14 May 07 ITTS Update Meeting – May 14, 2007

Notes from the first ITTS Update meeting for staff:

1. Enhancements to current services
   * Equipment roll-out
   – 60 new laptops are being deployed starting this week
   – 115 desktops will begin to be deployed after the laptops
   – have already installed 225 new monitors

   * We are moving to an Outlook/Exchange mail system hosted outside of ALA
   – hope to sign a contract soon with conversions starting in June, unit-by-unit over the summer
   – all email and archives will be converted into the new system
   * Installment payment option
   – minimum requirement of $120
   – will be available through MACS beginning next week
   – working to make it available to members via the website

2. Web planning

   * Website improvements
   – last summer ALA contracted with an outside firm to do a usability study
   – 1/3 of our members who responded to a survey are accessing our website at least once a week, but only 45% are satisfied with what they find
   – the usability study pointed to reasons for this, especially the information architecture of the site (confusing navigation, search results, incorrect information, long URLs, etc.)
   – planning a second “web cleanup,” similar to the first one we held a couple of weeks ago
   – it’s everyone’s job to work on this
   – need to think the way our users do, not organize content the way we think about it
   – website improvement needs to be a priority
   * the Web Editorial Board has been tasked by Keith Michael Fiels with improving the website

   – the group meets every Wednesday at 2pm CST
   – “Homepage 101” is in the Knowledge Management system
   * Collage implementation
   – is well underway
   – process is to convert your content and then go back-and-forth to tweak it until it’s ready to go live
   – right now, 11 different units around the building are in that “content limbo” stage of reviewing it to go live
   – expecting even more soon
   – need to expedite the process and ask that staff work on this as quickly as possible
   – hoping for a first pass of conversions by June 15, hope to be off Active Matter by the end of summer

   * Mailing list conversion
   – April 20 was the last day a message went out over ListProc
   – working on fixing the Sympa landing page right now to make it more usable
   * Next usability steps
   – using card sorting exercises to help prioritize terminology on our site
   – this should lead to new wireframes (mock-ups) for our website for Annual
   – consultant did an inventory of what appears on our home page
   – at Annual, we will have a couple of self-serve kiosks where people can look at the wireframes and submit feedback about it
   – also at Annual, the consultant (UserWorks) will randomly select about 50 people from previous surveys to interview them in more detail about the wireframes

   – this whole piece will probably take 8-12 months to finish up

3. New capabilities
   * Moodle
   – a free, open source courseware system
   – WebCT is expensive and is raising its fees
   – we’ve installed a testbed for staff to play with (contact Matt for the URL if you don’t remember seeing the previous email)
   – hoping for staff to play with for the next few weeks and give us feedback on what works
   * Dreamhost

   – this is a new hosting company we are using
   – the Moodle testbed is installed there
   – we will be migrating our blogs and wikis to this service once we work out the process for doing this; right now we are evaluating and testing the quality of the service
   – currently testing bulletin boards on this service since it doesn’t involve migrating an existing service
   – if we migrate the blogs, we will probably use WordPress instead of B2Evolution
   – question: will we have choices for the software we would use there? answer: not sure yet, but ITTS can only support so many options and it will depend on upgrade options
   – question: doesn’t WordPress have a limited number of templates and options? answer: all blogging packages

4. Assocation 2.0

   * Ning
   – this is a site where you can start your own social network for free
   – includes bulletin boards, personal blogs, members (although it’s not tied to iMIS)
   – we’ve started a sandbox to play in at http://alamembers.ning.com/ so feel free to join in and play there
   – there is also a popular Library 2.0 network on Ning at http://library20.ning.com/
   * Second Life
   – there is a lot of library activity going on in Second Life ( http://secondlife.com/ )

   – ALA has half of an island there; called the “ALA/Arts Island”
   – there is an internal users group of staff that is working to build up our presence in this virtual world
   – we’re also creating a mailing list for this group, so contact Jenny (jlevine@ala.org) to get on it
   * Flickr
   – there is a staff Flickr account at http://flickr.com/photos/alastaff; we are trying to show what is going on within ALA
   – you can see some screenshots of ALA staff in Second Life at http://flickr.com/photos/alastaff/sets/72157594552298586/

5. Training
   * Ongoing
   ** Collage
   – None of the knowledge from Active Matter is transferable to Collage, so be prepared to attend a class
   – Louise is periodically scheduling a 3-hour class to help get you started; 2 a month in person
   – also looking at advanced classes
   – even people who have had training have had trouble, but we can help walk you through it
   – there is a mailing list and wiki to help you ( http://wikis.ala.org/learningcollage/ )

   ** Wiki workshops
   – scheduling one a month right now, next one is May 31
   – good for before you start your wiki since it helps you structure it
   ** iMIS refreshers continue; check the KM system for training dates
   * Under development
   – Collage for managers so they know what can be done (not at the detail of “how-to” level
   – iMIS reports to help minimize errors
   * Upcoming
   ** Online Communities

   – still moving forward to
   ** Urchin
   – this is the software for website statistics
   – after the Collage migration, we will be preparing documentation for how to get your statistics about your part of the website
   – after Rob redesigns the website for Sympa, we will develop documentation about managing your mailing list
   – will have sessions when we convert to Outlook

6. Keeping up with developments
   – check our blog! http://blogs.ala.org/ittsupdate.php

   – Collage wiki is at http://wikis.ala.org/learningcollage/
   – Keep up with the web planning at the Web Planning wiki under “Current Activities” at http://wikis.ala.org/webplanning/index.php/Current_events
   – coming soon: a “best practices” wiki for when to use a blog versus a wiki, help with the software, etc.

7. Q&A
   question: any decisions about Camtasia?
   answer: we never intended to purchase it for everyone, but we will broker a bulk purchase, so let us know if you want to buy copies; the trial works for 30 days, so hope to submit the order within that timeframe

   question: can you tell us about the Office 2003 upgrade?
   answer: on the new laptops and desktops that we will be rolling out, you will get Office 2003. We currently have a problem on existing computers with installing this software because of the way that Office 2000 was installed. We are working through that issue and have a resolution in the next few weeks. We hope we won’t have to visit everyone’s computer to install it. When we have a resolution, we will roll it out to everyone automatically via ZenWorks. We do have plans to purchase Office 2007 in the next fiscal year. We will need training for Office 2007, as it is very different. You can get training on your own and we will roll it out ahead of time. Otherwise, Louise will offer training in the fall.

   question: what does the 2007 package include? especially for Outlook?
   answer: We will roll out Outlook 2007 ahead of time. The suite is the standard one, so probably whatever you have now. It does not integrate well with Adobe products according to published reports, so we need to get it installed for Louise so she can test it. We will examine it in regards to iMIS, too.

   question: timeline for laptops and desktops
   answer: they’ll be deployed before Annual

   question: timeline for Dreamhost hosting?

   answer: not sure yet. We’re still figuring out how to organize the space since we’ll be providing staff with more granular control over their areas (blogs, wikis, etc.).

   question: if we like Moodle, Dreamhost would be in charge of security?
   answer: not necessarily. We haven’t decided exactly where we’ll put the software, but we’ll certainly test security there. Shooting to be off WebCT by the end of November, which is when the current license expires.

8. Showed and discussed the “ALA Wheel of Confusion!”

The next ITTS Update meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, June 18, in the Carnegie Room. See you then!