[Asis-l] ALA Connect: Not Just Another Social Network

[gerrymck]

Colleagues/


It’s Here /  It’s Here / It’s Here > ALA Connect



/Gerry



ALA Connect: Not Just Another Social Network



It’s like Facebook–but for librarians,” we’ve said, all-too-simply (and
inaccurately) in categorizing ALA Connect, ALA’s new centralized virtual
space.



That’s a facile comparison to make, but really Connect is more than that.
Not just another social network, ALA Connect will help members engage in ALA
business and network with others. It’s a single virtual location in which
ALA members can collaborate and work on division, round table, and committee
projects with an impressive spread of tools: blog-like posts, online
documents, group calendars, surveys and polls, chat rooms, discussion
forums, and RSS/email alerts to track progress.



[snip] But ALA Connect effectively reins in all the would-be unofficial
online channels and tools and puts them under one roof, officiating them
under the ALA brand. [snip]



ALA Connect FAQ



ALA Connect replaces the existing Online Communities service that ALA
currently offers as a virtual, collaborative, workspace online. [snip]



[snip]



Every active ALA group already has a space in Connect automatically, because
we've pre-populated it with data from our membership database (iMIS), and we
synchronize member data nightly, so we'll always know which committees
you're on and which other official ALA groups you're part of.



Both ALA groups and communities use the same types of tools. By default,
each one has blog posts, online documents (like wiki pages), a calendar,
polls, a chat room, a discussion board, and images (logos, pictures, etc.).
The group can use whichever of the tools it finds valuable.



Non-members will be able to register in Connect to create a free account,
but they will only be able to view and add to public content. [snip]



>>More And Links>>



[ http://tinyurl.com/dzqfq7  ]



Enjoy !



/Gerry



Gerry McKiernan

Associate Professor

Science and Technology Librarian

Iowa State University Library

Ames IA 50011



gerrymck at iastate.edu



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