Managing Multiple Websites in Drupal: Selecting the Right Tool for the Job
3:05 PM - 3:25 PM
Objective: This presentation discusses approaches to managing multiple websites in Drupal, when the sites share certain features but are required to look unique or offer distinct functionalities. An academic health sciences library developed five “portal” websites, each targeted to a different medical specialty or audience. The specialty sites were required to look distinct from the library’s main website, but librarians wanted to capitalize on the main site’s existing Drupal infrastructure whenever possible. The library investigated several methods of developing and administering the specialty sites. Here, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of each method, discuss how to analyze site requirements, and provide recommendations on how to select the “right tool for the job.”
Methods: The Drupal content management system (CMS) offers several approaches to managing multiple websites. The approaches include (1) using Drupal’s “multisite” capabilities, (2) using Drupal’s Sections module to create the illusion of a separate website through a distinct visual theme, and (3) building a completely separate Drupal instance but using RSS and XML to “feed” content from one site to another. Associating the sites closely in Drupal can streamline website administration with respect to managing authenticated users, simplifying CMS settings, and installing updates to the CMS code.
Results: Using Drupal Sections, the library constructed two specialty subject sites with distinct branding but a single administrative backend. The alumni website was created as a completely separate Drupal instance because of its required authentication scheme. It is “fed” content from the main library website. The consumer health site was implemented using Drupal’s multisite functionality. This introduced complexity to site maintenance: Each update to Drupal code must be installed in multiple places.
Conclusions: Analyzing site requirements is critical to selecting the best tool for developing and maintaining multiple websites in Drupal. Consideration must also be given to the habits of the website’s editors, the technical skills and capabilities of library personnel, and the needs of website users. The most straightforward approach to building a website with separate branding but shared backend functionality is Drupal’s Sections module. Associating websites closely in Drupal streamlines website administration but sacrifices some customization opportunities.
Authors: Emily G. Morton-Owens, Assistant Curator and Web Services Librarian, Health Sciences Libraries; Dorothy Moore, Web Marketing Manager, Stern School of Business; New York University, New York, NY
The Cake Is a Lie: Why Systems Can’t Manage Content and What to Do About It
3:25 PM - 3:45 PM
Objective: To effectively govern the content of a large health sciences library website, to distribute content authorship and governance responsibilities throughout the organization, and to eliminate the web manager bottleneck, while ensuring the timeliness and usefulness of the site’s content.
Methods: The health sciences libraries first implemented Drupal in 2006 with good results: The system made it possible for authors to create and edit content without the intervention of technical staff. However, in 2009, when the site was upgraded to Drupal 6, the project team discovered, during a comprehensive content audit, that orphaned and extraneous content existed throughout the site, much of it having remained unedited since the original Drupal installation. Core pages had been allowed to stagnate, and other pages, created in response to perceived needs, had been abandoned and forgotten by all but Google. The team edited the content as necessary, but in a full redesign in 2010, discovered that the core problem persisted. This paper will present the results of the creation and implementation of a comprehensive content strategy, outlining the rules for each type of content on the site, including who is responsible and how each content type is to be governed during its entire lifecycle.
Results and Conclusions: My results and conclusions are not complete yet.
Author: Wayne Loftus, AHIP, Web Services Coordinator, Health Sciences Libraries, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Rethinking the Library Website: Choosing a Content Management System
3:45 PM - 4:05 PM
Objective: Faced with a library website revision, we decided that a content management system (CMS) would serve us best by providing a consistent design template that could be easily modified by multiple librarians, as well as management tools. There were several CMS options available to us, so we needed to determine the best choice for our small library.
Methods: The library web team includes an emerging technologies librarian and a relatively small technology support staff that does not include a programmer, but does support a cluster of servers including web servers. Two other librarians provide content for the site. The CMS options at our institution included the high-end, commercial Sitecore used by the medical school and two open source options (Movable Type and WordPress). We had also explored but decided against Drupal as requiring more technical expertise than we had available in house. Through consideration of various criteria to determine the applications’ suitability to our needs and trial and error, we ended up using WordPress to create the new website. Criteria that helped guide our decision included staff requirements, learning curve, internal institutional support, CMS user community, time to implement the new site, hardware and software requirements, and cost.
Conclusions: A locally hosted WordPress site was the best choice for the University of Southern California Wilson Dental Library based on our criteria, but other libraries will likely make other decisions based on the most important criteria for their environments.
Authors: Jin Wu, Emerging Technologies Librarian; Janis F. Brown, AHIP, Associate Director, Systems and Information Technology; Health Sciences Libraries; University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Converting an Intranet Site to the Cloud: Using LibGuides to Refresh a Library Portal
4:05 PM - 4:25 PM
Objective: To use LibGuides to revitalize an Adobe Contribute-based library intranet website.
Methods: After undergoing a major redesign project in 2002, the library’s heavily used intranet portal remained workable, utilitarian, and largely static. Because the intranet operates through Adobe Contribute, using templates maintained outside the library, library staff were unable to make substantive design changes or introduce tools like really simple syndication (RSS) feeds and Javascript widgets that would make the content more dynamic. LibGuides offered a solution: a web-based system with flexibility, customizable layouts and design, an easy-to-use interface for content creators and editors, built-in widgets for RSS feeds and scripts, a more visual experience for library patrons, XML files to load into our intranet search engine, and the opportunity to connect with other libraries. A task force was formed to establish local design and style guidelines, as well as to plan for the conversion of intranet site content to LibGuides, while providing for seamless integration with remaining library intranet content. Converting intranet site content to LibGuides gave the task force the opportunity to examine current site content and reimagine and revitalize it.
Results and Conclusions: My results and conclusions are not complete yet.
Authors: Melissa L. Rethlefsen, AHIP, Education Technology Librarian, Learning Resource Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Leah Osterhaus, Librarian, Franciscan Skemp Health Sciences Library, Mayo Clinic, LaCrosse, WI; Ann Farrell, Librarian, Winn Dixie Foundation Medical Library, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL; Karen Larsen, Librarian; Dana Gerberi, Librarian, Colonial Library Services; Vladana Gajic-Zoric, Library Specialist, Venables Health Sciences Library; Wanda Elkharwily, Library Specialist, Plummer Library; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN