This document discusses digital signage at libraries and the use of a DevOps methodology for digital signage development. It provides an overview of the different types of digital signage at Robarts Library, including overhead information signs, building directories, and interactive touchscreens. It discusses best practices for digital signage design and content, and how a DevOps approach encourages collaboration between operations and development teams. This allows for faster development and testing of digital signage features and addresses challenges like restricting internet access and designing onscreen keyboards.

1. Digital Signage
at the Library
Sian Meikle
@UTLBilal Bilal Khalid
Graham Stewart

2. Overview
Digital signage design
Robarts digital signage three ways
Robarts signage: how we built it
Robarts signage: how they use it
Robarts signage: what we learned

3. Good signs can make a difference...
Gary Larson, The Far Side, 1985

4. Writing the message
Simple:
○
○
○
○
Reduce: punctuation, pictures, words
Headline: 22 characters
Body: 10-18 words
Short URLs
Brief:
○ 5 seconds per slide
○ 8-10 seconds total
Clear:
○ Call to action: Chat with a librarian
○ Photographs can be powerful
○ Coherent design

5. Presenting the message
Chunking
○
4 1 6 9 7 8 8 4 5 0
○
416 978 845
Coding
○
Group similar things together
○ Add headings
Serial position

6. Putting it into action
Eric Kobel, "Digital Signage Design Suggestions", UC Santa Barbara Housing & Residential Services
http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/digiknow/images/design_suggestions.pdf

7. Putting it in action
Virginia Commonwealth University http://m.ts.vcu.edu/kb/images/GreenWorks3.jpg

8. What make digital signage different?
Easy to update
Can differentiate content by
○
time of day
○
audience
○ viewing time

9. What users say
1. Help me make better decisions
Chat with a librarian, workshops
2. Save me time
Maps: library, stacks, workstations
Directories: by floor, service, name, library
3. Show me something relevant to me
News, community content
4. Tell me something new and interesting
Exhibits, events, news
5. Give me ideas
Collection highlights
excerpted from Chris Heap, "Seven Principles of Success for Digital Signage"
http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org/the-perspective/view/17239/dse--seven-principles-of-success-for-digital-signage

10. Robarts digital signage:
Overhead information signs

11. Robarts digital signage:
Building directories

12. Robarts digital signage:
Interactive touch screens

13. Robarts digital signage:
Interactive touch screens

14. Touchscreen Kiosks
● PHP - CodeIgniter
● jQuery
● MySQL
● Closed Environment
● Javascript Keyboard

15. Touchscreen Kiosk Interaction
Most frequent pageviews
● Libraries & Hours
● Robarts Directory
● Workstations
User Feedback
● Let me find a book!
● Let me access this info from my phone!

16. Touchscreen Kiosks - What's Next
● Catalogue Search
○ Entire catalogue available
● StackMap
○ Map of physical item location, with directions
● Responsive Design
○ Designed to be used on any device (e.g. Desktop,
Tablet, Smartphone...)

17. Overhead Signage
● 4 vertical screens
○ PHP + AJAX
● Media Commons
○ Javascript video player
● Fisher Rare Book
○ Screensaver

18. Overhead Signage - Features
● Auto Refresh
○ Detection of new content
● Remote Control
○ Ability to have different
slideshows
○ Control to switch between
slideshows

19. Overhead Signage - What's Next
● Scala
○ Content Regions
○ RSS Feeds from Drupal
○ Scheduling

20. Building Directories
● One PHP + Javascript
page per vertical pylon
(two vertical screens)
● Alternating Event Feed
Display (from Drupal,
via AJAX)

21. Digital signage development
and the Devops movement

22. Devops: agile methodology applied
to system administration

23. Agile
Set of software development methods, formulated 2001
Rapid
Iterative
Quick release cycles
Fast adaptation to requirement changes
Continuous development, after code releases
"Testing in Production"

24. Agile Teams
Self organizing
Cross functional
Quick daily meetings
Open environments, face to face meetings, frequent
interrupts
Encourage input from many sources and different ranges of
expertise and experience
Trust

25. Impact of Agile on system
administration?
Site creation, rollout, update, maintenance timeframes
all shrink
Web presence critical for most organizations
Software is developed much faster and changes are more
frequent: sysadmins can't move slowly if developers are
moving fast
Massive growth in automation tools
Growth in open source software: sharing and collaboration
Cloud

26. Devops goals
1. Eliminate stereotypes:
-"developers are careless and arrogant"; "sysadmins
are grumpy and always say no"
-"developers go home at 4:30"; "sysadmins are martyrs
and work all night"
2. Increase communication between developers, operations,
and management
3. Continuous systems improvement
4. Break down barriers and silos
5. Develop methods to encourage all team members to see
the organization's goals as the desired target, rather
than individual goals

27. Source: http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale9x/special-events/devops-day-losangeles

28. Source:
http://mdzlog.alcor.net/tag/devops/

29. Advantages of working in Devops mode
All staff can use all their skills
=> diversity
=> use knowledge outside defined roles
=> roles expand
=> cross pollination
=> creativity
=> "many minds"
Enhanced mutual respect and communication
=> greater trust
=> shared responsibility
=> everyone feels a sense of ownership over the end
product
=> greater commitment to the product
=> everyone focused on the organization’s end goal
Happier, more productive staff, because work is FUN !

30. Devops methodology: digital signage examples
Operations and development involved jointly from the
start
Weekly full meetings and as necessary (often daily) quick
interrupts / one-on-ones for specific issues
Fast code releases: several times/week.
"Many Minds"
=> two screen display: one browser? 2 PCs? 1 video
card or 2? flipped portrait mode or vertical landscape
mode?
=> disabling right click
=> URL shortening options

31. Devops: more digital signage examples
Planning and execution:
=> browser choice
=> OS choice
=> development options
=> design decisions
How do we keep browser sessions from finding the
Internet? Proxies? Whitelists? No links?
How do we do an onscreen keyboard? OS version?
Javascript? HTML?
New and experimental project: innovative methods required

32. Thank you !