As you may know, Google will be retiring the Universal Analytics version of their Google Analytics product mid-2023. This product is used to track and report on visitors to websites. Google offers this product free of charge, but makes use of the data it collects in exchange.

For clients whose software we host which have Universal Analytics tracking code, we offer a few options:

• You can upgrade your Universal Analytics site to Google Analytics version 4 and provide us with the new tracking code to place on the site(s) we host for you.
• If we have access to your Google Analytics account already, we can upgrade your account and obtain the new tracking code for you.
• You can switch to any other tracking service you choose and provide us with the new tracking code to place on the site(s) we host for you.
• You can switch to a new tracking service offered by Andornot exclusively for our hosted clients that uses the popular Matomo open source software.

In our work with Google Analytics version 4, we've found that it will continue to give you the same basic information as from Universal Analytics, such as the number of visitors to your site. However, in working with Google Analytics version 4, we’ve found it difficult to obtain any more statistics than this, so we are not recommending or supporting use of this new version. It’s for this reason that Andornot is offering our new Matomo statistics and tracking service.

Matomo offers similar features and benefits to Google’s Universal Analytics. Basic tracking will provide information on users, as well as words used for searching, searches with no results, and basic information on media accessed in search results (e.g. images and PDFs viewed or downloaded).

There is no charge for our hosted clients to use our Matomo service, and in most cases, the necessary tracking code can be added to your site with minimal effort. Data will be retained for up to three years, allowing you to compare current to previous years.

Should you desire more advanced tracking of some sort, that is likely possible with Matomo, but may involve a fee for the configuration work. A fee may also apply for long-term data storage, depending on the size of that data.

Please feel free to get in touch with questions or to use our Matomo service on sites we host for you.

Over 11,000 historic newspaper issues (over 90,000 pages) of historic Bruce County community newspapers, many of which are no longer in print, were digitized in 2022 as part of the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre’s efforts to make this valuable resource easily accessible to the public. Spanning the decades from the 1860s to the present, almost all of these newspaper issues may now be read on the Bruce County Historic Newspapers website at https://newspapers.brucemuseum.ca

This site is powered by our Andornot Discovery Interface, which provides full text searching of the OCRd newspaper text. Sophisticated search algorithms return the newspaper issues best matching a user's search, with particular features available to help search for people by their name.

After a keyword search, users may view the newspaper issue in a built-in viewer, with their search words pre-highlighted for easy viewing and navigation within the issue.

In addition to searching, users may also browse all issues by newspaper name, in chronological order, and may use the built in flipbook style viewer to flip through the pages of each issue, recreating the experience of handling the original printed copy.

The newspapers and search engine is hosted by Andornot.

More information about this project is available at https://www.brucemuseum.ca/research/bruce-county-newspaper-digitization-project/

 

Andornot has designed and developed search engine and information management solutions since 1995, and has used primarily discovery interface style tools for the past decade. We’ve provided our own Andornot Discovery Interface (AnDI) to many of our clients, and watched and learned from their questions and uses of the application

Over this decade of development, we’ve added many new features to individual AnDI sites, either at the request of clients, or based on our own observations and learning, as well as taking into consideration ever-evolving best practices in usability, accessibility and web design and development.

In 2020, we embarked on a project to take the best features and enhancements and roll them all up into a new version of AnDI. This version is now ready for use, both to upgrade existing AnDI sites and for all new ones.

With many software products that evolve over time, as more and more features are added, they sometimes become bloated and confusing. More is not necessarily better and it’s always been our intention to adhere to the Don't Make Me Think principle. So a user should not need to read search tips or help pages to use a tool and find what they are looking for, and should be able to understand the entire screen at a glance, without having to pause to decipher complex options.

This PDF describes some of the most significant enhancements in the latest version of AnDI, which complement the core features that have made AnDI such a powerful search engine. Sites built from the latest version are added to our online Project Portfolio as they launch, so check that out to see live sites, and be sure to ask us about any features not listed in the PDF that may already exist or could be developed for you.

Encrypting communication between web browsers and web servers has been common for years, and is now pretty much required in all situations. The protocols used for this encryption have evolved over the years, in spec and in name, from SSL versions 1.0 to 3.0, then TLS versions 1.0 to the present 1.2 and 1.3. As newer versions are released, older ones are considered less secure and obsolete. As a security best practice, it is usually prudent to remove or disable older protocols on servers, so they can’t be exploited.

All software that Andornot offers and hosts is or can be run under TLS 1.2 or later, including Inmagic WebPublisher PRO. Version 19 of WebPublisher PRO, released in 2021, has native support for TLS 1.2, but there is a workaround for earlier versions.

If you are running WebPublisher PRO on premises and disable versions of SSL and TLS less than TLS 1.2 and find your WebPublisher app no longer works, contact us. We can both advise you on approaches for your current software and suggest more modern software for an improved search experience, such as our Andornot Discovery Interface.

For many years, Andornot has proudly sponsored professional association events and supported our colleagues through participation in conference trade shows. And in 2017 we introduced our Andornot Professional Development Grant, which was historically awarded annually to one person to help them attend a conference.

In 2021, in recognition of the changing nature of professional development and the other challenges of the time, we expanded the number of awards and the purposes to which it could be put.

For 2022, we're returning to a focus on funding professional development opportunities, whether they be in person or virtual. $1,000 is available, but will be shared amongst as many applicants as possible. The funds could be put towards any costs associated with activities such as:

• Attending an in-person or online conference, workshop, study session, event, lecture or other learning opportunity.
• Hosting our organizing such an event.

Costs that could be funded include the costs of the virtual or real world event (space, speaker fees, software fees, travel costs) or even the loss of income if you miss work to participate or organize the event.

We’re open to your ideas for what might benefit you and your work or career in these challenging times, so these are simply ideas. We invite you to also present something for which you seek funding.

The deadline for application is January 31, 2022 and recipients will be notified as soon as possible after that date.

Apply by completing this form.