Intranet 2.0 School: How to Build the Essential Staff Intranet for

Your Library

Chris Evjy and Nina McHaleColorado Association of Libraries Annual

Conference October 8 2010

Introduction

The Problem with Email

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/email

Why do “traditional” intranets fail?

• They’re not easy/intuitive to use• They’re not integrated well into daily

workflows of all staff• They don’t contain useful/relevant/timely

information• They are not collaborative spaces– Communication is unidirectional– Editorial bottlenecks stifle open communication

Intranets 2.0?

• Web 2.0 tools have the potential to help overcome these hurdles

• Platforms are simpler to use (i.e., blogs, wikis) for people without web development skills

• Environments can be more open and collaborative, especially if history of content is kept

• However, 2.0 tools do not guarantee success

Evjy/McHale Intranet Continuum

Environmental Scan

Gathering Input: User Survey

• What do you like about our current intranet?– Or: if we had one, what would you like to have?

• What do you go there to find?– Or: what would you want to find on an intranet?

• What would you like to be able to do?• Present them with potential features/content• Design aesthetic: Google or NYTimes.com• Make survey results public, but anonymous

Auraria Survey Example, 1 of 2

• Questions 1 and 2 asked respondents to view two academic library intranets and rate:– Content– Presentation– Organization– Usability

• What do you currently go to the intranet to find?– Examples: blank forms, newsletter, statistics, reports,

minutes, policies, department information

Auraria Survey Example, 2 of 2

• If provided, which of the following would you use?– Internal news, warnings/alerts, draft material for

cttees, conference reports, presentations, calendar, room scheduler, budget, other

• What other information would you like to find or what task would you like to perform?

• What do you like/dislike about current procedures for posting to the intranet?

• Any other feedback?

Other Information Gathering Methods

• Observe your colleagues at work (with permission)– What tools to they use?– What types of documents/data do they produce?– Where do they store these documents/data?

• Visit department/team/committee meetings– Discuss work that members perform as a team– Are there opportunities for tech-enabled

communication and collaboration?

Project planning

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jazzmasterson/2738790/

Framing the Project

• Who will do the work?• What software/platform will be used?• What types of content will we include?• Where will this new creation live?• When? What is our timeline?• How do we pay for it?

Who Will Do the Work?

• Do you have web skills in-house?– Does that person/those people have time to take

on a very large project?– Can you budget the human resources?– Team approach recommended

• Should you hire a developer?– Can you budget the $?– How will maintenance be handled post-launch?– Who will work with the developer?

Where Will This New Creation Live?

• Where is your web server currently?• Do you have a high enough level of access to

create a new site, or will you have to negotiate with your IT support?

• If you don’t have an appropriate environment, investigate options such as:– Purchasing commercial web space– Using a free hosted service, i.e., PBWorks– Consider how to secure sensitive information

What Software/Platform Will Be Used?

• Blogs– Blogger– WordPress

• Wikis– PBWorks– MediaWiki

• Content Management Systems– Microsoft SharePoint– Drupal

What content areas to include?

• People• Documents/Documentation• Communication venues• Professional resources

People

• Personal profiles– Professional details– Personal details (fun & optional)

• Photos arranged in galleries• Birthdays! Yes!• Contact lists

Documents/Documentation

• Minutes, policies, forms?• Conference reports? Presentations given to the

library? Professional resources?• Department, committee, group info?• Procedures, documentation?• Online workflow?– Examples: purchase and travel request forms, tech

services workflow• Communication?

Pic Break

http://www.igougo.com/photos/journal/132x132/Carmax_LA%20-%2042.jpg

Communication Venues

• Admin/Management Staff– Blogs

• Staff Admin/Management– Forums

• Staff Staff– Blogs– Forums– Comments

• Between members of work groups

Professional Resources

• RSS feeds from publications– LISNews– LibraryJournal feeds, etc.

