Week 5

I found myself browsing through the list of module downloads for Drupal for a long time. Kind of like Wikipedia, where one item leads to another to another to another. Many modules offered tools I didn’t know about or understand. Many were named in ways that didn’t make its purpose clear (personal favorites include Bad Judgment, Bespin (planet home of Lando Calrissian’s Cloud City from the Empire Strikes Back) and Awesome Relationships. One way I thought would help me find a useful module was to think in terms of the collection content, specifically the webcomic format. Two modules looked promising, Webcomic and Comic, but neither were supported in the current Drupal version and so could be downloaded but not enabled. I was able to find a module that supports a type of animation process called page-flipping that was compatible. But I don’t have a collection example to test it on so it is only theoretically helpful at this point. Another approach was to think of features I use consistently in my own life, which led me to the print-friendly module. The install was successful even if the purpose is a little dull. However, it is an option I use often online. Another idea I thought would be helpful was a module for Site Documentation. Ironically, the documentation for that module was incomplete and so it seemed suspect. One tool I looked for but could not find was for a random button, a common feature on most webcomic sites. I went about it as logically as I could but I did not find anything by name or keyword. While it could certainly be that I misunderstood the description of the correct module, a possibility being Random Viewer, but I honestly don’t think so. Which made the inability to search the (thousands) of modules disappointing. However, given the active support community I feel confident that someone will point me in the right direction. All in all, Drupal was a success.

Week 4

The positives for Drupal content management of the webcomic collection I am developing is based on two points. 1.) the levels of permissions the role function allows gives a lot of control over the collection and 2) it is scalable to size and purpose of the community of users. As I envision this collection as a test for a more informal community based project and not one that is necessarily embedded or part of the workflow of large scale projects amongst professional information managers. For the amateur enthusisiasts as it were, interested in discoverability and preservation. Or the smallish public library, adding patron created content for fun. In which case a distinct advantage of Drupal is that it allows different users different access levels in a flexible way. The pyramid shape of access from the many anonymous users at the bottom to the (very) few administrators at the top give real control over managing the content input and searchability. The negative side of that coin is that the administrators truly need to know what they are doing and the initial setup needs to be very good or problems will appear quickly and escalate. While Drupal offers good documentation and support the administrator would need to be an expert. Since the webcomic community is, in general, not financially stable, this would most likely be volunteer labor which carries its own concerns. This is why the scalability of Drupal is useful, as community created resources often have a growth period. One success criteria element I am curious about is the best methods of communication for such a project. In the open source world a forum will grow to dominate the community and form a common area that is a successful way to ensure communication occurs in a timely manner. For the webcomic community, there is not currently a dominant website that fulfills that function. If this collection project were to be a success it may evolve into that dominant site and it at this point it is not clear to me how well Drupal will do with forum tasks. Other criteria points to investigate would be security, preservation support , and methods for avoiding redundancies. I have no doubt more criteria points will develop with further experience.

Week 3

I am ashamed about how late I am finally finishing week 3 assignments. In my defense, it has been a truly awful week with my sister in hospital but her new baby at home and both needing to be cared for. So I am a poor example of gauging the tech activity levels as I did it in starts and stops and did not complete on time. If it matters, I have found the tech activities to be well described and usually when I run into problems someone has already worked it on the discussion board. What I am needing to do is really delve into the node concept of drupal and get a good handle on how that works because without that basic understanding I will make mistakes further down the line. I think the ease of use of drupal may be lulling me into a false sense of security that I know how this works because of its ease of use. I will be on my guard. Or at least awake.

Week 2 - Library Hi Tech article summary & review

The article I chose to review from Library Hi Tech was "CMS/CMS: content management system/change management strategies" by Susan Goodwin, Nancy Burford, Martha Bedard, Esther Carrigan and Gale C. Hannigan

In summary:

The Problem – the five libraries that serve the 45,000 users at Texas A&M web presences were inconsistent, difficult to navigate, decentralized and underutilized.

The Action – A Web Integration Team was formed and given the responsibility to develop the Universities Libraries’ web presence. In an effort to be inclusive and promote staff involvement, team members were chosen who were in a position to be ‘agents of change.’

The Goal – to chose and implement a content management system that would provide consistent, integrated and user-friendly web presence.

The Results – the WIT offers lessons learned and recommendations for the process of choosing a CMS.

Lesson 1.

Systems people should not be the only ones tasked with content management. Recommendation: Content management goes beyond technical requirements and demands the attention of upper management, subject specialists, collection developers and other library departments. Most important is to have a way for the decisions of the group to be implemented by people in positions of authority.

Lesson 2.

Developing an integrated approach to web presence revealed lack of organization unity. Recommendation: Use this time as an opportunity to examine old hierarchies and concepts that may be holding back knowledge sharing.

Lesson 3.

Creating an integrated web emphasized the need for a new work culture of collaboration between libraries. Recommendation: Purposefully promote knowledge sharing and a ‘big picture’ perspective amongst staff and other stakeholders.

Lesson 4.

Details can derail the process. Recommendation: it is better to view development as an iterative process of continuous improvements. Make the logical decision for the current environment and plan to revisit in the future.

Lesson 5.

Focusing on electronic resources highlights the paradigm shift for libraries to move from internal organizations focus to user based focus. Recommendation: Acknowledge that internal staff are users also. Do not downplay the impact of this change.

Lesson 6.

Roles and responsibilities will change. Recommendation: rethink job descriptions, redesign hiring requirements, reassign and train people to meet the new needs of the library.

Lesson 7.

Developing a website creates change that must be managed. Recommendation: acknowledge that it is a process that requires advanced management and leadership skills.

Lesson 8.

Communicate. Recommendation: establish regular methods of communication at all levels of staff and solicit feedback for ‘reality checks’.

Lesson 9.

The work load will not decrease over time. Recommendation: Without long term commitment, content management system software is wasted.

While trying to recap the article, I found that the lessons offer valuable insights. I think the authors are correct in calling it a paradigm shift that will create opportunities and obstacles from a management perspective. It is also key to acknowledge that staff involvement will have its ups and downs. There is a noticeable lack of faculty involvement described which may lead to major problems for the library if outside stakeholders were not included in the process. I found the changes to the organizational chart as well as a sample of the content management deadlines to be helpful as an indicator of the level of change and the amount of work the process entails. The final analysis of the authors was that while choosing the software for CMS was a major accomplishment, more importantly the development of a significant web presence heralded major changes for the library culture and its staff that required delicate and affirmative management. All in all, I appreciated the common-sense reflection and resolutions the authors present from their experiences.