The Cyber Explorer’s Committee welcomed Systems Dept. Head Rob to the third bi-weekly meeting on Tuesday, February 05, 2008. Committee members in attendance were Molly, Melissa, Cheryl, and Pam. Sonya had a scheduling conflict but promises to keep current via e-mail and our blog; she is willing to assist with specific tasks as needed.
Rob was kind enough to entertain our litany of technology questions related to blogging, RSS feeds, etc. and encouraged us to conceptualize a blogging program that will fit the needs of the various HEPL departments. He assured us that once our plan is in place, the technology to execute it would be available.
Before the end of the year, Rob expects to have a new Content Management System (CMS) selected and in place. This would increase the ease of updating the library’s Web site and could be tailored to include blogging software as well, either as a component of the system or as a plug-in. His long-term preference would be to host the blog(s) on our own server, thereby allowing increased control, continuity, archive access, and branding. It was suggested that we begin by using Blogspot, or another free Web source initially and then transition to the CMS blog component when it is selected and installed. Any archives developed during that time could be shifted to our in-house plaform.
The response to our initial call for input from other staff members was disappointing. We surmise that many people are unfamiliar with blogs, making them reluctant to volunteer ideas or their participation. We will all continue to discuss the potential benefits of blogging within our departments and to foster its incorporation to the library’s tool-set.
Gloria, from Circulation, expressed an interest in joining our committee, through her supervisor, Rex. She was encouraged to attend the meeting but the invitation was extended through Rex and we are not certain that she received it; she did not attend. Molly will speak with Gloria directly to clarify her level of interest.
Our committee’s consensus is that a set of informal blogging guidelines, rather than a formal blog policy should in place before we go public with a library blog. We will collaborate to develop such a set of guidlines, drawing from the work of those libraries that have preceded us on the blogging adventure.
Action plan:
Melissa will begin work on designing a second “sample” blog with a focus on teens.
Each committee member will attempt to answer the question, “Why blog?” from their department’s perspective, incorporating topic ideas – the more the better – and posting frequency.
Each member will brainstorm to develop a mission statement for her department’s blog entries.
No future meeting was scheduled; we will continue to communicate via e-mail and utilize the blog. Future meetings will be scheduled as needed.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Onward We Go – Meeting Three!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Web 2.0 and YOU as the person of the year
I just read an article in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Public Libraries magazine. Unfortunately, it is not available full text online (and I can make copies if anyone wants) but the majority of the article is available on one of the author's blog (cool, huh?) found here: David King's Web 2.0 Article.
Basically, the authors argue that the Web is now more about participation than dissemination (hence the reference to Time's naming of YOU as person of the year for 2006) and they offer strategies for public libraries to improve their blogs. Here are some of the ideas that I think are useful for us:
Write in a manner which invites participation. This is called a passive invitation and could be simply providing compelling content, a catchy or action oriented title, or web speak. All these strategies will increase the likelihood that someone will respond and start a dialog.
Allow commenting. If you moderate comments, do so in a very timely fashion. If patrons ask questions respond quickly! Use RSS feeds.
Post active invitations. These could be direct questions for public discussion, a broad based wiki about the best books of all time, or even services available via link clicking (which could be counted.)
Allow innovative user participation. One example listed involved patrons creating and filming their own stories, then posting them to the library's YouTube site.
Again, here are more ideas without solid, concrete directions, but I thought they were a worthwhile topic of discussion!
Basically, the authors argue that the Web is now more about participation than dissemination (hence the reference to Time's naming of YOU as person of the year for 2006) and they offer strategies for public libraries to improve their blogs. Here are some of the ideas that I think are useful for us:
Write in a manner which invites participation. This is called a passive invitation and could be simply providing compelling content, a catchy or action oriented title, or web speak. All these strategies will increase the likelihood that someone will respond and start a dialog.
Allow commenting. If you moderate comments, do so in a very timely fashion. If patrons ask questions respond quickly! Use RSS feeds.
Post active invitations. These could be direct questions for public discussion, a broad based wiki about the best books of all time, or even services available via link clicking (which could be counted.)
Allow innovative user participation. One example listed involved patrons creating and filming their own stories, then posting them to the library's YouTube site.
