09 Aug 17 ALA Connect “Gray-Out” begins tomorrow

Be advised that tomorrow is the last day that users will have access to ALA Connect, before the scheduled Gray Out.

At the end of business on August 10th, user logins to connect.ala.org will be blocked, as we transition into the New ALA Connect which is scheduled to launch on August 31, 2017.

14 Jul 17 Information on the New ALA Connect

The ALA is always looking for ways to enhance your experience as a member and active participant. Our commitment is to provide you with tools that enhance communication, education and the ability to continue to build your online community of like-minded professionals.

As you may already know, ALA Connect is our online space where official ALA groups work together. It’s also ALA’s online community platform where users (aka communities of interest) within the library profession can connect, learn, express and engage on a variety of topics.

Coming Soon – NEW ALA Connect

The NEW ALA Connect platform is being upgraded to a new and more flexible system that will be powered by Higher Logic. Please be aware that not all the features shown will be available upon initial release but may be offered in future upgrades.

A great new feature is that Divisions and Round Tables will now have their own branded space to communicate, search and collaborate. Some of the other new features will include: a more stable platform, a more uniform system that will be easier for us to maintain, and additions such as badging and ribbons.

What’s Happening and When?

In order to maintain the integrity of your information within our current system and transfer it to the new system, we will have to prevent new information input for a period of time, which we will refer to as a “Gray-Out” period.

Here is a current timetable of the system upgrade:

• Effective EOB Thursday, August 10th, the current Connect will be locked out for logins for all users. This will help us to prevent new posts while we move the data from the current system into the NEW ALA Connect.
• Only public content will be able to be viewed during this time and users will not be able to make any edits or new posts to the system.
• This “Gray-Out” period will be in effect until the upgrade is complete and the new site is launched, planned for August 31, 2017.

Communications and Training
Starting next week and throughout the “Gray-Out” period, expect weekly updates and reminders that will include links to video shorts of new features as well as quick how-to’s of common tasks in the new system.  We will also be sending emails with the same tips and a link to the corresponding video.
These will include information on the new and improved functionality, features that will be going away, and a sneak peek of what’s coming in future phases of the NEW ALA Connect implementation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Pam Akins at pakins@ala.org.

16 Jun 17 Discussion Document for Building the Next 5 Year Plan for ALA Technology

The Discussion Document for Building the Next 5 Year Plan for ALA Technology is not intended to be comprehensive.  It does not address the future for some units, including Publishing, Conference Services, Human Resources, or the Election system.

_____________________________________________________

Sherri Vanyek

Director, Information Technology & Telecommunication Services

American Library Association

30 May 17 Information Technology & Telecommunication Services (ITTS) Update

1.0 ALA Web-Related

1.1 eCommerce for Join/Renew/Rejoin/Donate

Since January 1, 2017, the system has processed 10,350 dues and 721 donations. We have received several compliments on the new system. The Development Office reports that ALA has seen increased donations in response to their efforts, which are supported by the ease of use of the new system. In general, people seem to really like it. We are continuing to plan for refinements and extensions.

1.2 New eStore and eLearning Ecommerce System

Re-integration with ALA Publishing’s fulfillment vendor having been completed, ITTS has been working with our implementation vendor on building a new eStore as quickly as possible. Designs and development are nearing their milestones for completion. Key integrations with fulfillment vendors, Publishing’s eLearning providers, and ALA systems are currently being finalized. Testing, content migration and training will follow once we have achieved sufficient progress with development.

The ALA-wide eLearning portion of the project will be accomplished as phases 2 and 3 of the eStore project—resulting in an integrated store that includes all eLearning events and products, with division offerings displayed both in their own exclusive areas and integrated into topical offerings.

1.3 Responsive Theme for ALA.ORG and Division Websites

We upgraded the servers and are now working on site migrations for the streamlined ALA information architecture. Staff are filling out the 2017 Redesign Form to get queued up to have their sites rethemed. We hope to have several rethemed sites ready by the time Annual rolls around.

