This document discusses content strategy, workflow, and governance for websites. It defines content strategy as planning for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content. It emphasizes the importance of defining roles, responsibilities, and processes for developing, maintaining, and updating content. Examples are provided for defining different types of content and creating workflow matrices. The importance of governance structures, policies, and guidelines is discussed to ensure consistency across websites. Overall, the document provides guidance on taking a strategic approach to managing website content through definition, collaboration, and oversight.

1. Content Strategy, Workflow, and
Governance

2. MOAR LITA STUFFS!
• Top Technology Trends
– Sunday, 10:30-11:30, 201C
• LITA 201
– Sunday, 4:30-5:30, Convention Center 120 C
• LITA Happy Hour
– Sunday, 6:00-8:00, Bar-ly, Chinatown, 101 N. 11th Street
• Town Meeting
– Monday, 8:30-10:00, Convention Center 120 C

3. LITA Forum 2014
Transformation: From Node to Network
Albuquerque, NM
November 5-8
Program Proposals due February 24th
Registration opening June
lita.org

4. Seminal Works for Content Strategy
Kristina Halvorson
Erin Kissane

5. Content strategy is…
“Content strategy plans for the
creation, publication, and governance
of useful, usable content.”
-Kristina Halvorson
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/
thedisciplineofcontentstrategy

6. Content strategy is…
• A growing discipline unto itself;
• How (and sometimes when) you say what you
say;
• A mix of branding and editing;
• A way to ensure a consistent experience for all
of your users.

7. Content strategy is NOT your CMS
“Hoping that a content management system
will replace…human care and attention *to
web content] is about as effective as pointing
a barn full of unmanned agricultural
machinery at a field, going on vacation, and
hoping it all works out.”
-Erin Kissane, The Elements of Content Strategy

8. Wherefore Content Strategy
in Libraries?
• Reference/public services have the
reference interview;
• Tech Services have the AACR2, MARC
record;
• IT staff (network/desktop) have
recognized industry standards.

9. Web staff have content strategy.
This is our area of expertise;
These are newly emerging librarian skills;
Embracing content strategy creates a clear
channel in which we can operate.

10. Roles in Kissane’s Content Strategy Model
• Editors
– Know how/trained to write for the web
– Understand the audience
• Curators
– Develop ideas for new tools and types of content
• Marketers
– Communicate with customers
– Usability testing, outreach
• Information Pros
– Create information architecture
– Develop workflow for all

11. Activity: Content Creators
Who are your
editors, curators, marketers, an
d info pros?
If every answer is “me,” take a REALLY hard look at your
duties, your time, and your job description.

12. Defining Content
•
Primary audience:
•
•
Scope:
•
•
WHAT information and elements comprise it?
Interactivity outcome:
•
•
WHO is this content for?
What do we want to happen when the primary audience
interacts with it?
Update frequency:
•
How often does this need freshened up to prevent it from
being stale? WHEN (and WHERE?) is it relevant in users’
lives?

13. Examples: Jefferson County Libraries
• Feature Carousel
• Pressroom Page
• Database Lists

14. Feature Carousel, 1/2
Primary audience: Patrons
Scope:
• qualitative selection & timely promotion of
services
• qualitative selection & timely promotion of
events, programs and classes
• qualitative selection & timely promotion of
campaigns
• no more than 5 items at a time
• primarily graphical presentation w/ text only
serving as a title to elicit a click through

15. Feature Carousel, 2/2
Interactivity outcome:
– Provide a hook into an experience of the library
(digital or physical)
– Circulating traffic within the website
Frequency:
- multiple times per week

16. Press Room Page, 1/1
Primary Audience
• Media & community contacts
Scope
• press releases
• “In the news” items
• awards & recognitions
• Reporter Resources
o
Fact Sheets
o
Strategic Plan & Budget
o
Annual Reports
o
Request an Interview

17. Press Room, 2/2
Interactivity Outcome:
• Accurate and timely information about the libraries is
reported
Update Frequency:
• Awards & recognition items updated as needed
• Reporter Resources reviewed/updated 1x per year

18. Database Lists, 1/2
Primary audience
• Power users
• Staff
Scope
• Comprehensive list of subscription databases listed
alphabetically by name and grouped by subject.
• Intended for staff assisting patrons or patrons doing more
extensive research with the databases.
• Connects patrons with resources for topics not covered by
subject guides.