Again, here are more ideas without solid, concrete directions, but I thought they were a worthwhile topic of discussion!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Systems Q's
Here is a preliminary list of questions to ask Systems...
Allowing comments:
We would like to allow user comments, but are a bit afraid of vulgar posts and negative experiences.
Is there a software package that could scan any comments to make sure they do not have inappropriate material in them before it was posted or would we need to review each post first?
Could/should we register only library card holders on our site?
Will we host on our own server?
Do we have the desire and the server space to host on our own?
What software will we need?
Do we use a free source or purchase a software package?
If purchase, where does that money come from?
Does it provide a means of tracking - # of posts, # of comments, # of readers?
Do we have space to archive all correspondence?
How do we get listed high on the search engines?
What about supporting vlogs, RSS feeds?
Will we link the blog from our main homepage? Individual department pages?
Do you have any input/opinions on design?
Training Staff:
Can the software or a designated person provide a training or tutorial to assist the staff who are blogging.
Allowing comments:
We would like to allow user comments, but are a bit afraid of vulgar posts and negative experiences.
Is there a software package that could scan any comments to make sure they do not have inappropriate material in them before it was posted or would we need to review each post first?
Could/should we register only library card holders on our site?
Will we host on our own server?
Do we have the desire and the server space to host on our own?
What software will we need?
Do we use a free source or purchase a software package?
If purchase, where does that money come from?
Does it provide a means of tracking - # of posts, # of comments, # of readers?
Do we have space to archive all correspondence?
How do we get listed high on the search engines?
What about supporting vlogs, RSS feeds?
Will we link the blog from our main homepage? Individual department pages?
Do you have any input/opinions on design?
Training Staff:
Can the software or a designated person provide a training or tutorial to assist the staff who are blogging.
We Meet Again!
The Cyber Explorers gathered on Tuesday for more discussion and sharing on the topic of social software as it applies to libraries. The good news - we had 100% participation, the bad news - our IT consultation was unexpectedly postponed.
Here's a quick overview of how we spent our time together:
Here's a quick overview of how we spent our time together:
- Wiki demonstration, courtesy of Sonya, who is experimenting with this tool in her Let's Talk classes.
- Discussion of problems, issues, and techniques relative to co-authoring this blog.
- Expressions of concern about security, control of comment-content, generation of adequate meaningful content, promoting blogs to targeted publics, designated staff-time and training, proof-reading of content for facts/grammar/spelling, consistency of style and format.
- Molly & Melissa volunteered to act as liaisons with Systems; a comprehensive list of queries is being compiled.
- Each committee member will solicit her own dept. peers for interest in contributing to a blog and for potential blog ideas within their service area. Cheryl will also approach Circ. and TS for input.
- Pam will continue to research existing social software policies to assist with the creation of our own policy, when necessary.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Blog, Blog, me do
Sorry for the overlap, same issues, some of the same answers.
Some of this may have been better as a comment but it is much too long and just easier to do it this way.
"What format and structure will the blog take on? Also, will there be one central library blog or multiple blogs for multiple departments? In which case, a central design theme could recur but each blog would have its own flair."
I believe that each department should have a blog and that they should each have their own look to appeal to their specific audience. In other words the children's page should have a style that will appeal to children and parents, the teen page should appeal to them and the adult page should appeal to them. However, they should all have one element that links them back to the library, such as the logo on the side. I don't think we want to limit colors or fonts. Maybe this could be left up to the departments, but for advertising programs I think we would want to be able to use fonts or colors to make the program information stand out from the normal day to day things. This is based on what I have seen on other library websites.
As far as length goes, I think Pam has a point and there is definitely a plus to brevity. I am not sure this would need to be a policy though, more of a guideline maybe. (you might think it does given the length of this post)
Multiple bloggers? What about Video/Pictures? Advertising and linking to the Blog?
Definitely! Of Course! and Why not?
Will we feature the blog prominently on the home page? Try to get linked from other library sites? How about allowing links within our blog?
Great questions. I would love when we launch the blogs to have them linked on the front page so people learn about them. Then after some time move them to their respective department pages. Advertising, I would say it depended on who we were advertising for. I would like to have the ability to link to lots of things like author sites, amazon, and the Indy star. It would be good to have a lot of local information on our blog.