1.4 Search Engine

We are close to launching the responsive design. As part of the retheming, we will change out the search box on each site to use the Google Search Appliance. The GSA will provide federated search results, when applicable.

1.5 New Generation ALA Connect

We are thrilled to announce that we have arrived at the testing phase the new ALA Connect.  Stakeholders and members of the Website Advisory Committee (WAC) have been sent a Test Plan. The plan includes credentials, instructions and access to a Bug Tracker to assist us. We are working on the setup of Division and Round table branding. The ALA Executive Board is also going to test the system prior to launch.

The new site includes 2-click navigation to any Division or Round table space in Connect, as well as a robust profile that allows users to update their address and demographic fields in iMIS. Demographics such as Interests, Type of Library and Ethnicity are a few fields now available to help members find common interests. Email notifications will be automatically turned on for all committee and community members, who can easily manage opt-outs, privacy and email frequency.

Upon launch, we plan to reward users who add a photo and complete at least 80% of their profile within the first 30 days’ post launch a chance to win BIG.  Details on this promotion will be forth coming.

When we are ready to launch, the current site will be locked down for two weeks to migrate content from the old ALA Connect to the new ALA Connect.  Training plans include over thirty (30) opportunities for LIVE training for staff and members (remote and in-person) as well as step-by-step training videos available to all users upon launch.  More details about the features, best practices and training schedules will be posted on ALA Connect and sent out soon.

1.6 Moodle

In Fall 2016, we upgraded the Moodle software to 3.0 and then combined our two Moodle courseware sites as recommended in the IT Review Report. The site is being used by ALA Publishing, the divisions and other units. 323 synchronous and asynchronous courses are currently listed and available to be offered or sold by ALA Online Learning or in the ALA Store.

1.7 Accessibility Testing Protocols

ITTS worked with a select group of members organized by Mike Marlin to accessibility test Blackboard Collaborate Ultra at the participant and moderator levels for members who use visual and/or auditory assistive devices. Because screen reader users had some trouble figuring out the interface, ITTS is asking Blackboard to help us schedule a test session just for screen reader users. On the whole, participants did think that it has potential for being ALA’s enterprise level, accessible meeting platform. More to come.

1.8 Shibboleth

ITTS is working to install Shibboleth single sign-on software for Digitell and eShow for AASL’s online recordings and National Conference registration systems, respectively.

1.9 Sympa List Serve

As part of our email migration, we changed our outbound mail routing for Sympa. Our minimum of 5,000,0000 messages per month limited our choices.  We selected MailChannels as a relay host. We’re working with them to refine their spam detection configuration to better suit our requirements.

2.0 Hardware & Software

2.1 New Telephone System

The implementation of the new telephone system was moved to the next fiscal year, which starts in September. The installation is planned for the fall of 2017.

2.2 Filr and File Migration

FILR was upgraded and rolled out for staff access to our internal file shares. Over the Memorial Day weekend, we moved network files to a new server with upgraded infrastructure and space for expansion.

2.3 Citrix

We are replacing our Citrix farm with the current version. This will improve external access to some of our applications and stabilize our internal financial system.

3.0 ITTS Organizational Changes

3.1 Staffing

I’m pleased to announce that Brian Willard, MBA, CAE has joined the ALA ITTS team in the position of Senior Business Intelligence Analyst/Project Manager in February 2017.  He reports to ITTS and ALA Marketing.

Brian will help us improve our business intelligence by interpreting data using a variety of techniques, ranging from simple data aggregation via statistical analysis to complex data mining. Brian will be responsible for equipping staff with information that will allow them to implement more strategic and targeted business strategies and outreach, increasing response rates and revenue while also delivering a more effective member experience.  He will work directly with staff to identify analytical requirements. He has knowledge of commonly-used concepts, practices, and procedures within the data marketing field. He will assist staff with data extraction projects from the membership database and present data in a usable format that meets their requirements.  He brings many years of experience managing IT projects; we plan also to use these skills and expertise to help manage ITTS projects and Division data mining projects.

