making progress and moving on to new battles
Posted by Jami on March 7, 2007
I had a great meeting with my web team yesterday and we were able to draft a great policy for our participation in social networking sites! Woo hoo! Things are starting to look up. We based our policy on the Newton Free Library blog policy, but loosened it up to apply to all existing and potential social networking sites which we defined as, “any web site or account created by WCLS which facilitates an environment for library staff and library users to share opinions and information about library related subjects/issues.”
Now the policy just needs to be edited for clarity and sent on for approval. I’m hoping to fast-track this as much as possible as we are already about 5 years behind, but who knows what fast-track means in a government agency?
Next issue: IM. My library doesn’t do it, doesn’t offer it, and is frankly putting up a whole lot of stink over it. Staff wants it. Users use it (just not with us!). But the systems staff is stonewalling – big time. Using their standard stonewalling defense that they use for anything new, exciting and even the least bit useful – it’s a “security risk.”
Being that I am new to the world of systems technology and network administration, i don’t have a lot of pack to my punch when trying to know down this wall. So I consulted my friends at the Web4Lib listserv to get some help with how to fight the good fight and get this done.
I’ll keep you posted on how my library enters the 21st century. It’s all so very exciting. I’m so happy to have this opportunity to learn things and bring new and useful services to my library and its staff and, most importantly, it’s users.
This entry was posted on March 7, 2007 at 4:29 pm and is filed under jobby jobs, social networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Lana said
Jami, my library does not offer IM either. And when I came, I pretty much talked it up (as we used it so well at IU). So, starting on Monday, we’re beginning an IM service that is operational the hours that staff are on the ref desk and then 2 hours later from a remote location. Hopefully this will work smashingly. We’re using a product called Trillion, covering the platforms of AIM, Yahoo mess., MSN mess. and Google Talk. I’m very excited and the students I’ve mentioned it to (in instruction classes) also seem very interested. Let’s hope all goes well! It’s kind of fun being an innovator, or at least instigator of new products/services.
Jami said
Hey Lana,
Thanks for posting. I am also fighting for us to use a multiple client IM service. Trillian is great and I will probably end up advocating for it at today’s meeting. The big resistance I am getting is related to security. They think it will make our network ‘vulnerable’ to hypothetical, potential attack. Did your library folks express any comment on this front? Any input on how to move beyond this paranoia is helpful.
Lana said
I don’t remember hearing any worry about the vulnerability of our network because of chat. However, we don’t have our own IT people – so I’m not sure the resistance (if any) that was met with those who interact directly with the IT dept. We have a very strange relationship with IT…I can’t go into this now. I would say, the benefits far outweigh the risks. The usefulness of chat ref to patrons is incredible (once the librarians understand how all-pervasive this technology is, they might be inclined to agree). As it is, myself and one other fairly young librarian are the only ones who regularly use/know anything about chat culture, and that’s what seems to scare our library faculty the most. The unknown of how to interact via chat. To put them at ease, I believe we’ll have short sessions or meetings on chat etiquette, etc.
Susan C. said
Thanks for mentioning our blog policy, and our readers’ advisory blog in your comments. If you are the Jami I met at PLA in Boston last year and knows Beth Gallaway, she’s the one who got me started in blogging!
Congratulations on the job!