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.
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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
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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
