Staff who previously posted to LISt may notice some changes. We have changed the title to reflect the blog’s new, unified theme, added a tagline (recognize it?), included several informational pages at the top (in progress), and added a new set of categories in the left column. Once this new one-blog concept gets rolling, LISt will no longer be sent out via all-staff email, and LIS staff will be able to choose what and when to publish. LIS staff can subscribe to posts and comments (or simply check the blog regularly) to stay connected.

LIS blog authors are invited to move their content to the new LIS blog. Content that is added to the new blog will be easier for readers to find. By selecting tags and categories, we can easily direct information to the right audience and give internal and external users the ability to choose what content to follow.

Blog permissions have been adjusted, and all LIS staff can now write and publish on the LIS blog.
New to blogging? Please let us know if you would like some training or guidance in navigating the new LIS blog. We can arrange drop-in workshops, 1:1 tutorials, web tutorials, and work-group training on posting, commenting and subscribing – don’t hesitate to let us know! The new LIS blog is a work in progress, and has the potential to be a great communication tool – but we need the help and support of all LIS staff to make it a success.

We have listed below a few FAQ’s:

LIS Blog FAQ’s

• Q: Can everyone at Middlebury/in the world see the contents of the blog?
  • A: Yes! None of the content is private. Sensitive information, whether technical or administrative, would not be part of the blog.
• Q: Who can post on this blog?
  • A: All LIS staff members can post.
• Q: How will we prevent inappropriate posts?
  • A: There will be no gate-keeping, or pre-approval of posts. The blog will be part of the LIS work world. Staff can be expected to apply professionalism and good sense just as when they talk or e-mail at work.
• Q: What about information that is only of interest to some LIS staff?
  • A: Categories and tags will be used to divide up the posts into content areas, enabling readers to find the posts they might be interested in and in particular set up feeds so they can easily keep up-to-date.
• Q: What is the difference between a category and a tag, and how do I know when to use them?
  • A: Categories are pre-defined by the LIS Website team, and they reflect audience, functional LIS work areas, LIS teams, and Middlebury Institutions. If additional categories are needed, we can add them. Tags are an additional way to define post content. We may create an initial pool of tag terms when we transition to the LIS Blog, but in general, these are user-supplied.
• Q: What if I only care about reading posts with a specific tag or a specific category?
  • A: You can subscribe using RSS to receive posts for the specific tags and specific categories in which you’re interested.
    When subscribing to WordPress Categories and Feeds via Google Reader: Add /feed to the end of the category or tag URL
• Q: How many categories and tags should my posts have?
  • A: Each post will need at least one category. The default category is “★ The Essentials”, which categorizes the post as of interest to both LIS staff AND the larger community. You may use more than one category. Tags are optional but encouraged. You may use as many tags as you wish.

• Q: I’m a blog author.  How can I move my blog to this new space?
  • A: Contact Ian McBride.

Want help?

• If you’re in Enterprise Technology and Infrastructure, get in touch with Liz Whitaker-Frietas.
• If you’re in Collection Management, get in touch with Jess Isler.
• If you’re in User Services, get in touch with Elin Waagen.
• If you’re in Academic Consulting Services, get in touch with Carrie Macfarlane.

We welcome your thoughts and questions – feel free to comment on this post.

The LIS Web team,
Ian, Jim, Liz, Jess, Carrie, Doreen, Barbara and Elin

External Audience - term used TBD by vote by Fri 9/18 at 5 pm

Areas and Workgroups - use name of area as the category and use functions of the work area as tags (audience is mostly internal)

* Academic Consulting Services – research support, instruction, liaison
* Collection Management – aquire, catalog, preserve, maintain resources
* Enterprise Technology & Infrastructure – programming, systems, reporting, network
* LIS Administration – budget, planing, policy, assessment, strategy
* User Services – technology help and support, borrowing and lending, computing support, computing labs, media and event support

Institutions
* Middlebury
* MIIS
* Language Schools
* Schools Abroad
* Bread Loaf School of English
* Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
* MMLA

Teams
* Area Directors
* Curricular Technology
* Digitization
* LIS Website