Allowing comments?
I would really like to allow comments. I have a question for systems on this. Is there software that could scan any comments to make sure they did not have inappropriate material in them before it was posted or would we need to review each post first? Could we make them agree to some rules (basic ones such as language) before they post?
What about content?
I would also love to see variation in our content. Like Pam suggested maybe each person could have a specific topic to blog about, and definitely have book reviews with links to the authors official page.
What policies should we have?
Maybe the obvious should be stated in policy, what is obvious to me may not be obvious to others. Things like no inappropriate material and we would have to define what this means. I am really not worried with this but we should cover our back and we need to be clear. Are we going to limit what books could be reviewed and posted on the blog? I don't think we need to but it should be addressed. We should also make sure everyone keeps specific personal information out of their posts. Now I am not saying you can't talk about personal experiences but keep it vague. You would not want to say, "while I was driving past Walmart on 96th street on my way home". But you could say "while I was driving past Walmart (or a big box store)". We may also want to keep the content relevant to the library or library programs or at least relevant with a good laugh about shopping carts maybe thrown in here and there.
I think in the beginning we should have some basic guidelines. I really do feel like the fewer the rules the better. People would be less fearful to participate.
Some of this may have been better as a comment but it is much too long and just easier to do it this way.
"What format and structure will the blog take on? Also, will there be one central library blog or multiple blogs for multiple departments? In which case, a central design theme could recur but each blog would have its own flair."
I believe that each department should have a blog and that they should each have their own look to appeal to their specific audience. In other words the children's page should have a style that will appeal to children and parents, the teen page should appeal to them and the adult page should appeal to them. However, they should all have one element that links them back to the library, such as the logo on the side. I don't think we want to limit colors or fonts. Maybe this could be left up to the departments, but for advertising programs I think we would want to be able to use fonts or colors to make the program information stand out from the normal day to day things. This is based on what I have seen on other library websites.
As far as length goes, I think Pam has a point and there is definitely a plus to brevity. I am not sure this would need to be a policy though, more of a guideline maybe. (you might think it does given the length of this post)
Multiple bloggers? What about Video/Pictures? Advertising and linking to the Blog?
Definitely! Of Course! and Why not?
Will we feature the blog prominently on the home page? Try to get linked from other library sites? How about allowing links within our blog?
Great questions. I would love when we launch the blogs to have them linked on the front page so people learn about them. Then after some time move them to their respective department pages. Advertising, I would say it depended on who we were advertising for. I would like to have the ability to link to lots of things like author sites, amazon, and the Indy star. It would be good to have a lot of local information on our blog.
Allowing comments?
I would really like to allow comments. I have a question for systems on this. Is there software that could scan any comments to make sure they did not have inappropriate material in them before it was posted or would we need to review each post first? Could we make them agree to some rules (basic ones such as language) before they post?
What about content?
I would also love to see variation in our content. Like Pam suggested maybe each person could have a specific topic to blog about, and definitely have book reviews with links to the authors official page.
What policies should we have?
Maybe the obvious should be stated in policy, what is obvious to me may not be obvious to others. Things like no inappropriate material and we would have to define what this means. I am really not worried with this but we should cover our back and we need to be clear. Are we going to limit what books could be reviewed and posted on the blog? I don't think we need to but it should be addressed. We should also make sure everyone keeps specific personal information out of their posts. Now I am not saying you can't talk about personal experiences but keep it vague. You would not want to say, "while I was driving past Walmart on 96th street on my way home". But you could say "while I was driving past Walmart (or a big box store)". We may also want to keep the content relevant to the library or library programs or at least relevant with a good laugh about shopping carts maybe thrown in here and there.
I think in the beginning we should have some basic guidelines. I really do feel like the fewer the rules the better. People would be less fearful to participate.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Yet more questions about libraries and blogging
I'm writing this after having just viewed the press coverage of the TeenZone's latest event. If you have a chance, check out the video footage of local teens hashing it out Guitar Hero style. And, while I know this isn't technically related to our topic of blogging, I mention it because what I saw raised a few more questions about our desired presence on the Internet.
