[WEB4LIB] Re: weaning staff from email to weblog

[Harder, Geoffrey]

I do agree with Mark that the tool shouldn't drive the process, although I
do think tradition and comfort with known tools can sometimes outweigh our
willingness to jump to new tools that might take us a step forward but
require us to do things a little differently. You can't make anyone do
something they don't want to do, but a little encouragement sometimes goes a
long way. 

For one of our reference desks, I found that staff eventually recognized the
blog archive to be a tremendous asset and that eventually everyone jumped
onboard. On another desk, we haven't had the same uptake largely because we
haven't had the initial buy-in from some of the key contributors and
leaders.

The email notification feature for "need-to-know-now" postings is a must
(and just providing the tantalizing excerpt is a way to get them into the
blog!), and gradually weeding the "of-possible-interest" email items to the
blog without the notifications is a logical next step. In my experience, the
key is to get a few people onboard that will use and help to promote the
blog to your colleagues. Get some content into it. Have some links to
related services and information that give staff a reason to go to it.
Practice what you preach, and as the blog begins to build content, people
may come to understand the value of a good, well-organized and archived blog
-- a system very few inboxes or 3 ring binders can come to replicate. You
may even want to help post email messages from other staff (with their
permission!) that you think would be examples of good blog-post candidates. 

I also try hard not to be a blog zealot. Email, blogs, wikis, mailing lists
-- each have their pros and cons, and it seems some people just can't be
convinced that a particular tool is worth their attention. If you think
blogging fits your institution or team's need, keep at it and eventually you
should get the buy-in from the majority if it really does make the most
sense. Let the blog speak for itself. 

Geoff     

___________________________________________
Geoffrey Harder, MLIS
Public Services Librarian (Biological Sciences, Computing Science) 
and Manager, Knowledge Common 
Science & Technology Library
1-26F Cameron Library
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2J8
voice 780.492.7914  |  fax 780.492.2721
geoffrey.harder at ualberta.ca
www.library.ualberta.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: Marc Truitt [mailto:mtruitt at uh.edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 4:46 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: weaning staff from email to weblog

Shelley,

Ummm... does it need to be an either-or choice?  Why not leave it to 
them to decide to use the tool that works best for them and their needs. 
  These needs and their choices may vary with individual, time and context.

cheers,

- mt

-- 
*************************************************************************
Marc Truitt
Assistant Dean for Systems                      Voice  : 713-743-8979
University of Houston Libraries                 e-mail : mtruitt at uh.edu
114 University Libraries                        cell   : 713-443-6421
Houston, TX 77204-2000                          fax    : 713-743-9811

"I think that maybe I'm dreamin'..."
                                -- Eric Burdon
*************************************************************************

Shelley Brown wrote:
> Hi
> 
> I am wondering if anyone has any advice or tidbits they can share about
how
> they encouraged library staff to use a weblog to communicate rather than
> solely relying on email? I have just finished creating a weblog to be used
> on our staff intranet and was curious to know how people have reacted to
the
> introduction of a new forum for staff communication? I know about setting
up
> notifications, but is it just a matter of time before people start to use
> the blog more than email, or has it tended to be considered more of a
> hindrance  than a help?
> 
> 
> Thank you for any assistance you may give,
> 
> 
> Shelley Brown
> Information Specialist Librarian
> Richmond Public Library 
> award-winning web site: www.yourlibrary.ca
> shelley.brown at yourlibrary.ca
> 
> 
>