We continue to have four ITTS staff members taking intermittent family leave for various reasons. Some of our timelines may have to be adjusted going forward.

3.2 New Proposed IT Advisory Committee Composition Recommendation to the Committee on Organization (COO)

We (the ALA Website Advisory Committee-WAC) met and discussed the comments on committee composition of the new IT Advisory Committee received from the ALA Committee on Organization (COO) for the proposed metamorphosis of WAC into the new IT Advisory committee. COO asked that the WAC consider altering the composition of the new committee to streamline or limit membership. WAC came to the conclusion that the composition of the committee is representative of the various parts of the association. WAC recommends keeping the composition the same. WAC will meet with COO at the Annual conference to justify this recommendation and obtain approval to move forward with the title change, charge change, and composition.

02 Mar 17 New ALA Connect Project Update

ITTS is posting this update on behalf of the ALA ITTS Advisory Group.

1.    Project Summary

ALA Connect is an online community where members, staff, and supporters of ALA gather virtually to do the work of the Association, collaborate in communities of practice and other groups, find cooperative and innovative colleagues, discuss library-related topics and issues, share ideas, and discover other ways to engage and participate.

What follows is an update on the forthcoming upgrade to ALA Connect, designed above all to support ALA members through a user-friendly platform that meets their needs, providing easy paths to share input, learn, and engage with ALA and its divisions, offices, and other units in multiple ways.

The new ALA Connect system is on track for a summer 2017 rollout. Three different vendors making a concerted effort with us to implement 33 different microsites with over 2,500 groups/communities, as well as to train users so the user experience is the best and most useful it can be.

2.    Where we are

Below is a list of high-level project milestones highlighting the work accomplished so far in coordination with the three vendors:

1. Higher Logic (host of the new ALA Connect site)
2. eConverse Social Media (designer of the interface for the new ALA Connect)
3. Urban Insight (host of the current Connect site in Drupal)

Project Milestones

3.    Launching the new ALA Connect

As the proposed launch date would have been too close to the ALA Annual Conference, a soft launch is planned for late July/early August. The full implementation is scheduled for September 2017. This will allow time to develop and communicate best practices for working with all groups in the new system. It will also allow time for ALA staff to conduct thorough training for all users during the summer months. The Connect URL (connect.ala.org) and user credentials will remain the same in the new version of Connect. Since it is not possible to have both systems running at the same time, the old system will not be available once the soft launch begins.

4.    Training Plan to support all users

We are investigating the possibility of creating a sandbox copy to use for training during the final migration, in which case we will offer 90-minute in-person and remote training sessions at multiple times and dates to accommodate different time zones. Recorded sessions and learning videos will also be available. We are planning sessions by user role, but also seek user feedback on tasks that are critical, so we can include them in the training.

Training by Roles

• ALA Connect for Members and logged-in users
• ALA Connect for ALA Staff
• ALA Connect for Community Admin
• ALA Connect for Testers/Early-Adopters
• Others as identified

Best Practices

• Contribute to/Start a discussion
• Add files to a Library
• Find your groups; Explore navigation; Understand “nesting”
• Understand/Review best practices for handling Private groups/public posts
• Understand best practice on how to post governance documents

03 Jan 17 Information Technology & Telecommunication Services (ITTS) Update

1.0 ALA Web-Related

1.1 eCommerce for Join/Renew/Rejoin/Donate
Approximately 900 members have renewed through the new system.  There have also been around 251 donations. We had a few glitches which have required some fixes and data cleanups.  We have modified all the menu links on the ALA website to point to the new dues & donations eCommerce system.  Menu links on division sites (e.g., Join PLA) are now smart links that add the division into the cart for the user.

1.2 New eStore and eLearning Ecommerce System
ALA Publishing decided to accelerate the move from our current fulfillment vendor to another vendor to provide better customer service.  This required some store re-programming of the current store integration for the new vendor.  The new vendor took over on December 12, 2016.  This project became a priority for ITTS to assist Publishing with the integration work.

