IL2007: DIY Intranet

Eleni Gogas and Donna Feddern, Escondido Public Library

Part I: how to set up an intranet using a wiki

previously used a shared network drive

Why a wiki instead of a 1.0 website?
- really want staff to participate
- informal
- easier to use and find info

Pre-Wiki
- Picking a wiki: what did they need?
- wysiwyg
- easy to set up, easy to learn, easy to teach

they went with Jotspot but there are issues since its acquisition by Google

wiki farm options

Wiki Setup
- screenshots of different pages
- implementors needed to really slow down to teach the novice users

Training now in process
- Showing off wiki to all staff, give tours
- Train supervisors
- Overcome technophobia in staff
- Let them play!

Future phase: implementation
- Define go-to folks
- Guidelines
- Keep reminding and training staff
- Ongoing process

Issues & Troubleshooting
- Bugs in free wiki software
- Backups
- Fear of change
- Staff interest

Cool tools to try
- Spice up the wiki a bit - widgets, slideshows, etc

Part II: Examples of how they're using it and the impacts of implementing a site-wide intranet