I wanted to share a site that I found when I was looking for information on redesigning our library's intranet pages.

WebJunction is a site I found that specifically all about libraries and technology. It is partnered OCLC, Colorado State Library, Benton Foundation, Isoph, TechSoup, and it is funded with a three year grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

While the site appears to be slanted toward the public library side of things, there are still tons of pages and information resources that many types of libraries can use.

So what type of information is there? I will briefly list out the sections that are featured in WebJunction . It is a pretty thorough site and my meager blog can not do it justice, so check it out for yourself.


The site has six main subject areas: Policies and Practice, Technology Resources, Buying and Funding, Services to Libraries, Learning Center, and Community Center.

Each of these main subject areas are further subdivided into narrower sub-sections. For example, the Technology Resources section is further subdivided into Accessiblity, Basic Computer Support, Hardware, Software, Internet, Networking, and Security.

Within each of these sub-sections are articles (under Section Contents) on pertaining to issues within that sub-section. Also included are a list of Related Resources for that sub-section. The articles appear to be written by WebJunction contributing authors or by WebJunction partners. The Related Resources appear to be links to good web sites on the sub-section for you to explore. For example, if you look in Policies and Procedures and then in the sub-section Marketing you will see six articles (listed as Section Contents) posted by WebJunction .

A sample of the Section Contents in Marketing: (Note there are more things listed in the Section Content, in the interest of space I only listed two)

Marketing Guidelines Template
Developed for virtual reference services, this downloadable PDF file contains a set of marketing guidelines that is easily adaptable for marketing any library service.

What Libraries Can Learn from Bookstores
Chris Rippel of the Central Kansas Library System offers a thoughtful, sometimes provocative comparison of libraries and their retail cousins. In the spotlight are sounds, layout, staffing costs, and even smells.
- Chris Rippel
A Sample of links from Related Resources: (Note there are more things listed in Related Resources, in the interest of space I only listed two)

Marketing the Library: Web Training for Public Library Staff
Online learning resources on marketing for libraries commissioned by the Ohio Library Foundation and developed by the Ohio Library Council.

Five Star Presentations: Bringing Your Message to Life
This guide, in PDF format, was written by professional trainer and facilitator Guila Muir for the Washington Library Association. Using the guide, you'll learn how to give great presentations to a variety of audiences. Topics include: assessing the needs and interests of your audience, writing presentation objectives, developing interactive content, body language and gestures, how to deal with nerves, preventing "death by panel," and demonstrating Web sites effectively.


So as you can see this site has a ton of information. I have found it very helpful to browse through and get ideas from a library perspective. Check it out.