The eLearning ecommerce project has been moving forward but due to the lack of vendor support for the current online store the new online store project took priority.  We are now looking at launching an integrated store that includes both sites at approximately the same time in 2017.

1.3 Responsive Theme for ALA.ORG and Division Websites
We had to upgrade the infrastructure to the latest technology to be able to rollout the theming on the new sites.  We would like to rollout the new infrastructure to support the rollout of the new theme prior to Midwinter if possible. As Midwinter is fast approaching, we suspect this upgrade will occur afterward.

1.4 Search Engine
We have indexed most of the sites on the new Google Search Appliance (GSA), but we must launch the responsive design prior to the GSA rollout to avoid doing the search engine integration work twice.

1.5 New Generation ALA Connect
We have encountered unanticipated challenges with the new ALA Connect project implementation.  We will post a revised timeline after the Midwinter meeting.  When we are ready to launch, the current site will be locked down for two weeks to migrate content from the old ALA Connect to the new ALA Connect.  There will be training videos available to members.  More details about the features and the schedules can be found at http://connect.ala.org/node/257398 in ALA Connect.

1.6 Moodle
This fall we upgraded the Moodle software to 3.0 and then combined our two Moodle courseware sites. Most of the courses have been migrated to the new site.  The site is being used by ALA Publishing, the divisions and other units.

1.7 Accessibility Testing Protocols
ITTS will be evaluating Blackboard Collaborate Ultra in January 2017 to see if it meets our accessibility standards.

1.8 Shibboleth
ITTS is working to install Shibboleth single sign-on software for Digitell and eShow for AASL’s online recordings and National Conference registration systems, respectively.

1.9 Sympa
As part of our email migration, we changed our outbound mail routing for Sympa.  Our monthly minimum of 5,000,0000 messages per month limited our choices.  We selected MailChannels as a relay host. There have been challenges.  Most are caused by a flaw in the MailChannels spam detection system.  They fail to detect a subject on messages, even though all Sympa messages have a subject.  Since they don’t detect a subject, the mail is bounced as spam. A large list (some of ours are over 6,000 subscribers) generates enough false positives that our account is flagged as sending spam, which results in a temporary ban on all email.  After providing detailed log reports to MailChannels, they have confirmed that they are investigating the bug. In the meantime, they have disabled this rule for our account. We have seen a vast improvement in mail delivery since this rule was disabled.  They are still actively investigating the issue.

2.0 Hardware & Software

2.1 Office 365
In early September, we successfully moved our email from our hosted provider to Microsoft to prepare a move to Office 365.  Office 2016 was successfully installed on 350 staff PCs.  The installation was completed on December 8, 2016. We are investigating our next Office 365 steps.

2.2 New Telephone System
ITTS has been meeting with our telecommunications consultant and various vendors to put a RFP together for a new telephone system.

2.3 Filr
We are upgrading staff access to our internal file shares.

2.4 Citrix
We are replacing our Citrix farm with the current version. This will improve external access to some of our applications and stabilize our internal financial system.

3.0 ITTS Organizational Changes

3.1 Staffing

Our new eStore System Project Manager, Steven Pate started December 5th. He is managing the implementation of the new online store, which will include online learning.  We are also searching for a data/business analyst to work with the divisions on member engagement.  We currently have four ITTS staff members taking intermittent family leave for various reasons.  Some of our timelines may have to be adjusted going forward.

3.2 New Proposed Website Advisory Committee (WAC) Title and Charge Change
The ALA Website Advisory Committee recommends that the charge of the committee be expanded to include all ALA technology services and products, whether used by ALA members, staff, or the public.  They recommend the title be changed to the ALA Information Technology Advisory Committee. Ron Block, Chair of the ALA Website Advisory Committee, and Sherri Vanyek, Director ITTS, will meet with the Committee on Organization (COO) at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Atlanta for approval.

