sharepoint for libraries: streamlining your intranet management sarah houghton-jan digital futures...
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SharePoint for Libraries:Streamlining Your Intranet Management
Sarah Houghton-JanDigital Futures Manager, San Jose Public Library
Shannon StaleyDigital Technology Librarian, San Jose State University Library
What is SharePoint?
A robust content management system from MicroSoft offering not only decentralized editing but:
shared workspaces and document versioning wikis and blogs calendaring RSS & email updates & lots more – all in one software package
SharePoint has Multiple Personalities
Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) free add-on to Windows Server. Offers most SP features
with some workflow limitations.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server [standard or enterprise] (MOSS) high-end portal, complete features.
What is the Market Reaction to It?
SharePoint is “a Swiss Army knife – best of breed solutions are available but they have a more limited range.”
- Bill Ives, FASTForward
Similar Products Alfresco Central Desktop Clearspace Invu O3spaces Oracle Collaboration Suite Nuxeo
Key SharePoint Benefits for Libraries
Integrate Web 2.0 into your site with one software service (more consistency, less training)
Facilitate collaboration Increase communication Integrate with Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) Reduce email attachment glut Remove “webmaster” bottlenecks Return power over content to content owners
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/FX101758691033.aspx
Feature Comparison Chart
Why SharePoint for the joint San Jose Public and State University Library?
Because of the two organizations, communication was difficult
Management wanted to increase institutional communication and collaboration
Various web 2.0 services were everywhere (each with their own interface and support needs)
Intranet updates took time and taxed the Web Team
Designing Our Library's SharePoint presence
Involving IT, Web Team and organizational input Piloting several small sites Evaluating the experience Integrating pilot sites into “new” permanent sites
referenced from the intranet to ensure one port of entry
Utilizing information architecture of the intranet to avoid disparate sites with no organization
Opening up site requests to the rest of the staff
Our Joint Library Intranet
By Clicking on an Intranet Link, Users Are Taken to the SharePoint Site
Not All Intranet Content Requires SharePoint for Content Management
We developed criteria for utilizing SharePoint through the intranet:
Needs to be updated frequently Requires group collaboration Other specialized information sharing
Accessing SharePoint
Windows Account database Users can access sites through their own
Windows login information (seamless from their own computers, manual login elsewhere)
No need to create a new database of users or new usernames and passwords!
Home access requires different URLs
Key SharePoint Features
Managing Documents
Meeting Workspaces
Announcements
Calendars
Blogs
Wikis
Discussions
Notifications
Users can sign up for alerts via RSS or Email Each section has to be separately signed up for
If on an authenticated site (e.g. Intranet), RSS feeds do not work in web-based feed readers.
Other Features Available
Surveys Task Lists Document Versioning Document Workflows Links Issue Tracking Photo Libraries
How easy is it to post information?
How easy is it to manage?
Some of the Neat Uses of SharePoint at Our
Library So Far
Committee Pages
Branch Pages
Dispersed Management
IT manages the server Web Team can assist in site set-up and
provides ongoing support Each site needs a site owner (site owners are
the first stop for support) Everyone else is a site contributor
Training Options
Video training modules Cheat Sheets for site owners and contributors A list of features Point to the online resources from others In-person classes on demand
Launching SharePoint
Address the institutional change of turning over content ownership/editing
Provide sample sites for viewing Offer training materials well in advance Ensure that there will be no access problems Be available for questions Try to keep the enthusiasm going
Some Compatability Problems
Requires IE use (problems occur in other browsers like Firefox or Safari)
Requires IE settings updates on some PCs.
Not friendly for mobile-device access
For non-Outlook users, the integration features are useless
Our Favorite Things about SharePoint
Provides an all-in-one package of features On-demand, instant editing Cuts down on email attachments Reduces multiple document version
problems Reduces Web Team workload in the long run Content Editor web part saves the day
What We Don't Like About SharePoint
Very complicated on the back-end Product navigation not intuitive for all levels
of users RSS problems with web-based readers Alerts have to be done one-by-one Alerts are non-specific Very hard to move/transfer sites once created
Lessons Learned
Beta never ends Integrate SharePoint into your existing
Intranet Budget plenty of time for IT & Web Team Start with one site that all can relate to and
champion the concept
Unsure if this is for you?
Recommended Resources
Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog CodePlex Project Directory (includes many
SharePoint resources including training) SharePoint Community Portal SharePoint Services TechNet WSS Demo Public SharePoint Websites SharePointKB.org SharePoint BUZZ
