Maureen Clements

I loved this presentation, Maureen was a natural speaker, lots of humor and a fun presentation to attend!

NPR library structure
2 reference desks
10 staff
1 boss
128,000 archived shows
20,000 music items
5,000 spoken word items

During the last year they:

• answered more than 1,000 questions


• archived 2500 shows


• added nearly 30,000 catalog records

In transition, automate onerous tasks
more outreach into the newsroom - proactive rather than reactive

web 2.0 causing them to rethink . Newsroom of the future initiative

make sure they position themselves to be invaluable.

IT - had a conversation - next week had a wiki...

Why important to have a wiki? - fast, cheap and easy
fast to update, fix, etc.

They use MediaWiki

Initial plans - wiki to replace library website
central repository for librarian-approved info
clipping files replacement
communication tool for the newsroom
great archiving and tracking tool
(subject people place - clipping file)

other ideas:
repository for contact info
experts
pronunciation files (mp3 pronunciation files)
NPR phone numbers
possible replacement for the intranet?

they programmed it so that it can handle pdf, bitmaps, mp3s, etc.

How to Begin?
game plan
educating self finding the time
training the librarians
setting up the architecture
starting small
marketing the wiki
getting everyone onboard

rss feeds to come into the wiki
created pages for each person in the newsroom

John Bartells search blog

nature article comparing wikipedia and encyclopedia britannica
bruhaha ensues on Newslib listserv
who knew wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is a newslib lurker
wales visits NPR
Marketing, marketing, marketing!!

High visibility caused problems.. scope creep....

Librarians don't want to say no, (and probably shouldn't,) but there are so many ways to get distracted by others...

Initial intentions were sidetracked but that's a good thing.

Focus more on news and library tasks
can't solve all content management problems with the wiki
understand the technical limitations
don't be pushy but don't give up

NOT A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

5-6 years may be as robust as a website

225 people have logged on to the wiki
some are actually editing
climate change series - upcoming series all desks all shows all bureaus - librarian to coordinate the wiki use

election book
creating a web resource from a print resource
original election reference table of contents - too busy, too complicated
discussion about what was really needed

much simpler revision top house races, etc.

new pages open up in new winder
Election reference - link out to excel spreedsheets

lots of access points

limitations of wiki vs. content management system - for example - have to link out to pdfs, can't put them in the wiki. Can't get them to open.

linked it to network id and login - they know exactly who is updating what...

spamming huge problem on public wiki. problems with wikis being spammed.

pbwiki is hosted, this one is downloaded and edited in-house.

------------
Pamela Gore

FAQ Purpose
types of Faqs
good vs bad
gathering questions and answers
organization and formatting
placement of faq links
maintenance

purpose faq save time
help users find answers quickly
reduce questions staff must handle

good faq impact user perception
poorly done faq impact feelings about entire site

good:
clear concise
well-organized
scannable
accurate
up to date

poorly executed faq

wordy
difficult to scan
contain too much detail
is just for marketing(?)

best to use actual questions
narrower questions within broader questions
related questions
don't think of all possible questions

avoid library jargon if must use - define
active voice
write questions in first person, answers in second person

bold important words and phrases judiciously

step-by-step instructions, use a numbered bulleted format and write one action per step

let us know! feedback email button on each page

pam.gore@hp.com

--------
Jenny spadafora "community evangelist"

Jenny's presentation : http://12frogs.com/12/work/il2006

blogs = comments posting better communication


feeds follow more in less time, control the info flow

wikis - living documents, post it - fix it

del.icio.us
social bookmarking
find share remember

social software - find my right people tagged interests & search/browse

future is mmow: Massively Multiplayer Online Work

blogs, wikis, feeds, facebook, myspace, second life, etc., will
enable massively multiplayer online work

take social software - making things easier better or more fun,

behind firewall, lessons from what you can do inside the firewall

extranets