19. Database Lists 2/2
Interactivity Outcome
• Staff will have quick access to a complete list of JCPL’s databases.
• Patrons researching topics not covered by the subject guides will still
have a path to reliable content.
Update frequency:
Monthly (related to purchase acquisition activities)

20. Workflow Matrices
• Once you have all of the content pieces
defined, you can create workflow matrices
• Benefits:
– Communicating content expectations for all (so
they know what/when to expect change)
– Communicating obligation to responsible parties
and their management
– Making these discussions with stakeholders
iterative ensures that it accurately reflects
everyone's understanding.

21. What to Include in a Matrix
•
•
•
•
Name of the content type
Responsible party/ies
Frequency of updates
Staff time required

22. Teens section workflow
Content Type
Responsibility
Frequency Time
Blog posts - Crazy
Readerz
TART
daily
Reviews by Teens
(patron)
TART
weekly - 2x .5 hrs
Page - Homework
help (Teens)
TART
quarterly
2 hrs
List - Teens
TART
yearly
16 hrs (2 hrs X
8 people)
.5 hr

23. Research section workflow
Content Type
Responsibility Frequency
Time
Database list
Digital
Resources
Librarian
quarterly
1 - 2 hrs
Seasonal guides
Digital
Resources
Librarian
quarterly
1 - 2 hrs
Subject guides
Digital
Resources
Librarian
quarterly
1 - 2 hrs

24. Books, Movies & Music workflow
Content Type
Responsibility Frequency
Time
Blog posts - Books Collections
& Beyond
Committee
weekly - 3x
.5 hr
List - Adults
monthly
3 hrs
Adult
collection
development
staff

25. How much of this can we
reasonably do?
If it’s too much, we should scale
back our content.
If you can't support it,
don't build it!

26. Hands-On: Content Definition
and Workflow
• Pick a page on your site that has a lot of components
that come from different sources, and:
• define it: primary
audience, scope, outcome, frequency
• make a workflow matrix for it:
responsibility, frequency, time needed

27. Governance
“Web governance is the structure of
people, positions, authorities, roles, responsibilities, relationship
s, and rules involved in managing an agency’s website(s). The
governance structure defines who can make what decisions, who
is accountable for which efforts, and how each of the players
must work together to operate a website and a web
management process effectively.”
• Federal Web Managers Governance and Operations SubCouncil
• http://www.howto.gov/web-content/governance/definition

28. Why Do We Need Content Governance?
aka, “The Great LibGuides Fail of 2011”
• LibGuides was Auraria Library’s first CMS
• Best practices for guide content were
drafted, posted, and reviewed on the intranet but
never fully vetted/implemented
• The result:
– No consistency in IA/navigation
– No consistency in design/layout
– No consistency in image use/quality/attribution
– Frustrated web admins, frustrated
librarians, disinterested users

29. Who are the People, Positions, and
Roles in Library Content Governance?
• Web librarians, designers, and developers
• Marketing/communications/graphic design
• Content creators (often in public services, but can
include any and all other areas of the library)
• IT (in-library, external)
• Admin
What are, or should be, the responsibilities of all of
these entities for library web governance? What are
the relationships among them?

30. Who are the Authorities
in Library Content Governance?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Web librarians, designers, and developers
Supervisors
Web oversight/advisory committees
IT department(s; library/external)
Administration
Boards (public libraries)
Parent institutions (city, college/university)

31. What Documents Constitute the Rules
for Library Content Governance?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Job descriptions, performance plans
Strategic plans
Best practices, guidelines, style guides
Process documentation
Training materials
Committee charges
Web server access agreements
Who makes which rules? Why?

