Established in 1994 ScHARR's Information Resources team has established itself as a key national player in providing information support to health technology assessment and health services research. The team is made up of professional, highly trained Information Specialists who are involved in the forefront of research, teaching, support and development. This is our blog where we talk about the diverse work we do: #Teach #Research #Search #Support
Posted by Andy
Abstract
The ScHARR
Building the blog.
The blog was created using Google’s free software named Blogger https://www.blogger.com/start
Like most free applications on the Internet for the Internet, it does not have all the bells and whistles that the pay for applications do offer. Nevertheless, this is blogging, which in essence should be simple in function and design.
There are other blog creating and hosting websites, some of which are free, whilst others may try and lure you into paying for their services or additional add-ons. Another notable and established free blog site is that of Wordpress, which can be found at: http://wordpress.com/
Again like most things on the Internet the choice gradually becomes more overwhelming, so it perhaps worth using a comparison site to choose how best to bring your blog to life. Just like websites such as Kelkoo.co.uk for comparing the prices of consumer goods, and Confused.com for comparing house and car insurance; there is a way to compare the different types of blog building websites. WeblogMatrix http://www.weblogmatrix.org/ compares the differences between over 20 weblog tools, looking at everything from their cost to whether you can include a photo gallery.
Why go Blogging?
The original purpose of the ScHARR
Another key reason for introducing the blog was that ScHARR’s official Web pages, http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/sections/ir/library, as with those of The University of Sheffield, are quite regimented with little scope for flexibility in terms of layout and content. In essence the library service at ScHARR is limited by the boundaries set out by the University website content management system which at times can be limiting, not only technologically but by the content that can be uploaded to it. The original remit of the content management system was to democratise the web pages. Sadly due to the complicated nature of the software this has failed in some areas, and this is where the blog steps in.
Blogs can provide a quick and easy way to publish material without having to learn the ins and outs of an organisational system. This obviously does not mean that there are no rules, on the contrary, the blog is still representative of ScHARR and as a result must adhere to the rules and policies set out by the wider university settings, this is a crucial point all blogs must take into account.
Along with the technological ease, there is the aspect of creating an informal approach to the established service. The very nature of being a
Unlike a traditional website, a blog does not remove old content; obviously as time goes by some links may become broken or dead, but that problem affects all websites. The blog can itself become a resource and a useful tool as organisations store previous posts and the information contained in them. How useful this will become, only time will tell; at present The ScHARR
Blogs are also portable, meaning that new posts can be added from anywhere provided you have an Internet connection and password to access the blog site. Many organisational websites can only be manipulated onsite or through a secured network; editing a blog is as easy as posting to a public forum.
Blogs are also easily navigated with the aid of keywords, provided you tag each post you write. The ScHARR
Target Audience
Like the official ScHARR
A fellow attendee at the workshop was then able to comment and post his own photographs, hosted on Flickr.com from the very same conference.
The introduction of the blog has been integrated into the current awareness email service, where new posts are added to the news bulletins as to keep the blog very much in the minds of staff and students. In addition to this, a small amount of marketing has been utilised to promote the blog to other libraries and organisations. This emphasises a big reason for the blog’s existence, being that it is another conduit to our
Content, Design and Style
What actually goes on the blog is still in a state of flux as the site is only six months old, but in that time the net has been cast further a field to bring in a few interesting posts, resources and stories that we have quite literally stumbled on. The core of the content revolves around a few areas. Firstly there are the research and news bulletins. These can consist of the in-house bulletins we create, such as our research funding opportunities and current awareness compilations. Whilst we have pointers towards external bulletins such as those offered by The Kingsfund, although it is important to note that some of these bulletins have been made only accessible on our own intranet as to adhere to the policies of some external organisations.
Next there are posts relating to the interest to our students and staff, this can include new books to arrive in the
One particular item we post for the wider audience is that which identifies interesting and useful websites and resources. In the past few months we have highlighted websites such as; Google Health - http://www.google.com/Top/Health/ and the Evidence Based Medicine Page Generator - http://www.ebmpyramid.org/home.php
The blog is easily editable and allows several tools which can be dragged and dropped into place. The ideal way to start any new blog is to play around with the functions on offer, try mixing and matching the tabs and options, and do not be afraid to experiment.
Google’s Blogger offers a multitude of options ranging from the basics of URL linkage and photo adding to rss feeding and picture slideshows. When setting your blog up, it is important to decide what additional content you want to supplement the main posts. It is recommended that you include a blogroll which is a collection of external links to other similar blog sites. Other websites can still be linked in a separate box, which is also recommended. Most blogs have their additional information such as links attached to either side of the main textual content. It is important to note, that despite the amount of links and tabs you include, it rarely detracts away from the main content of your blog.
Other useful functions incorporated into the ScHARR
Each item posted on the blog has an accompanying picture and an external link to the copyright holder. Most of these photographs are taken from Frickr using the Creative Commons Licence http://creativecommons.org/.
The main reason for adding pictures is to enhance the look of the blog and to create an informal webpage unlike the text heavy pages many websites are blighted with. Text use is limited and brief, again to keep the visitor engaged. Taking into consideration that most people flit from website to website at the bat of an eyelid and that much online content is scan-read; it is best to make you point as succinctly and briefly as you can.
The blog also allows the imbedding of video content from such sites as YouTube.com and there is the provision for adding automated presentations.
As more content is added to each blog the page will become longer, which in turn means more scrolling down. As a result the ScHARR
The future of the Blog
At present, The University of Sheffield is contemplating offering a blog service for its various departments. If this becomes a reality, then the positives will be that The ScHARR
It is still early days for the blog at ScHARR
