Transcript Blogs

Nicole C. Engard
September 4, 2007
Princeton Public Library – Tech Talks
Managing Your Content
When the Web Began
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When Tim Berners-Lee invented the
web, he envisioned a read/write Web.
But what had emerged in the 1990s was
an essentially read-only Web on which
you needed an account with an ISP
(Internet service provider) to host your
web site, special tools, and/or HTML
expertise to create a decent site.1
1. http://www.authorama.com/we-the-media-3.html
The 1990s Way
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In order to create the page on the right you
need to know how to write the code on the left.
Image from the Joomla Tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/hagn7
The New Way
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Design is pulled out into a CSS file, still
requiring that know how to write the code on
the left to create the page on the right.
Image from the Joomla Tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/hagn7
The CMS Way
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With a Content Management System (CMS) all
you need to know is how to type the red text
on the left to create the page on the right.
Image from the Joomla Tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/hagn7
What Does that Mean?
No more asking IT or Web Developers to edit
content
• No programming knowledge necessary to
create web pages
• The right experts are working on the right
parts
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In short: Content and Presentation are kept
separate.
CMS Options
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Proprietary options like MS Sharepoint
− Provides you with an enterprise solution that
only a professional IT person can install and
set up
− Minimal control
− Costs $$$$
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Learn More:
http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/default.mspx
CMS Options
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•
cont…
Open source options like Joomla and Drupal
− Provides you with a file that anyone can
download, install and administer
− Lots of control
− Costs 0-$ (depending on external support)
Do It Yourself
− All of the control
− Costs $-$$$$
Benefits of the Open Source CMS
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•
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Consistent website design
Availability of pre-packaged modules
Active open source community (for support)
Empowers staff and potentially customers
Encourages communication and collaboration
Content can easily be repurposed
Content is organized and searchable
Benefits of Doing It Yourself
Designed specifically for your organization
• Access to staff input throughout the process
• Complete control over ever aspect of the site
• Empowers staff and potentially customers
• Encourages communication and collaboration
•
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Learn More:
−
Engard, Nicole C. "DIY: Developing Web
Applications In-House." Online Magazine 30.6
(2006): 35. (http://tinyurl.com/yqyb9u)
Open Source Resources
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Open Source CMS: www.opensourcecms.com
Demo open source tools before installing them
on your machine. [click Portals (CMS)]
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Joomla: www.joomla.org
An easy to use, award winning, open source
content management system.
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Drupal: www.drupal.org
Highly respected, widely used content
management system.
Do It Yourself Resources
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Thomson, Laura, and Luke Welling. PHP and
MySQL Web Development (3rd Edition)
(Developer's Library). U.S.: Sams, 2004. (ISBN:
0672326728)
•
Williams, Hugh E. Web Database Applications
with PHP & MySQL, 2nd Edition. Portland,
OR: O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2004. (ISBN:
0596005431)
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Yank, Kevin. Build Your Own Database Driven
Website Using PHP and MySQL. Stockholm:
Sitepoint, 2004. (ISBN: 0975240218)
Nicole C. Engard
Metadata Librarian
Princeton Theological Seminary Library
[email protected] & [email protected]
Website: http://web2learning.net
Thank You