Issues and Considerations in Building an Intranet Intranets and Internal Library Communications Triangle Research Libraries Network May 3, 2006

Overview UNC Health Sciences Library Context Content Access Infrastructure Information Architecture Adoption

HSL Data Structure File server Files organized by department and groups Standard and department- specific subdirectories Multiple PC file formats

Identified Information Access Issues Staff often cannot find documents or find them easily Multiple document versions; most current document is not always clear Staff sometimes cannot access documents (permissions)

HSL Baseline Intranet pages

HSL’s Process Intranet Planning Task Force Initial Purpose: To enable (HSL) staff to find the most current and most frequently needed forms, documents, policies, procedures, reports and other documents in an easy and timely manner. Needs Assessment (SILS project)

Content Scope – Decision: start with most used admin and statistical data File formats Decision: leverage native formats Creation and maintenance Staff roles Procedures and workflows Communication, collaboration and other tools e.g. Blogs, Wikis, RSS, chat Decision: yes, details to be determined

Access Eligibility Authorization/authentication Levels of access/restriction Access protocols e.g. http(s), (s)ftp, vpn Security

Infrastructure Servers File/print, Web, database, CMS Content management and constituent applications Plone/Zope/Python ColdFusion/Contribute Wiki HTML templates

Information Architecture Organizational facets e.g. departments, tasks, other Linking between independently developed content

Adoption How / Does Intranet become first stop for internal information? Involve staff in planning & development Make it irresistable Incorporate into staff/library workflows Keep it current and relevant

Next … Intranet Examples Duke – David Chandek-Stark NCSU – May Chang, Angie Ballard UNC-Chapel Hill Academic Affairs Library – Debra Hanken-Kurtz

Questions? Contact information Barrie E. Hayes Head, Application Development Services Health Sciences Library UNC-Chapel Hill