In Practice

By Meredith Farkas
American Libraries Columnist

Distance learning librarian, Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont
librarysuccess@gmail.com

October 2008

Our New Website Is a Blog

Using WordPress for content management

Keeping a website current and engaging can be a challenge for a library without tech-savvy staff members. Many small libraries have websites whose content hasn’t changed in months (if not years), meaning that their events and displays go unnoticed by those who aren’t frequent visitors. Often, the librarians aren’t happy with the library’s current web presence, but feel powerless to fix things because they have no one with web design skills on staff to update the site.

Many new technologies have reduced the barriers for adding content to the Web. These days, if you can use a word processing program, you can create web content. This is mainly due to the creation of WYSIWYG editors. WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get, and means that instead of having to understand how to format text online, you can format text at the click of a button. So just like in your usual word processing program, you’ll see buttons for centering text, making it bold, inserting URLs, and more. WYSIWYG editors can be found on many popular social technologies such as blogs and wikis.

2.0 website solutions

An increasing number of libraries are starting to use tools like blogs, wikis, and open-source content management systems to manage their website content. This makes it easy for all staff members to add and update web content in their areas of responsibility without needing to know HTML.

WordPress (wordpress.org) is a popular free, open-source blogging platform that is used by many librarians in their personal and professional lives. Many libraries have WordPress blogs that they use to keep their patrons up to date with what’s new at the library, to share knowledge, and to solicit feedback.

While WordPress was developed for blogging, some libraries use it as a content management system for their entire website. The software allows for the creation and management of blog posts and static pages, meaning that libraries can use it to post both timely and permanent content. For instance, Park County (Wyo.) Library System (parkcountylibrary.org) has news content on its front page, with links to static pages on the top and side.

But just because your site uses blog software doesn’t mean it has to look like a blog. WordPress has hundreds of themes created by talented users of the application. Choosing a different theme allows the library to change its website’s look. Themes can be modified by making changes to the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), or a library can design its own theme. As a result, WordPress library websites range from the simple to the polished. Few online visitors would guess that Troy (N.Y.) Public Library’s sleek site (thetroylibrary.org) was developed with blog software.

Some organizations supporting rural libraries have found that WordPress is a great tool to enable web development in geographically remote areas. Utah State Library and BCR have teamed up to offer Website-in-a-Box (utahlibraries.org), which has helped rural library directors create websites in a single day using WordPress. The State Library of Kansas and the Kansas Regional Library Systems offer a similar program, which is called My Kansas Library on the Web (mykansaslibrary.org).

While there are many other tools for managing web content (some of which I plan to discuss in American Libraries’ November and December issues), WordPress is simple software that’s easy to install and use, and is also a familiar interface for many who blog. WordPress puts control of web content into the hands of librarians regardless of their tech savvy, enablng them to make their websites dynamic representations of their libraries.

Latest Library Links

16h

A newly published research study from the American Association of School Librarians’ peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research, investigates self-censorship of controversial topics in collection development. In “To Add or Not to Add: An Examination of Self‐Censoring Behaviors among School Librarians,” information science professors Jennifer Moore and Alissa Tudor use survey data to examine which controversial or frequently challenged topics school librarians chose not to collect. The research found that there were high amounts of self-censorship around books that dealt with sexual content, abortion, and self-harm.

American Association of School Librarians, Dec. 3; School Library Research, Volume 27
22h

Frank Strong writes: “Day one of pre-filing of bills for the 2025 Texas legislative session treated us with several attempts to further restrict reading rights for Texans. The headliner of those bills is House Bill 183, which would enable the State Board of Education to review and remove books from all public schools in the state, essentially creating a statewide banned books list. But it won’t be the only one. Below are six more antibook bills you should watch out for—and publicize, and speak out against, and fight—in the new year.”

Anger & Clarity, Nov. 29
2d

“In today’s society, libraries stand out as among the last truly public institutions. Providing access to resources without financial, social, or physical barriers, public libraries make a unique contribution to promoting individual and collective flourishing throughout the communities they serve. The New York Public Library’s Strategy and Public Impact team and the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center in Philadelphia have released a new report as part of an ongoing collaboration to study and advocate for the role of public libraries in the communities they serve.”

New York Public Library, Nov.
2d

ALA’s Games & Gaming Round Table announced the winners of its 2024 Platinum Play Hall of Fame Awards on December 2, representing the best games for library collections or programming released in the last two to 10 years. The “Platys” Class of 2024 includes longstanding favorites such as Splendor and Azul, approachable program-friendly titles like Just One and Exploding Kittens, the tournament-friendly Super Smash Bros. Melee, geolocation game Pokémon Go, and ‘80s throwback RPG Kids on Bikes.

ALA Games and Gaming Round Table, Dec. 2
3d

Samantha Kretschmer writes: “A staff survey conducted by administration at my library two years ago pointed to a general feeling of discontent amongst staff. The administration formed a Staff Advisory committee, which I was tasked with chairing. The point of this committee was to promote understanding and cooperation between the various branches and departments of the library; to promote productive cooperation between staff, management, and administration; to provide a place for a constructive exchange of ideas; to serve as a channel for staff questions, comments, and concerns; and to help create a community amongst staff.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 28
3d

James Folta writes: “Authors Against Book Bans (AABB), a coalition of writers and creative workers who ‘stand united against the deeply unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read,’ released an open letter on social media November 25 demanding publishers prepare for the incoming Trump administration. The AABB conducted open forums with authors, and compiled their concerns and demands for the coming years. The letter outlines collective worries about the Trump administration and its threats, and how authors hope the corporations they work with will counter those coming dangers.”

Literary Hub, Nov. 26
3d

Rose Horowitch writes: “An alarming phenomenon has sprung up over the past few years: Many students are arriving at college unprepared to read entire books. The problem does not appear to be that ‘kids these days’ are incurious or uninterested in reading. Instead, young people might be responding to a cultural message: Books just aren’t that important. The professors I spoke with didn’t think their students were lazy. They saw that their students’ schedules are crowded with activities that are less about personal development and more relevant to future employment.”

The Atlantic, Nov. 29

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