So, below are my questions and some possible answers. (Sorry for the overlap Cheryl...great minds think alike!)
Basic Structure:
What format and structure will the blog take on? Also, will there be one central library blog or multiple blogs for multiple departments? In which case, a central design theme could recur but each blog would have its own flair.
Based on the examples of a number of other library blogs, there is a simplicity in having one central blog page from which users can access entries from a variety of posters (who could be individuals or departmental reps).
Conversely, having a unique style would be best for departments like TeenZone who's target audience will be looking for something different.
Length of posts? There should be some consistency and its probably best to err on the side of short (for instance, I think my post here is too long...and if it weren't for a committee I probably would have stopped reading!) Probably a paragraph or two is best, maybe certain posters could use more space.
Who will Blog and how often will updates be made?:
It was pretty much decided in the meeting that we are against centralized blogging...that is, more people should/could have the opportunity to blog. However, there should be an administrator (or multiple, maybe by department) that schedules entries and makes sure format stays the same. This will take the pressure off of one single individual as well as allow all interested parties to participate.
Another idea is to have people develop a blogging identity and then make an entry once a week. For instance in TeenZone, maybe one person could write about our recent successful events, almost like a newscast, then another person could discuss new books, and maybe another person could write about current/local events.
As we mentioned in the meeting, we need to develop a blogging schedule and stick to it. This is why multiple bloggers would be a good thing...that way we can still take vacations! So, as long as entries were made daily or every other day, the blog would remain relevant.
What about Video/Pictures?:
The Guitar Hero link above shows that newspapers are not asking for parental permission before posting footage and names of minors. At this point, we post pictures from events but don't use
names...will this become an issue on our blog?
I'm not sure of the legal answer to this question and I think that the greater concern would come from MySpace or Facebook accounts, however we should probably have a firm answer before we post any photos.
Allowing comments:
Should we allow users to comment on stories or create a running discussion?
Yes, given that the objective is to reach out to a new audience, I think this tool will be essential. Plus, allowing comments opens up possibilities like online book clubs and more.
Of all the policies I saw, my favorite allowed instantaneous posting privileges to registered users only. All other posts are reviewed by an administrator prior to posting. This won't remove all threat of 'language' or content issues, but I think it will make things more manageable.
Advertising and linking to the Blog:
Will we feature the blog prominently on the home page? Try to get linked from other library sites? How about allowing links within our blog?
If our goal is to reach new users in the virtual world, then we need to get our name out there. However, I would be in favor of a careful promotion scheme as we need to focus on our local patron base first. Perhaps at a later date we can expand and gain a wider recognition, but for the time being I don't think we can justify spending time and resources serving people who are not our taxpayers.
Will we host on our own server?:
This is entirely a Systems question. There is the advantage of removing the name of the blogging software from our address, but I don't think that is a big enough deal to warrant a greater expense or hassle. But, if it is doable, I would say hosting on-site is the best option.
Will we have to justify the time spent and the results?
Given that there are some people out there who would prefer for us to do no more than offer books, will developing an online presence be something that we will need to continually justify? If so, is a simple number count enough, or will we need to see greater attendance to programs and a higher circulation count? How will we track this and who will do it?
So, below are my questions and some possible answers. (Sorry for the overlap Cheryl...great minds think alike!)
Basic Structure:
What format and structure will the blog take on? Also, will there be one central library blog or multiple blogs for multiple departments? In which case, a central design theme could recur but each blog would have its own flair.
Based on the examples of a number of other library blogs, there is a simplicity in having one central blog page from which users can access entries from a variety of posters (who could be individuals or departmental reps).
Conversely, having a unique style would be best for departments like TeenZone who's target audience will be looking for something different.
Length of posts? There should be some consistency and its probably best to err on the side of short (for instance, I think my post here is too long...and if it weren't for a committee I probably would have stopped reading!) Probably a paragraph or two is best, maybe certain posters could use more space.
Who will Blog and how often will updates be made?:
It was pretty much decided in the meeting that we are against centralized blogging...that is, more people should/could have the opportunity to blog. However, there should be an administrator (or multiple, maybe by department) that schedules entries and makes sure format stays the same. This will take the pressure off of one single individual as well as allow all interested parties to participate.