32. So…Are We the Web Police?
• Sorta…but our goals are to:
– Decentralize content production
– Bring more people into the web site fold
– Take advantage of, and promote, everyone’s
expertise and knowledge about library resources
and services
– Establish a unified voice/brand for our libraries
– Create a web site that is consistent, current,
adheres to best practices, and is easy/pleasant to
maintain and use

33. Recovering from The Great LibGuides Fail of 2011:
The Auraria Content Governance Model
• Two new governance models:
– New content creation model
– New tool/service creation model
• People, positions, authorities, responsibilities
and roles were sorted into appropriate
planning, development, launch phases
• Models and processes were vetted and
adopted by the Shared Leadership committee

34. Content Creation/Revision
Planning
Proposal for new
content, revisions to CXC
for idea approval
Development
Launch
Gather information from
stakeholders
Assign responsibility for
content
creation/maintenance
Mockup/sample
content, developed based
on best web writing
practices
Content
container created
CXC vets content
Vet content with staff
as appropriate
Web staff checks
code, tests
Make changes as
necessary
Make changes as
necessary
Published to live

35. Content Model: Planning Phase
• Anyone can make suggestions for new content
• Responsibility for creation/maintenance must be
assumed or assigned
• Sample content must be provided before web staff
work begins
• Web team makes recommendations for presentation
of the content

36. Content Model: Development Phase
• Content container created (Drupal content
type) and designed by web staff
• Vet with staff as appropriate (depends on
content)
• Web team revises as necessary based on
feedback
• Communications Committee
reviews/approves content

37. Content Model: Launch Phase
• Communications Committee vets content
• Web staff checks/tests affected parts of the
web site
• Changes made, as necessary
• Content published to production environment
• Content marketed as determined by the
Communications Committee

38. New Tool/Service Creation
Planning Phase
Development Phase
Launch Phase
Written proposal, with
stakeholder input, for new
tool to ADs for approval
Prototype developed
on dev server
Documentation
created
Tool/content
manager/group
manager assigned
Prototype moved
to staging server
Training
conducted, if
necessary
Project specifications &
plan developed by Online
Interfaces Working Group
Prototype presented
to library staff
Launch date/plan
coordinated
Project manager assigned
Prototype revised
based upon staff input
New tool deployed
to live server

39. New Tool/Service Model:
Planning Phase
• Requires a written proposal from initiator
• Approval (including prioritization, more
to follow) by assistant directors
• Project plan and specifications developed
by tech experts in Online Interfaces
Working Group
• Project/content manager(s) assigned

40. New Tool/Service Model:
Development Phase
• Web staff develop iterative prototypes in
dev environment
• Complete prototype placed in context of
entire site on staging environment
• Feedback from staff solicited, evaluated,
incorporated

41. New Tool/Service Model:
Launch Phase
•
•
•
•
•
Web team writes documentation
Develop/conduct training
Launch planned/coordinated
(Left off: marketing!)
Deployment

42. Activity: Governance

43. Tips for Governance Modeling
•
•
•
•
•
Be democratic
Be transparent
Be overly communicative
Be positive/use positive language
Give authority to others, with a clear understanding
of the related responsibilities
• Ask for authority for yourself and articulate why you
need it

44. Hands-On Governance
• Draft the following lists:
– The existing web content
people, positions, roles, relationships, and
responsibilities
– The existing authorities over the library’s web site
– The existing rules governing the library’s web site
• Policies, best practices, job
descriptions, strategic plans
• Do a quick assessment (what exists of) your current
governance model
• Write/sketch some suggested improvements

45. Maintenance & Development
Possible Topics?
•
•
•
•
Web environment development
Migrating web sites
Advanced tools
…?

46. Questions? Comments?
Christine Coughlan
christine@atendesigngroup.com
@hoodedcloak74
Nina McHale
ninermac.net/contact
@ninermac