
organized, streamline repetitive tasks, and
promote our resources and services. Were adding
our catalog and popular databases to the search
engines available directly from the browser
toolbar (even when not at our website).
Favorites folders on staff computers
immediately load, with three quick clicks,
several related pages into one browser window,
arranged in easily navigated tabs. (One at
circulation includes our OPAC, databases, FAQ, a
private staff blog that automatically forwards
new entries to their supervisor, etc.) Colors and
graphics coordinate with library décor and campus
web design.
Public computer
Circulation desk computer

• Make your stuff as usable as Google
• Researchers dont have to go to your library
  website.
• Firefox comes set to search Amazon, EBay, Google,
  Wikipedia, etc.
• Hundreds more search engines are available.
  Follow Add engines Youll find many
  databases, reliable websites, catalogs. And
  other stuff.
• Database searches are available for Ebsco, JSTOR,
  MathSciNet, WorldCat, etc.
• Here, we edited Ebscos search so a searcher can
  pick a specific database. It was easy once we
  found the right file on our pc we just changed a
  3 letter code to specify MLA , ATLA, etc.
• Catalog searches are also easy to adapt. Copy
  work done by another library, changing the url
  and about three other details.
• Use the Search Engine Ordering extension, to
  sort delete search engines.

• Match Firefox to your décor
• Change toolbar colors, use a simple background
  image, and change the menu fonts by making very
  simple edits to the Chrome file.
• To edit other preferences, including how Firefox
  searches and displays results, start by typing
  aboutconfig in the address bar. That shows
  lets you edit many user options settings.
• For extensive visual changes, download a theme,
  which changes colors, images, icons. Hundreds
  of available themes can make your browser look
  like wood or metal, feature cats or planets, and
  have tiny simple icons or bold images for vision
  impaired users.
• Make your own theme requires some programming
  and graphics skill.

Use a staff blog to share information Here, we
have a free blog at LiveJournal. New entries can
be fed via RSS to the supervisor or all
employees. Be sure your blog is private! Our
campus blogs are IP verified, so anyone on campus
could see confidential information. LiveJournal
is passworded, and only allows RSS feeds to a
computer thats logged in.
Group related bookmarks Make folders of bookmarks
from similar sites or for similar purposes. Open
one at a time, or all at once.
Personal librarian computer
Help researchers keep track of sources Use Page
Setup to set Header/Footer options put the URL
on the left, so theres (almost always) plenty of
space for the whole thing. (If the URLs on the
right theres not enough room, so it often cuts
off, or has ellipses () in the middle.) Put the
page title in the upper left, date in upper
right, URL in lower left, and page numbers in
lower right. Add a custom field, maybe printed
at John Q. Public Library to the center, if you
want.

• Maximize space for web content by minimizing
  toolbars icons
• Delete icons and toolbars that you dont really
  need, and merge icons from different toolbars, to
  make more window space for the information you
  seek.
• Right click any toolbar, then select customize.
  Delete icons you dont use. All tasks can be done
  with keystrokes. (Hit Escape to stop, Control
  for bigger text.) Or use Mouse Gestures. (wiggle
  the mouse instead of typing to go forward back,
  open close tabs, etc.)
• Merge the icons you need onto fewer toolbars.
  Here, one bar includes the Windows menu (File,
  Edit, etc.) which is uneditable. To it weve
  added
• Firefox toolbar items (forward, back, report
  broken site) and Google toolbar items (auto fill,
  highlight search terms, page info).
• Search engines (comes with Google, Ebay, such
  you can add ERIC, WorldCat, hundreds of other
  sites databases).
• URL/location bar.
• If you need to keep more toolbars, hit F11 to
  temporarily hide them all see more of a web
  page.

Reference desk computer

• Other useful extensions
• Firefox extensions are mini-programs users
  write to add functions. Useful ones include
• AdBlock Hides ads on websites, not just pop ups.
  
• Colorful Tabs Make tabs different colors, so
  theyre easier to distinguish.
• Flat Bookmark Editing Re-arranges the bookmark
  screen so its easier to make and see notes about
  bookmarked sites.
• IE View or IE Tab Opens in IE pages that dont
  work well in Firefox.
• ShowIP Displays a sites real IP. Helps fight
  phishing by showing youre not really at Ebay,
  PayPal, or your banks website.
• TinyURL generator Convert long URLs from
  databases (etc.) to short, easily emailed
  copied/pasted URLs.

• Big bold icons
• Highly visible, easy for both the librarian and
  patron to see.

• Bookmark folders share knowledge on shared
  computers
• Here, at the reference desk, weve made bookmark
  folders for classes with research assignments.
• The librarian who gave an instruction session, or
  librarians who do lots of reference, bookmark
  useful sites for a class assignment.
• Save time and give more consistent reference
  help. This is especially useful for big classes,
  for librarians who do relatively little
  reference, and if you dont have time, after each
  B.I. session, to brief all your colleagues on
  what you told the class.
• General folders for each department offer fast
  access to
• Department website and course listing
• Recommended databases
• Websites for professional associations,
  specialized libraries and archives
• Each librarian has a folder for sites they use a
  lot.
• To use the same bookmarks on multiple computers,
  get the Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer
  extension.

Tiny, unobtrusive icons

• Read RSS feeds
• Make Live Bookmarks of your top RSS feeds.
• Put these feeds in your Bookmarks Toolbar Folder
  to display their feeds on a toolbar.
• Get the Wizz RSS extension to read more RSS
  feeds inside Firefox.
• Seen and unseen entries are color coded.
• New entries can ding or flash.
• Here, our library news blog RSS feed shows the
  newest entries, so all library employees and
  patrons can learn about new resources, trials,
  catalog downtime, etc.
• New content loads instantly behind the scenes.
  This saves the time of opening a separate RSS
  reader or many different news pages, then
  waiting for each to load.

• Keep copies of web pages
• The Scrapbook extension copies a webpage to
  your computer. Use this
• to save large files that take a long time to
  load.
• if your Internet access isnt dependable.
• to keep a copy of a page that might change. Its
  especially good for news sites and tracking
  revisions, deletions, and censorship.
• Allows more extensive annotation than Internote
  Post-its. Highlights or erases specific parts.
• Saves related images, sound, movies, and linked
  pages.

Add sticky notes For short comments, use the
Internote extension to add a virtual Post-it
explaining why or how to use this page.