Assignment 3: Interview with a Librarian

For this assignment, I chose Option 1, which was to identify a library that uses a Content Management System for its website and interview the librarian in charge of the system.  I interviewed the Computer Services Librarian (whom I will keep anonymous) for the Piedmont Regional Library System.  This librarian is in charge of most of the technical aspects, including the regional website and the public access computers, of the library system.  Piedmont Regional consists of ten libraries across three counties.  Our interview was conducted via email.

Q: How and where did Piedmont Regional hear about Content Management Systems?

A: I talked to the web master at DeKalb County Public Library at a conference.  He recommended CMSs.  I investigated and reached the conclusion that this would be good for our library system.

Q: What were your motivations to adopt a CMS for its current use (the library website or any other purpose)?

A: Making it possible to have more staff posting content on the web page, frequently.  As a result, our web page would be more dynamic. 

Q: What were your decision making criteria?

A: We wanted a CMS that was popular and user friendly.  Popularity was important because we want a CMS that would have a community of support.

Q: What is the name of the CMS you are using now?

A: WordPress.

Q: What are the important benefits or advantages of the CMS you are using now over the old system or another CMS system you have used in the past?

A: The CMS has made our web site more smartphone friendly. Staff can also, now, make changes to our web page without having direct access to the web server or having to wait for me to edit and save files.

Q: How was the learning curve?

A: It depends on what you need to do. The learning curve is not bad on doing a simple post, but on managing CMS page there is a big learning curve. You will need to know how to install themes, plugins, and widgets. At some point, you will probably need to edit php code.

It was interesting to learn about the factors the librarian took into consideration when choosing a CMS.  After hearing a recommendation of CMSs from a fellow library webmaster, he investigated the pros and cons to such a system based on the needs of the region.  Among the factors considered were how a CMS would fit the library system, whether it was “popular and user friendly” with an existing community of support, the desire to have a more “dynamic” webpage, and the relative ease of use of the CMS.  After taking into account all of these aspects, the system chose to use WordPress.

Compared to the previous system used, the librarian specifically mentioned how WordPress has made the library website smartphone friendly and enabled staff to make changes to the webpage without relying on him too much.  This reminded me of the Joomla tutorial videos, one of which mentioned how the look of a website should be designed so that the formatting will not change when viewed across different devices.  WordPress also fit the need for a CMS that was popular and user friendly, providing access to support from other libraries and the online community.  Having a user friendly CMS also spread the workload so that staff can edit the webpage without direct access to the web server.

According to the librarian, the learning curve for WordPress varies depending on the skill of the user and what one wants to do.  Creating a simple post is relatively easy while actually managing the CMS page is more difficult and has more of a learning curve because it involves knowing how to install themes, plugins, and widgets – skills an untrained staff member probably will not have.

Outside support seems to be one of the major factors in Piedmont Regional’s decision to use WordPress.  Rather than building a system from the ground up to suit the region’s needs, the region deemed it more important to be able to ask for help and advice from other libraries and the online community.  This would also be helpful in reducing the learning curve for how to manage the website.  The region’s webpage is vibrant and its design and theme easily changed to fit with the time of year or current programs.  This enables the libraries in the region to draw the public’s attention to what is going on and allows libraries to personalize their pages as well.