In winter 2009, Barnard College began the process of adopting Drupal 7 as its content management system. The move included Barnard Library's Zine Collection website, an information resource dedicated to the library's special collection of do-it-yourself (DIY) publications by women. Recently, as a Barnard Zine intern, the author had the challenging…

Numerous institutions of higher education have implemented a learning management system (LMS) or are considering doing so. This web-based software package provides self-service and quick (often personalized) access to content in a dynamic environment. Learning management systems support administrative, reporting, and documentation activities. LMSs…

Working as systems librarian for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), a project for the National Solar Observatory (NSO) based in Tucson, Arizona, a large part of the author's responsibilities involve running the web site. She began looking into content management systems (CMSs), specifically ones for website control. A CMS is generally…

Since launching its first website in 1997, the Arapahoe Library District (ALD) has constantly looked at ways to review and renew this vital tool for patrons. This article focuses on the process of redesigning the ALD website--the steps taken and decisions made in order to create a site that incorporates interactive elements and patron input and…

Darien Library, where the author serves as head of knowledge and learning services, launched a new website on September 1, 2008. The website is built with Drupal, an open source content management system (CMS). In this article, the author describes how she and her colleagues overhauled the library's website to provide an open source content…

This article discusses Research Blogging, a community-run nonprofit organization that is promoting a suite of blogging software to scholars. Research Blogging itself does two things. First, it extends an invitation to a community, and it is open to anyone. Second, it requires its users to follow guidelines. The combination of rigorous guidelines…

Oregon State University (OSU) libraries, where the author serves as lead programmer, have developed a tool to make it easier for librarians to build and maintain interactive course assignment pages (ICAPs) and subject research guides (SRGs). That tool, Library a la Carte, enables librarians with minimal technical expertise to create dynamic…

In this article, the author discusses a project they undertook to reshape the libraries' Web services of the University of Houston site. The site had been in a state of flux and it needed a new structure for both managing and organizing it. She realized the staff was looking for a Web site that was more "Web 2.0" in nature. Web 2.0 is often…

In this article, the author talks about an internal content management system that they have created at Calvin College. It is a hybrid of CMS and intranet that organizes Web site content and a variety of internal tools to help librarians complete their daily tasks. Hobbes is a Web-based tool that uses Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts written…