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On , 18F and the U.S. Digital Service announced the new U.S. Web Design Standards:

In creating these tools, we set out to accomplish four goals:

  1. Make the best thing, the easiest thing. …
  2. Be accessible out of the box. …
  3. Design for flexibility. …
  4. Reuse, reuse, reuse. …

I think it is safe to say that we in libraries (and library web services) very much share these goals. Unfortunately, we also share other aspects:

When the American people go online to access government services, they’re often met with confusing navigation systems, a cacophony of visual brands, and inconsistent interaction patterns.

With our wealth of online databases, discovery systems, and information portals, I think we are no strangers to such confusion, cacophony, and inconsistency. Fortunately, ZSR has two committees – Web and Communications – currently working together to create our own ZSR Design Standards to address our brands, systems, and interactions. More to come!