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20 Apr 10 ITTS News Meeting – April 20, 2010

1. New Content Management System Selection Process (Louise)

The Web Editorial Board (WEB) has determined that our new content management system should allow for interactive options, such as widgets, sharing, posting, and so on. This will require a database-driven CMS that delivers dynamic content. We also want to offer flexible design options in a way that reinforces ALA branding and supports usability and accessibility. The timeline for the vendor decision has been set for June 1, with work to begin on September 1. WEB is creating sub-groups to assist with the discussions that will be required to prepare for the new site design and migration.

  • Communication & Education Task Force
  • Marketing, Branding & Design Task Force
  • Social Media & Interaction Task Force

Staff members interested in serving should discuss it with their unit manager and have him or her notify the conveners of WEB (Karen Muller, Jenny Levine, Louise Gruenberg). We may also need a fourth group to look into digital asset management and archiving issues; there is a 2010 project request under consideration.

With five months between now and the earliest work can begin, units are encouraged to review and weed their collections, archiving material that is no longer current but that should be kept for reference.

We also briefly discussed the advantages of a rolling migration/conversion versus an all-at-once, seemingly overnight changeover.

2. Standard Maintenance Window for Servers (Sherri)

We need a standard maintenance window for our 50 servers.  We plan to do maintenance on them every Wednesday from 5:00pm until 9:00pm.  This means that we will have interruptions of service during this time depending on the applications running on the servers.  We will post notifications.  It won’t be every server every week. We plan to begin server maintenance on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010.

3. ALA Connect Pilot Project (Sherri for Jenny)

We have found another software package that contains features (like an expanded search, expanded profiles to collect more interests, advocacy tools, better file repository, and historical CVs) we don’t currently have in ALA Connect.  We have decided to do a pilot project with NFi Studios to see if their package meets our needs.  Jenny is planning to give a more detailed communication on this topic on the ITTS news blog.

4. Status of New Desktops, Laptops, Netbooks (Sherri)

We replace 1/3 of our equipment every year. We ordered new desktops to replace PCs that were leased three years ago.  We are waiting to hear from unit managers regarding the number of laptops and netbooks to order. If a netbook is ordered, you must have a desktop to run applications that will not run on the netbook.

Why Lease? First, leasing forces us to change our technology infrastructure every three years. Second, laptops typically begin to fail in the third year, especially when they are used a lot.  Third, the ongoing fattening of application software usually requires more powerful hardware over time.

5. Early May launch of the New Online Learning section of the ALA Website (Louise)

We showed everyone the staging version of Online Learning, the new section of the website that will debut on or about May 3, 2010.

6. The next ITTS News meeting will be on Tuesday, May 25 . See you then.

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