Sherri Vanyek, Director ITTS

28 Sep 16 Maintenance Friday, September 30 – Full internal/external server shutdown

To prepare for another later maintenance task, we must shutdown our Chicago data center.  We plan to do so this Friday, September 30, at 6:00 pm.  It’s a full shutdown, including all internal and external facing servers.  Since there are 180 servers in scope, we won’t enumerate every service.  If you’re in the building, there’s a good likelihood that you’ll have external internet access.

16 Jun 16 Information Technology & Telecommunication Services (ITTS) Update

1.0 ALA Web-Related

1.1 Ecommerce for Join/Renew/Rejoin/Donate

ITTS’ most significant project this year is the development and launching of a new dues and donations ecommerce system.  The system will make the join, renew, rejoin, and donation processes more straightforward for members. Members of the Executive Board, the Website Advisory Committee and ALA staff assisted with user acceptance testing so that we could compile a final list of bugs and requests for interface changes to better support the user experience. Our vendor is close to completing that work so we will be scheduling what we expect to be a final round of testing later this month. If all goes well, we expect to launch in July. ITTS staffers Sherri Vanyek, Tim Smith, Mitch Stein, Stan Kessler and Louise Gruenberg have been dedicating significant time to this project.

1.2 New Estore System

Due to support issues for the existing ALA Publishing estore, this project was moved up from fiscal 2017 so that work could begin this year. The store requirements document developed during three days of discovery sessions with ALA Publishing and ITTS runs to 34 pages. To expedite getting the new store ready, ITTS will begin exploring the possibility of a minimum-viable-product launch with ALA Publishing.

Because work began on the Dues & Donations project and eLearning Portal preceded the store, we are attempting to leverage all appropriate development and integrate whatever we can for a more seamless user experience. Shifting resources to this important project has impacted others, but we expect the new store to launch during calendar year 2017.

1.3 New Ecommerce eLearning Portal

ITTS has had to devote considerable resources to determining the functionalities of the event based web services available for iMIS so that progress on the eLearning portal, the one stop shop for online and small in-person event registrations, could proceed. We’ve been reviewing current ALA systems and processes so that the new site will streamline the user experience and reduce the effort required to create events, process and service registrations. We expect the portal will launch during fiscal 2016 or early 2017.

1.4 New Responsive Design for ALA.org

ITTS is working on the implementation of a responsive redesign for the main ALA website. The new development server required has been created and our vendor has successfully shifted the database onto it and begun planning and/or making updates to things like the version of PHP and code-repository software used.

Once we have a prototype of the ALA.org homepage with the new theme to share, ITTS will be scheduling sessions with division and other stakeholders to share a proposed timeline and discuss the resources required to apply the redesign to each microsite.  The current timeline for ALA.org calls for the homepage redesign and theme changes to occur early in fiscal 2017, with rolling changes to all other microsites happening thereafter, as fast as ITTS and their units can prepare them.

1.5 Search Engine for ALA.org

As reported in the Midwinter ITTS report to WAC, most of ALA.org is now using Google Custom Search to provide search results. However, we have been at work on the configuration of a Google Search Appliance. Testing of the search results for the specialized groupings and microsites has just begun. When results are satisfactory, the current ALA.org search boxes will be changed to point to the search engine.

To improve metadata collection on ALA.org, we have revised all relevant content management system templates to require the addition of metadata. Although not yet implemented on the live site, we’re testing the Drupal Metatag module on our QA site. The Metatag module can be configured with tokens to auto-fill various metadata fields across a number of standards, including Open Graph, Dublin Core and various social media fields. When the Metatag module is implemented on production, ITTS will schedule lunch and learn sessions for staff.

1.6 Next Generation ALA Connect

The following progress is being made on the installation of the New ALA Connect:

1. Model Site
   We have a model site of the new Connect that can nest the Divisions, Round Tables and APA.  Although we suffered a setback waiting for needed changes that Higher Logic applied to their base code (for other clients, not just us) in late April 2016, we have begun initial testing of these capabilities in the new software.

2. iMIS Sync
   With much effort and communication between ITTS and Higher Logic, we now have evidence of a working data sync between the ALA iMIS database and the new Connect test site. The iMIS data was initially synced over Memorial Day weekend.

