WAC: Home > About WAC > Minutes > November 15, 2004

Web Advisory Committee Minutes, November 15, 2004

Attending: Beckett, Howser, Irwin, Jones, Lyons, Murdock, Spitzenberger, Wellvang
Absent: Alvarez
Minutes: Marie Irwin

Agenda:

1. Administrativa:
• Choose our next meeting time and decide whether Monday afternoons should be our regular meeting time.

ACTION:
Regular meetings will be scheduled for every other Monday at 3:00 beginning December 6th and will be held in the B29 meeting room. Minutes taking responsibilities will rotate through the group.



• Other administrative announcements:
• Our first quarterly report to LMT will be a written report and is due in November.
• A folder has been created and is located at Q:\MIS\Web Advisory Committee (WAC).
• Thanks for sending the lists of web authors.
  
  
2. Discussion/brainstorming: "What do you hope/want/envision for WAC and what it will accomplish?"
   
   
• DISCUSSION:
• • Articulate mission/vision for site that details the types of content and functionality that will be included
  • Communicate to staff that content management system will not allow for individual creativity in web content authoring.
  • We stress web skills in our professional jobs (and I suspect in our classified positions too), but the current procedures and ultimately the shift to the CMS will leave no room for original design. Where/how will staff get these essential skills needed for 21 st c.?
  • Address the issue of staff creating their own pages on staff pages when the content should be on the Libraries' official site.
  • Address staff's resentment towards the current way content is added to the site. Quote from Environmental Scan meeting on Friday when someone asked about Intranet and web pages, "DLS does it all. No one else can do any thing." While this was only one person, others probably feel the same way. How do we make them feel that the content they provide is the most important? How to reiterate that the web is a Libraries' project, facilitated by DLS.
  • Insure that we are liaison to the rest of the Library staff and that we keep them informed and involved in developing the site. Regular communication with staff in our own program areas and beyond.
  • Take charge of usability studies for web site.
  • Look into blogs, wikis, and/or user forums and make recommendations for incorporating online community features into UTALO.
  • Page developed for new students and possibly other specific user segments such as faculty and alumni. Define services for individual constituent groups.
  • Quick action from this group on things that are annoyances in the web site.
  • Put out the word about our purpose.
  • Define a broad timeline for addressing and completing tasks.
    

ACTION:


• Publicize the site index and other newer features that staff may not have discovered yet via an e-mail announcement
• Plan and coordinate a session (or multiple sessions) to gather feedback from staff on improvements to the Catalog and Research drop-down menus. Information collected at the session(s) will be used by WAC to make immediate improvements in these sections of UTALO. Aim toward holding the session(s) in mid-December or early January. Suzanne Beckett and Mary Jo Lyons will work on organizing this event. (Note: Gretchen Trkay replaced Mary Jo Lyons on WAC and assumed responsibility for working with Beckett on the event)