[Web4lib] decentralized web content

[David Kane]

Hi Angela,

I manage the infrastructure of our site.  The day to day management of the
content is devolved to all staff.

The overall information architecture and design gets revised from time to
time, and that is done in a more rigorous and structured manner, involving
all parties.

We use a content management  system (terminalfour.com) for our institutional
site and for our library site.

I agree with Cary, workflow is a barrier.  You will find in the end, as we
have, that a small minority of the staff add all the content.  These people
are like gold dust.  If you make them go through excessive workflow hoops,
you will be acting against your own interests.

David

On 11 January 2011 05:07, Cary Gordon <listuser at chillco.com> wrote:

> Many libraries use content management systems and open source systems
> such as Drupal are very popular and have a great deal of support.
> Drupal has a library specific mailing list, a support group on the
> Drupal groups site, several other free support resources, as well as
> several companies, like mine, that provide a range of support and
> services.
>
> Unfortunately, experience has shown that in most cases the number of
> stations in the workflow is usually inversely proportionate to the
> amount of staff contributed material across time on a website. Some
> organizations have done away with workflow and decentralized to the
> degree that they use wiki type systems for most of their content. A
> good compromise, where acceptable, is to let staff publish content and
> flag it for review. Most of the top open source content management
> systems have flexible workflow options.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Cary
>
> On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Angela Christofferson
> <Angela.Christofferson at spl.org> wrote:
> > Our library is in the process of decentralizing our web content for our
> public website.  Our goal is for employees throughout the Library to enter
> content into a content management system.
> >
> > Does your library use a content management system and have a
> decentralized web content model?  If so, could you share your experiences
> and workflow?  For example, what roles (Author, Approver, Editor) have you
> created?  How does content move through the process?  How do you maintain
> standards, consistency, oversight, etc.?  Can employees post directly to
> your website?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for sharing.
> >
> > Angela Christofferson
> > The Seattle Public Library
> > Information Technology
> > 206-733-9688 <skype:2067339688?call>
> >
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> > Web4lib at webjunction.org
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> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Cary Gordon
> The Cherry Hill Company
> http://chillco.com
>
>
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>


-- 
David Kane, MLIS.
Systems Librarian
Waterford Institute of Technology
Ireland
http://library.wit.ie/
T: ++353.51302838 <skype:+35351302838?call>
M: ++353.876693212 <skype:+353876693212?call>