Code & Lit

Software development, accessibility, books reviews, a2j tech, lifelong learning...

[programminglibrarian]

Time for a reboot...

I'm going to be delving into some new areas of software development and deployment, so why not blog about it.

Picking a new handle is going to be tricky tho...

[programminglibrarian]

How to find a passion project?

I need something fresh on GitHub so that prospective employers can see that I can actually code. I've been somewhat hamstrung finding a real world problem that I can reasonably address with a toy-sized project. Here's one go:

Problem: News articles on court matters are written in plain language and rarely include case citations, jurisdictions, or generally enough information to look further into the matter they're reporting on. With so much misinformation circulating via social media, it's increasingly important for people to verify stories they find online before sharing them further.

Caveat: Lately (some) news organizations has become better about uploading CourtListener documents from the matter they're reporting on in the cloud and embedding them in the news article.

Potential solution: A UI that helps the user identify the relevant info in the article, zeroing in on info that could help determine jurisdiction, party names, etc. Then find the documents using CourtListener API if it's a jurisdiction that is included. Forwards the user to info about access to that jurisdiction's materials if not. May need to integrate a map.

Obstacles: I research like a librarian. I like advanced search forms that let me narrow parameters, but most people just want a single search box so they don't have to think.

Can I just target this for other people who want to do careful research and include some kind of "simple search" link that kicks them over to the CourtListener search page?

[programminglibrarian]

It's the fourth or fifth time, I've lost track now...

It seems like every time a job posting closes while I'm putting the finishing touches on my cover letter, it's when I was taking a break to stay sane (like getting a full night's sleep before doing my final read through instead of trying to work through the night, or having a meal break). Or trying to find someone to review my materials for typos.

Is the lesson that it's better to submit error-riddled applications than well-written ones?

[programminglibrarian]

When you're proud of documenting your code...

It occurs to me that I might be shooting myself in the foot by talking about all my accessibility work in terms of the documentation I created to share what I learned, instead of talking about the code solutions themselves.

A friend said that, when hiring, people are looking for you to identify a problem and solve it. But if the employer doesn't see code that fails to meet a11y standards as a problem, will they care how you fixed the problem?

[programminglibrarian]

Creating accessible documents ftw

Celebrate with me, Tumbltown, I completed WebAIM's Accessible Documents course and received my certificate today! Huzzah!

Two main takeaways:

Wow I don't think I could have learned this on my own just surfing the web to figure it out. There was a lot content I'd never heard or considered before.

Darn it all, you really do need to pay for Acrobat Pro to be sure you're doing it right. LibreOffice can generate purportedly accessible pdfs, but to completely vet it I need to buy Acrobat Pro. Thankfully, between this course's clear instruction in both text and video, I was able to learn what I needed without buying a subscription, but it's something I'll have to consider in the future.

Again, this course was well-structured for the busy adult learner who just needs to learn the content without any head games when it comes to test time.

[programminglibrarian]

So far, I have nothing but good things to say about WebAIM’s Accessible Documents online course. Clear objectives that make it easy to review the material, clear explanations, and exactly the content I needed, more so than even I’d hoped for.

Now, a course platform that only works properly in Chrome is something I have very different strong opinions about…

[programminglibrarian]

Call me weird but some days SciShow videos are the best way to wake up.

[programminglibrarian]

Woot, I’m starting an accessible documents course next week! Yay for authoritative solutions to thorny problems. And filling in knowledge gaps, and learning new things.

[programminglibrarian]

In search of how to create an accessible resume...

One maddening part about job hunting is that for accessibility positions you should submit a resume that follows accessible pdf standards, right? Well, it's surprisingly difficult to find instructions on how to do that. I've found guidelines that match those I'm already familiar with from accessible web development, but none that explain what features in document generation software actually create those features. The web-a11y Slack community advised me to purchase Adobe Acrobat Pro in order to create accessible materials, but surely there must be a cheaper way to do so? Stay tuned for the solution, when I find it...

[programminglibrarian]

What are we even here for...

Last week, another software developer said to me that the hard truth of our industry is that we're here to eliminate jobs.

Dude, some of us are here just trying to get information out to the people. Building maps to make complex forest fire data easier to interpret. Building access to justice chatbots and legal aid portals. There's work to be done getting public information out to the people and helping the people navigate complex systems to make their lives easier. 🤘🏻✊🏻

[programminglibrarian]

Review: Against Technoableism by Ashley Shew

I read this in a small book club. It's a series of essays on various concepts and problems under the umbrella of relating technology design and disability. We agreed that it's fascinating and eye-opening, and has had a significant impact on all three of us, although some of the essays' concepts definitely needed a little more work to flesh out the arguments thoroughly.