Chad Haefele - WordPress for Libraries

About the Series Editor

Ellyssa Kroski is the Director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute as well as an award-winning editor and author of 22 books including Law Librarianship in the Digital Age for which she won the AALLs 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. Her ten-book technology series, The Tech Set, won the ALAs Best Book in Library Literature Award in 2011. She is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at Pratt Institute, and an international conference speaker. She speaks at several conferences a year, mainly about new tech trends, digital strategy, and libraries.

Titles in the Series

1. Wearable Technology: Smart Watches to Google Glass for Libraries, by Tom Bruno

2. MOOCs and Libraries, by Kyle K. Courtney

3. Free Technology for Libraries, by Amy Deschenes

4. Makerspaces in Libraries, by Theresa Willingham and Jeroen De Boer

5. Knowledge Management for Libraries, by Valerie Forrestal

6. WordPress for Libraries, by Chad Haefele

7. Game It Up!: Using Gamification to Incentivize Your Library, by David Folmar

8. Data Visualizations and Infographics, by Sarah K. C. Mauldin

9. Mobile Social Marketing in Libraries, by Samantha C. Helmick

10. Digital Collections and Exhibits, by Juan Denzer

11. Using Tablets and Apps in Libraries, by Elizabeth Willse

12. Responsive Web Design in Practice, by Jason A. Clark

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Haefele, Chad, 1982

WordPress for libraries / Chad Haefele.

pages cm (Library technology essentials ; 6)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-5305-6 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-5306-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-5307-0 (ebook)

1. Library Web sitesDesign. 2. WordPress (Electronic resource) 3. BlogsComputer programs. 4. Web sitesAuthoring programs. I. Title.

Z674.75.W67H34 2015

025.0422dc23

2015011514

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

For Melissa, Nora, and all the colleagues who helped me learn about WordPress

WordPress for Libraries is a complete how-to handbook that provides practical tips and best practices for creating an engaging library website using WordPress. This outstanding work informs readers about everything from hosting options and installation instructions, to how to gather traffic statistics and set up security for a librarys website. Follow along with WordPress expert Chad Haefele as he leads readers through how to install and use plugins and themes, how to create their own child themes and shortcodes, how to build a professional library website, how to create an online exhibit to display image collections, and more. This outstanding book is chock-full of invaluable advice and recommendations for establishing an exceptional web presence for your library using WordPress.

The idea for the Library Technology Essentials book series came about because there have been many drastic changes in information consumption, new technological advancements, and growing user expectations over the past few years, all of which forward thinking libraries are responding to by devising groundbreaking ways to remain relevant in a rapidly changing digital world. I saw a need for a practical set of guidebooks which libraries could use to inform themselves about how to stay on the cutting edge by implementing new programs, services, and technologies to match their patrons expectations.

Libraries today are embracing new and emerging technologies, transforming themselves into community hubs and places of cocreation through makerspaces, developing information commons spaces, and even taking on new roles and formats, all the while searching for ways to decrease budget lines, add value, and prove the ROI of the library. The Library Technology Essentials series is a collection of primers to guide libraries along the path to innovation through step-by-step instruction. Written by the fields top experts, these handbooks are meant to serve as the ultimate gateway to the newest and most promising emerging technology trends. Filled with practical advice and project ideas for libraries to implement right now, these books will hopefully inspire readers to start leveraging these new techniques and tools today.

Each book follows the same format and outline, guiding the reader through the AZ of how to leverage the latest and most cutting-edge technologies and trends to deliver new library services. Chapter 5, the Projects chapter, comprises the largest portion of the book, providing library initiatives that can be implemented by both beginner and advanced readers accommodating for all audiences and levels of technical expertise. These projects and programs range from the basic How to Circulate Wearable Technology in Your Library and How to Host a FIRST Robotics Team at the Library, to intermediate such as How to Create a Hands-Free Digital Exhibit Showcase with Microsoft Kinect, to the more advanced options such as Implementing a Scalable E-Resources Management System and How to Gamify Library Orientation for Patrons with a Top Down Video Game. Readers of all skill levels will find something of interest in these books.

After finding Haefeles online presentation on Rock Your Librarys Content with WordPress which discusses the strengths and scalability of WordPress for library applications I knew that he was the perfect choice to author this book. As the emerging technologies librarian at University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill for the past eight years, Haefele helped bring UNCs large university library website to the next level by implementing the WordPress content management system. And after working with him and reading his finished manuscript, I can definitely say that the folks at