What does this mean?

1. The team is working to confirm that the database connections accurately display changes made to the iMIS data in the new Connect test site.
2. Now that we can see ALA’s iMIS data in the test site, we can resolve issues and confirm everything is working properly.
3. The sync reveals the need to add iMIS fields for data that was either stored in Drupal, (i.e. profile data) or wasn’t previously captured.
4. As expected, the sync is revealing the need for data cleanup, in iMIS for consistency and usability.

3. Drupal Import
   In addition to data stored in iMIS, the current ALA Connect has content and profile data in Drupal. The planned one-time import from Drupal will need to be timed carefully with the launch.  The team is working with Urban Insight (our Drupal consultant for ALA Connect) on a plan for this migration of data.
4. RFP for Design
   Now that we can see what the microsites look like and how the various features work on them, we need an effective design that  allows users to easily flow between the divisions, ALA Offices, Round Tables, and APA.  The RFP for a consultant to design a usable and efficient interface is in its final stage and will be released in June 2016 to four select vendors with Higher Logic experience..  In the meantime, the team has partnered with ALA Production Services for theming for microsite branding to be deployed across the microsites so members know which site within they are on once they arrive on the new Connect site.
5. Modified Launch Date
   The team hopes to be able to launch the New Connect in late fall 2016, FY 2017.

1.7 Accessibility Testing Protocols

ITTS continues to test the conference registration, program and recording sites for accessibility compliance before site launches. When sites are not in compliance, we work with unit staff and vendors to arrange for mitigation. Because it’s impossible to test with every possible platform, we appreciate receiving feedback about any accessibility issues that members or others experience, and always pass that information along to our vendors.

1.8 Shibboleth

ITTS will be working to install Shibboleth on all the new ecommerce sites before they launch.

1.9 Sympa

The implementation of Office 365 is underway and we’re looking at solutions for routing Sympa outbound email.

2.0 Hardware & Software

2.1 Office 365

ITTS is working on the implementation of Office 365, which provides staff with the ability to access and share files remotely.  The project will be divided into two phases.  The email migration and outbound routing of Sympa list server email will be the first phase and the installation of Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) will be installed in the second phase.  The first phase is scheduled to rollout this summer.

2.2 New Blade Servers

We purchased three new blade servers for our internal and external network to retire older blade servers that were about to go unsupported.  These new blade servers are faster and more efficient and will help support our new ecommerce systems and ala.org.

3.0 ITTS Organizational Changes

Julianna Kloeppel joined the ITTS team as our new elearning specialist in January 2016.  She trains staff on new and existing technologies used by ALA staff and members. Julianna  provided eight years of great customer service to members and staff of ALA’s Public Library Association. For PLA, Julianna worked on the awards program, committee appointments, coordination of financials, board and committee coordination, conference meeting scheduling and much more. She is sharing her expertise with iMIS, SharePoint and other ALA software and applications with all of ALA’s staff and member-leaders.

4.0 ALA Strategic Technology Directions Report

ITTS continues to work on priority projects outlined in the ALA Strategic Technology Directions Update: 2016-2017 report and a majority of the items outlined in the External IT Review Report.

Please let me know if you have questions about any of these items.

Sherri Vanyek
Director, Information Technology & Telecommunication Services
American Library Association
Phone: (800) 545-2433 x2437
Direct:  (312) 280-2437
Email: svanyek@ala.org
www.ala.org

13 Jun 16 ALA External IT Review Report

In late fall 2015, ALA Management contracted with two individuals to work together on an external review of ALA’s Office of Information and Telecommunication Services (ITTS) systems: Brian Schottlaender, University Librarian, University of California-San Diego, and Margo Pecoulas, Director of IT, American Academy of Periodontology. Together, they brought both knowledge of the association IT environment, including specific product knowledge, and deep knowledge of ALA – its structure, values and culture.  The ALA ITTS office has posted the External IT Review Report delivered in April of 2016 along with the ALA management response for Fiscal 2017.