Need a new library website - help

[Sharon Foster]

Hi Alison,

$10K will buy you the services of a graphic designer to come up with a new
look for a WordPress website, plus a consultant to set it up and do any
customization you may need to connect it to your OPAC, plus an annual
hosting account and domain name registration.

WordPress happens to be my current favorite hobby horse, so I'm definitely
biased, but it really is ideal for public libraries. Polly Farrington--an
outstanding instructor--has lots of material about WP on her wiki, and a
new book on WP in libraries. She is currently running an online course for
ALA, too.

http://lib20.pbworks.com/w/page/16753907/classes-wordpress-websites

The wp4lib wiki has a list of libraries that use WordPress,

http://wp4lib.bluwiki.com/

... to which I would add my own FPOW. We had several preliminary
discussions about the new website spanning several months, but when I
finally sat down to do it, the set up and copying of content from the old
site to the new site took me about 18 hours total.

http://www.ryepubliclibrary.org

Support for WP is great, and there is both a LinkedIn group for WP in
general, and a Facebook group specifically for WP in libraries. Email me
privately and I'll hook you up with the Facebook group.

Good luck! It's always exciting to start a new website project.

Sharon
----------
Sharon M. Foster
Digital Resources Librarian

*"All accumulation, therefore, of personal property, beyond what a man’s
own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on
every principle of justice, of gratitude, and of civilization, a part of
that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came.*" ~Tom
Paine



On Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 12:11 PM, Pruntel,Alison <
Alison.Pruntel at fauquiercounty.gov> wrote:

> ***Cross-posted to Web4Lib, publib and lita listservs; apologies in
> advance if you have to read this more than once!*******
>
> ** **
>
> Hi all,****
>
> ** **
>
> Our county IT department is moving away from the current website structure
> and looking at 3rd party vendors to host the county site(s). From
> preliminary conversations, they are weighing Sharepoint  vs. Vision
> Internet (http://www.visioninternet.com/index.aspx?page=1). From what
> I’ve seen of Vision Internet, it appears that in most counties (at least in
> Virginia),  the library system goes off to a separate domain/site (not the
> Vision Internet design/site used for the rest of the county departments).
> So we are thinking we may need to now budget to do something on our own. *
> ***
>
> ** **
>
> As I am just getting started (reviewing
> http://www.webjunction.org/technology/website-development/-/articles/content/98104148,
> etc.), am hoping to get some feedback from other libraries, especially
> those in Virginia/metro DC area. ****
>
> ** **
>
> Some background…****
>
> **·         **We don’t have our own IT department…just me for “technical”
> issues; I use Dreamweaver to upload content to our current site, maintain
> our ILS, etc. and otherwise handle other “electronic” librarian duties for
> databases, e-books, etc. (i.e., “jack of all trades, master of none”);****
>
> **·         **While not averse to using something like WordPress for a
> CMS (hosted by someone else!), something more complicated/staff-intensive
> like Drupal, Joomla, etc. and anything we’d be required to host ourselves
> is not really an option at this point;****
>
> **·         **We don’t have a designer (let alone a web designer) on
> staff; ****
>
> **·         **We do not want to be responsible for
> purchasing/configuring/maintaining a server (to be hosted by our county)
> for this…would want someone else to host;****
>
> **·         **Money is always an issue…$10K is probably all we could
> afford at this point;****
>
> **·         **We have had NO discussions at this point with board,
> amongst our staff, etc., as to what a library site should have or what our
> goals are – and I am aware that should be priority number one;****
>
> ** **
>
> In light of the above, can anyone who has been in a similar predicament
> send me any advice/recommendations on a 3rd party vendor (particularly
> one that works well with libraries) you used  and are happy with, and
> ballpark cost? Accompanying RFPs would also be appreciated. I realize I
> will be able to find some of this via discussion on WebJunction, TechSoup,
> etc. (and have access to Library Technology Reports), but also will gladly
> take any offline responses as I get started researching this.****
>
> ** **
>
> Thanks in advance,****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> *Alison Pruntel*
> Electronic Resources Librarian
> Fauquier County Public Library
> 11 Winchester Street
> Warrenton, VA 20186
> 540-422-8515 ****
>
> alison dot pruntel at fauquiercounty dot gov
> *FCPL Web Site:* http://library.fauquiercounty.gov
>
> ****
>
> ** **
> ============================
>
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>
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>
> 2012-01-23
>
>

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