SharePoint for Libraries: Streamlining Your Intranet Management

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SharePoint for LibrariesStreamlining Your
Intranet Management

• Sarah Houghton-Jan
• Digital Futures Manager, San Jose Public Library
• Shannon Staley
• Digital Technology Librarian, San Jose State
  University Library

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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

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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.

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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

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Similar Products

• Alfresco
• Central Desktop
• Clearspace
• Invu
• O3spaces
• Oracle Collaboration Suite
• Nuxeo

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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

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Feature Comparison Chart
http//office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechno
logy/FX101758691033.aspx
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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

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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

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Our Joint Library Intranet
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By Clicking on an Intranet Link, Users Are Taken
to the SharePoint Site
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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

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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

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Key SharePoint Features
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Managing Documents
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Meeting Workspaces
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Announcements
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Calendars
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Blogs
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Wikis
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Discussions
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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.

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Other Features Available

• Surveys
• Task Lists
• Document Versioning
• Document Workflows
• Links
• Issue Tracking
• Photo Libraries

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How easy is it to post information?
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How easy is it to manage?
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Some of the Neat Uses of SharePoint at Our
Library So Far
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Committee Pages
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Branch Pages
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Unsure if this is for you?
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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

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Questions?

• Sarah Houghton-Jan
• sarah.houghton-jan_at_sjlibrary.org
• Shannon Staley
• shannon.staley_at_sjsu.edu