Announcments
Get It!
Reference Blog

1. Jim Morris-Knower welcomed attendees, introduced members of the Reference and Outreach Committee, and introduced the Forum agenda: Kerberos Authentication and the Ask a Librarian Blog.

2. General questions and announcements were taken.  Question:  Can we get a single sign-on for the Reference wikis?  Baseema K. indicated that the wikis will be moving to CIT servers and thus will be accessed by a NetID sign-on.  As well, wiki access can be limited to particular NetIDs.  This seemed like a reasonable solution.  Michael Engle announced that there is a DRC sub-committee looking at all of the categories used for the Find it! Databases page.  Refining the categories to make them more meaningful and useful is the goal.  Michael will take suggestions via e-mail, moe1.   

3. Jesse Koennecke then presented the new Kerberos Authentication enhancement for requesting systems.  The goal is to streamline patron access when making requests via the Catalog, ILLIAD, BorrowDirect, and the web bridge, which currently use four different logon methods.  PSEC has given the go-ahead for the enhancement pending feedback from CUL staff.
1. NetID will act as common sign-on for all four systems.
2. Catalog and BorrowDirect will be first to have NetID functionality; implemented on ILLIAD by January.
3. A single sign-on is not only easier for patrons, but allows CUL to identify patrons consistently across the services.
4. When signed on, user will get greeting confirming their identity.  Cornell ID will be filled into appropriate boxes automatically.  
5. If the Kerberos prompt is cancelled, the traditional sign on page will be displayed.  Issue was raised that BorrowDirect documentation should be moved to new location on the Gateway because this information is currently found on the traditional sign on page and new users may not see it.
6. Same cautions that apply to other NetID sign-ons apply here.  Users will need to close out tickets to prevent unauthorized access.
7. Send questions to Jesse at jtk1.

4. Following Jesse, Virginia Cole, Jim Del Rosso and Camille Andrews discussed the new Ask a Librarian Reference Blog.  http://culrefblog.wordpress.com/

5. Virginia Cole noted that the idea for the blog came from the Social Networking Tools for Reference Forum held last spring and that multiple individuals are involved.  The prototype blog, using WordPress, was displayed and explained.
1. The purpose of the blog is to educate library users and staff, while promoting the excellent information services provided by CUL.
2. A representation of a broad array of topics and voices is intended.   The blog will allow CUL to combine forces, talents, time, and resources thus alleviating burden on any one unit.
3. The blog project team envisions 3-4 postings per week.  The posts will be in question-answer format, and question-answer pairs will be categorized by topic.

6. Various questions were posed to Virginia. 
1. Audience?  Primarily Cornell faculty and students, but the blog will be visible to all. 
2. Cornell branding?  Eventually, once the blog is moved to the paid version of WordPress.
3. Editing?  Posts will be edited for spelling and punctuation.
4. Types of questions?  Those that help Cornell librarians and library users stay informed.  Also, questions that demonstrate CUL expertise, and that represent the variety and scope of questions we get-- from the mundane to the unique which is a way of advertising that no question is too simple/stupid or too tough for us.
5. Will patrons use it?  RSS feature will push to users.  And the blog will also be discovered through google.
6. Linked from Gateway?  The blog will be highlighted on the Ask a Librarian page.

7. Jim Del Rosso then explained the nuts and bolts of the blog.  He explained both terminology and roles.
1. Pages:  Persistent content.  Eg, About and FAQ sections.
2. Posts:  Main content.  This is what the RSS feed provides to users.  These change as the blog is updated.
3. Comments:  Additional content in response to a particular post.  Anyone can comment but all comments are moderated.
4. Categories:  Tags on a given post to ID its topic(s).  Categories can be nested.  Also, users can customize RSS feed by category.
5. A handout was distributed explaining the six (6) roles.
6. Contributors:  This role will include unit staff that want to write posts.  They’ll be trained in WordPress.  Contributors are encouraged to suggest Categories.
7. Editor:  Will edit posts from Contributors for spelling, punctuation, formatting, tags.  

8. Next, Virginia briefly explained the workflow.
1. A handout provided explains three workflow scenarios based on permissions granted by patron and staff.
2. The project team will be gathering questions over the next several months to develop a pool that can be used for initial population of the blog.
3. Questions may be sent to: Refblog-l@cornell.edu
4. If anyone is interested in being a contributor or editor, contact Refblog-l or Virginia Cole, Jim Del Rosso, Camille Andrews, or Baseema KrKoska.

9. Camille outlined the next steps.
1. CIT will install a multi-user version of WordPress.
2. CIT will work on branding and appearance.
3. Existing blogs can be integrated.
4. Promotion will begin as we near the roll-out, which is scheduled for Spring 2008.

10. Jim Del Rosso then demonstrated how to use an RSS reader, specifically Google Reader.
1. See Google Reader at www.google.com/reader
2. Other readers available, but Google does not require a software download.

11. Jim Morris-Knower closed out the meeting and thanked all for attending.  The date for the next Forum will be announced.

Submitted by M. Morrison, 9-24-07