From the SelectedWorks of Shannon M. Staley
October 24, 2008
Sharepoint for Libraries: Streamlining Your
Intranet Management
Shannon M. Staley, San Jose State University
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/shannon_staley/6/

Streamlining Your Intranet Management
Sarah Houghton-Jan
Digital Futures Manager, San Jose Public Library
Shannon Staley
Digital Technology Librarian, San Jose State University Library

What is SharePoint?
A robust content management system from
MicroSoft offering not only decentralized editing but: z shared workspaces and document versioning z wikis and blogs z calendaring z
RSS & email updates z
& lots more – all in one software package

SharePoint has Multiple Personalities z
Windows SharePoint Services (WSS)
− free add-on to Windows Server. Offers most SP features with some workflow limitations.
z
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server [standard or enterprise] (MOSS)
− high-end portal, complete features.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/FX101758691033.aspx

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

Key SharePoint Benefits for Libraries z
Integrate Web 2.0 into your site with one software service (more consistency, less training) z
Facilitate collaboration z
Increase communication z
Integrate with Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) z
Reduce email attachment glut z
Remove “webmaster” bottlenecks z
Return power over content to content owners

Why SharePoint for the joint San Jose
Public and State University Library?
z
Because of the two organizations, communication was difficult z
Management wanted to increase institutional communication and collaboration z
Various web 2.0 services were everywhere
(each with their own interface and support needs) z
Intranet updates took time and taxed the Web
Team

Designing Our Library's
SharePoint presence z
Involving IT, Web Team and organizational input z
Piloting several small sites z
Evaluating the experience z
Integrating pilot sites into “new” permanent sites referenced from the intranet to ensure one port of entry z
Utilizing information architecture of the intranet to avoid disparate sites with no organization z
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: z
Needs to be updated frequently z
Requires group collaboration z
Other specialized information sharing

Accessing SharePoint z
Windows Account database z
Users can access sites through their own
Windows login information (seamless from their own computers, manual login elsewhere) z
No need to create a new database of users or new usernames and passwords!
Home access requires different URLs

Managing Documents

Meeting Workspaces

Announcements

Calendars

Blogs

Wikis

Discussions

Notifications z
Users can sign up for alerts via RSS or Email z
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 z
Surveys z
Task Lists z
Document Versioning z
Document Workflows z
Links z
Issue Tracking z
Photo Libraries

How easy is it to post information?

How easy is it to manage?

Committee Pages

Branch Pages

Dispersed Management z
IT manages the server z
Web Team can assist in site set-up and provides ongoing support z
Each site needs a site owner (site owners are the first stop for support) z
Everyone else is a site contributor

Training Options z
Video training modules z
Cheat Sheets for site owners and contributors z
A list of features z
Point to the online resources from others z
In-person classes on demand

Launching SharePoint z
Address the institutional change of turning over content ownership/editing z
Provide sample sites for viewing z
Offer training materials well in advance z
Ensure that there will be no access problems z
Be available for questions z
Try to keep the enthusiasm going

Some Compatability Problems z
Requires IE use (problems occur in other browsers like Firefox or Safari) z
Requires IE settings updates on some PCs.
z
Not friendly for mobile-device access z
For non-Outlook users, the integration features are useless

Our Favorite Things about SharePoint z
Provides an all-in-one package of features z
On-demand, instant editing z
Cuts down on email attachments z
Reduces multiple document version problems z
Reduces Web Team workload in the long run z
Content Editor web part saves the day

What We Don't Like About SharePoint z
Very complicated on the back-end z
Product navigation not intuitive for all levels of users z
RSS problems with web-based readers z
Alerts have to be done one-by-one z
Alerts are non-specific z
Very hard to move/transfer sites once created

Lessons Learned z
Beta never ends z
Integrate SharePoint into your existing
Intranet z
Budget plenty of time for IT & Web Team z
Start with one site that all can relate to and champion the concept

Unsure if this is for you?

Recommended Resources z
Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog z
CodePlex Project Directory (includes many
SharePoint resources including training) z
SharePoint Community Portal z
SharePoint Services TechNet z
WSS Demo Public SharePoint Websites z
SharePointKB.org
z
SharePoint BUZZ

Sarah Houghton-Jan sarah.houghton-jan@sjlibrary.org
Shannon Staley shannon.staley@sjsu.edu