I’ve not discovered the time limit on Jing videos. I would save important ones locally, too. The cloud versions are great for sharing outside the library or department.
Mark
Mark Hemhauser
Head of Acquisitions, The Library
250 Moffitt Library, MC 6000
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
510-664-4310
From: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LISTSERV.NASIG.ORG] On Behalf Of Schutz, Elizabeth A.
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2016 7:21 AM
To: SERIALST@LISTSERV.NASIG.ORG
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] [SERIALIST] Documentation Practices
Thanks, Mark!
I love the idea of incorporating some Jing videos into your documentation. While clear step-by-step directions are nice, the ability to actually demonstrate a process is great. You still have the same issue of making adjustments every time there’s a product upgrade but I think it would be a lot cleaner than having to swap out a bunch of screen captures. Quick side question: do you know how long a link to a Jing video will remain valid? (The answer from a quick search of Techsmith’s site says that these videos are hosted for an indefinite amount of time but I do wonder how long that really is.)
I also prefer intranet over a fileshare. That being said, my last place of employment had a fileshare and used a great document management system, Worldox, that forced users to name files according to strict conventions and allowed for stable linking within documents. It was amazing!
We also use Google’s suite of communication tools (calendar, docs, mail, sites) and use our site primarily for day to day public services information, staff and campus contact information, and to display our reference schedule.
I agree that there’s a lot of room for improvement when it comes to communicating the various ways that the products and processes we use impact other services/departments/products. It’d be nice if some of our vendors understood those relationships too. J
Thanks again for your response and your tip about incorporating videos into documentation. I appreciate your feedback!
Elizabeth Schutz
Serials & Electronic Resources Librarian
Cardinal Stritch University
phone: (414)410-4265
From: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LISTSERV.NASIG.ORG] On Behalf Of Mark Hemhauser
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 12:21 AM
To: SERIALST@LISTSERV.NASIG.ORG
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] [SERIALIST] Documentation Practices
What types of procedures do you currently have documented? (serials check-in, e-resource troubleshooting, big-picture info that explains how the systems used by the library interact with one another, etc.)
All of the above. I prefer big picture only, but I've seen where having procedures documented can help when there's a lot of staff turnover. I've always preferred simple, clear numbered steps for procedure documentation, but have often been pressed to make screenshot documentation. What I dislike about that is when interfaces change their look and the screenshot points to buttons or links that aren't there any more. I've come to like video screen capture to make 90 seconds max videos of how to do something. They take far less time than writing it down. I haven't narrated them, yet, but that could help. I use Jing.
· Do you rely on any vendor documentation for products/tools you use?
I try to. Sometimes our particular practices require supplemental info.
· What ways do you make your documentation available for people to use? (file share, wiki, intranet, etc.)
File share on a network drive. Another unit I worked with was big on using the intranet. What I liked about the intranet was that you could read descriptions of what was behind a link, instead of trying to decipher file names. My staff at Berkeley are using file shares. Since we don't have an intranet, we won't be going that route. We're a Google customer--gmail, Drive, etc, but we aren't using, don't have? Google Sites or I might try to use that.
· What are some things you’d wished were documented when you first started your position?
I've always asked my staff to train me on how to use their systems. :-) I try to get staff from different units (catalogers, in addition to acquisitions staff, for example) to show me things. This way I get multiple perspectives. I try to refer to the manual only when people don't know how to use a system.
Probably the thing I most wish to find documentation on are the complicated things, the medium to big picture things--how does this affect that. We have someone here who has spent more than a year getting a handle on how we manage our 745 funds, more than half of which are endowments. There was some documentation, but there were gaps, some inner working type things missing and perhaps some big relationship/impact if you don't do X things missing. She's written a lot of clear documentation. And has "forced" me to document various process changes I've made that are very complex and mostly in my head. I think it's the hard stuff that's in your head that people will wish they had on paper.
Mark Hemhauser
Head of Acquisitions, The Library
250 Moffitt Library, MC 6000
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
510-664-4310
On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 8:12 AM, Schutz, Elizabeth A. <easchutz@stritch.edu> wrote:
Greetings, all,
Any insight you are able to provide would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Schutz
Serials & Electronic Resources Librarian
Cardinal Stritch University
phone: (414)410-4265
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