Another idea is to have people develop a blogging identity and then make an entry once a week. For instance in TeenZone, maybe one person could write about our recent successful events, almost like a newscast, then another person could discuss new books, and maybe another person could write about current/local events.
As we mentioned in the meeting, we need to develop a blogging schedule and stick to it. This is why multiple bloggers would be a good thing...that way we can still take vacations! So, as long as entries were made daily or every other day, the blog would remain relevant.
What about Video/Pictures?:
The Guitar Hero link above shows that newspapers are not asking for parental permission before posting footage and names of minors. At this point, we post pictures from events but don't use
names...will this become an issue on our blog?
I'm not sure of the legal answer to this question and I think that the greater concern would come from MySpace or Facebook accounts, however we should probably have a firm answer before we post any photos.
Allowing comments:
Should we allow users to comment on stories or create a running discussion?
Yes, given that the objective is to reach out to a new audience, I think this tool will be essential. Plus, allowing comments opens up possibilities like online book clubs and more.
Of all the policies I saw, my favorite allowed instantaneous posting privileges to registered users only. All other posts are reviewed by an administrator prior to posting. This won't remove all threat of 'language' or content issues, but I think it will make things more manageable.
Advertising and linking to the Blog:
Will we feature the blog prominently on the home page? Try to get linked from other library sites? How about allowing links within our blog?
If our goal is to reach new users in the virtual world, then we need to get our name out there. However, I would be in favor of a careful promotion scheme as we need to focus on our local patron base first. Perhaps at a later date we can expand and gain a wider recognition, but for the time being I don't think we can justify spending time and resources serving people who are not our taxpayers.
Will we host on our own server?:
This is entirely a Systems question. There is the advantage of removing the name of the blogging software from our address, but I don't think that is a big enough deal to warrant a greater expense or hassle. But, if it is doable, I would say hosting on-site is the best option.
Will we have to justify the time spent and the results?
Given that there are some people out there who would prefer for us to do no more than offer books, will developing an online presence be something that we will need to continually justify? If so, is a simple number count enough, or will we need to see greater attendance to programs and a higher circulation count? How will we track this and who will do it?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Questions re: library blog
Why do we want to blog?
Have a cyber presence
Casual form of sharing information about materials, services, programs, etc.
Real time response?
To attach a persona to the information going out
Reach out to them, where they are
Who will be writing the blogs?
Will we assign certain staff members to blog?
Or, assign staff members to oversee the process within their department?
Will we expect each department to provide some input?
Who will monitor the blog for content and language?
Will staff be allowed time to do so?
Who will be answering the blogs?
Will we require a log in?
Will they need to be a card holder?
Can we block them if they use inappropriate language or subject matter?
What software will we need?
Do we use a free source or purchase a software package?
If purchase, where does that money come from?
Ideas – Blogger, Blog City, Movable Type, Work Press
Does it provide a means of tracking - # of posts, # of comments, # of readers?
Do we have space to archive all correspondence?
Where would we house our blog?
HEPL website
MySpace
Facebook
When we would like to launch our blog?
How do we start?
Set policies for staff and users
Do we want outgoing and incoming capabilities?
How do we get listed high on the search engines?
Have a cyber presence
Casual form of sharing information about materials, services, programs, etc.
Real time response?
To attach a persona to the information going out
Reach out to them, where they are
Who will be writing the blogs?
Will we assign certain staff members to blog?
Or, assign staff members to oversee the process within their department?
Will we expect each department to provide some input?
Who will monitor the blog for content and language?
Will staff be allowed time to do so?
Who will be answering the blogs?
Will we require a log in?
Will they need to be a card holder?
Can we block them if they use inappropriate language or subject matter?
What software will we need?
Do we use a free source or purchase a software package?
If purchase, where does that money come from?
Ideas – Blogger, Blog City, Movable Type, Work Press
Does it provide a means of tracking - # of posts, # of comments, # of readers?
Do we have space to archive all correspondence?
Where would we house our blog?
HEPL website
MySpace
When we would like to launch our blog?
How do we start?
Set policies for staff and users
Do we want outgoing and incoming capabilities?
How do we get listed high on the search engines?
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