http://www.davidleeking.com/wp-content/themes/thesis_16

Posts tagged as:

IT

Planning for Success Cookbook from MaintainIT

by David Lee King on November 5, 2008

From Brenda Hough at MaintainIT:

“The MaintainIT Project is happy to announce the latest Cookbook!
“Planning for Success”
http://www.maintainitproject.org/cookbooks/planning-for-success

It’s a free online resource with current ideas and best practices for
planning, building, and managing your library’s computer technology.
Librarians around the country have contributed their knowledge on
topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance
practices to community building experiences involving Web 2.0 tools
and vital partnerships. And the Cookbook is FREE.

Cookbook topics include:
-       Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
-       Evaluations and Metrics
-       Talking with non-techies
-       Standardizing your IT infrastructure
-       Leasing computers
-       Disk-cloning in libraries
-       Remote desktop software
-       Hiring the right techs
-       Selecting and configuring a firewall
-       Gaming in Libraries
-       What to Consider When Evaluating and Implementing Web 2.0 Tools in
Your Library
-       And more!!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to all three Cookbooks. These
resources reflect the impressive work you all do, and we’re so happy
to share them with everyone.

Don’t forget to check out the FREE webinars MaintainIT offers, too:
http://www.maintainitproject.org/events)”

********************

Go check it out – there’s lots of good stuff here!

Tagged as: , ,

{ 1 comment }

More on Community

by David Lee King on October 4, 2007

Nicole Engard (great blog, by the way – y’all should be reading it!) just left a comment on my post It’s About the Community. I was starting to reply to her comment when it dawned on me that my reply might work better as another post, so…

Nicole says: “David, I totally agree! But what about those public service librarians who are “too busy” to maintain these tools? I know that that is the case in many libraries – the staff who should be in charge of the project claims to be too busy (or are too busy) and then the maintenance is passed back to the IT staff – who probably are too busy – and then the whole thing falls apart … sometimes it’s not that the IT staff wants to control the technology – but that they were the last resort.”

Yep – that’s true! How can you deal with that sorta backwards philosophy?

Here are some suggestions (please add yours!):

  • The biggest challenge, in my mind, is getting staff over the fact that the new service resides on a computer. Think about it – Telephone reference is a great example. Does the library’s switchboard operator answer telephone reference questions? No – even though those questions come via phone. But there seems to be a disconnect with web-based interactions. Blogs, Social Networking tools, flickr accounts… those come from the computer, right? Wrong. You are interacting with real people, just like with telephone reference.
  • “I’m too busy” – this isn’t the fault of front-line staff. I think this excuse (that’s what it is, after all) falls squarely into management’s lap. Is a blog important to your library? Is the interaction and growth that can be had via a social network part of your library’s strategic plan? If not… you should talk about it. If so… you should be setting priorities and goals for front-line staff. Maybe the staff member needs to NOT be doing something, so they can focus more on the blog.
  • If participating in and supporting your library’s community via emerging online tools is important, why not add it to job descriptions? Why not include things like “post to the blog,” “respond to comments,” or “create a weekly videocast?” We do that with other important job duties – don’t just tack on an “oh yeah, do something with the web, too” line. Focus on strategic goals, and realign job duties to meet those goals.

Any thoughts?

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 11 comments }