• RSS feed from LEO (Library Education Opportunities)

• Conference calendar• Internal job openings• Local resources specific to your library

Increased buy-in = more complete adoption

• Identify expert users within different workgroups

• Survey – people love to be asked what they think– Respond openly & publicly to feedback

• Sell the project to Admin– Clearly defined goals– Intranets are perfect for introducing CMSes into

your library

Sample project goals, BPL

• Facilitate communication between staff members, departments & branches and contribute to the sense of a BPL Community.

• Effectively support the work of BPL Public Services staff.

• Provide BPL staff with a reliable source of information concerning logistical aspects of working for the Boulder Public Library.

• Introduce BPL staff to the concepts and practices involved in web content management.

Auraria Project Planning

• In 2006, Intranet Redesign Task Group was formed

• Survey conducted revealed great dissatisfaction with legacy SharePoint intranet

• Aging server threatened stability of intranet• Decision was made for static web site to moved

content to stable environment ASAP• Work turned over to Web Librarian for

implementation

Implementation

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottrettberg/1596702/

Migrating Content

• What can be moved as-is?– very little…

• What needs revision?– and by whom?– what is critical prior to launch?

• What can be left off the new intranet?– can it be forgotten forever?– should it be archived?

Usability Observations

• “As easy as a light switch.”• Looking over users’ shoulders• Task focused• Streamline user experience– What are people getting hung up on?– What could make tasks more efficient?– Are your design decisions in line with the reality of

use?

Drupal (Boulder) vs. MediaWiki (Auraria)

• Open Source/Free• Fully customizable• Steep backend learning curve• More user-friendly to end

users• Overall, more feature

flexibility• More theme (look and feel)

options for Drupal• Permissions can be defined

more granularly

• Open Source/Free• Much quicker to

install/configure/launch• Automatically has

document history/revisions, discussion pages

• Backend learning curve easier

• Does not handle document files well

• Doesn’t manage workflow

Our fav

=

Drupal issooooooperfect forIntranets

Blogs, Wikis, Commentsand Web 2.0 goodness

Forums & Notifications

Content Profile & Views

LDAP Integration

Finder & Birthdays

Node Reference & Taxonomy

Work in progress…

Aggregator & Feeds

RSS

Organic Groups &Organic Groups Taxonomy

Work in progress…

FAQ & Taxonomy

Roll-out

http://www.flickr.com/photos/axlefoley/4001306346/

Roll-out

• Launch Beta site• Training– Group training (workshops)– Training tree– Screencasts (point-of-need help)– Help documentation

• Resources• Marketing– Task focused weekly campaign approach

Auraria Roll-out Examples

• Adoption by Shared Leadership Team• Minutes procedures (documentation page)• Group training– Covered the basics of wikitext (links, lists)– Individual wiki page as sandboxes

Minutes Best Practices

Assessment

http://www.flickr.com/photos/traductioninfidele/50939641/

Assessment

• User Satisfaction– Usability isn’t just for the library’s home page– Re-administer survey– Individual features and content areas

• Metrics/quantitative evidence– Survey results• Compare to “environmental scan” results

– Web statistics

Boulder Examples

•Not there yet.

Auraria Assessment 2010

• Email poll: what should be on the intranet’s home page?

• Survey responses to four questions:– How often do you refer to the intranet– How often do you add, edit, or change content?– What do you like best?– What could be improved?

• Wiki statistics

Email Poll

Survey Responses, 1 of 2

Survey Responses, 2 of 2

Survey Results: What’s Good

• Uses network login• Easy to create, edit, and store content• Freedom and flexibility to add content• Good for documentation• Good for collaboration• Gets information out of our email, off of our

hard drives, and into a centralized location

Survey Results: What Could be Better

• Login clunky (even though it’s network)• Formatting wiki pages• Navigation• Search feature and results• Linking to non-wiki documents (i.e., shared

drive)• Easy to lose content (no auto save)• Integration with Excel and PowerPoint

Auraria Wiki Stats

Intranets Issue of Journal of Web Librarianship

Questions? Comments?

Chris EvjyBoulder Public Library

MSLIS candidate, Syracuse University

evjyc@boulderlibrary.org@endupok

Nina McHaleAuraria Library

nina.mchale@ucdenver.edu@ninermac

milehighbrarian.net