WebJunction

To add to the conversation, we are also having conversations about how deeply a person should delve into the individual practices of an organization. For example, the workflow of a staff person is important so that one can see where the intersection of technology might/should fit in. This could end up in a very labor intensive/expensive/granular plan however. What is the right balance?

TechBuilder is one for schools:

[url http://compaq.edmin.com/ ]http://compaq.edmin.com/[/url]

It could be similar to TechAtlas.

I found this on an educator development site that lists a bunch of tech planning tools for teachers:

[url http://www.tcet.unt.edu/START/progdev/planning.htm ]http://www.tcet.unt.edu/START/progdev/planning.htm[/url]

This might be a place where schools and libraries could work together in a partnership of some kind, since it seems like they have a lot of resources that could cross over for us.

Hello, I am replying to the message regarding the Technology Planning templates that the Colorado State Library has developed. I actually developed the templates a while back when I first started at the state library. The main reason that I developed these templates was because it seemed that the quality of the tech plans that we received from libraries could stand some improvement. Of course, there are always great plans out there, but several libraries needed help in this area. One concern that I have about technology plans is that they should definitely be a part of the libraries overall long range plan. It doesn't make sense for libraries to creat technology plans in a vacuum just to fulfill an E-rate requirement. I think that in order to have a tech plan that truly reflects what the library is doing it must be connected to a larger long range plan. I provided tech planning training sessions around the state and tried to get this point across. I had some success at doing this, but I think the main problem is that we need to have planning workshops that emphasis library services and look at what technology is needed to support these services. We shouldn't just focus on technology planning workshops for the sake of tech planning; the technology really needs to evolve from the larger mission of the library, which is developed in the library service or long range plan. Just my opinion.

Rose Nelson

Tech Consultant

Colorado State Library

A great technology planning resource (far more comprehensive than just a template) is Joni Podolsky's new book, "Wired for Good." Joni ran the program of the same name that led dozens of Silicon Valley nonprofits through a thorough tech planning process, and she's put all her expertise into the book. It's well-written--not too techie for general staff, but sophisticated enough for savvy users as well. Here's a link to it:
http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787962791.html

Public Library Association (PLA) published a book in 1999 that focused on technology planning and was related to their "Planning for Results" series. The book is titled "Wired for the Future: Developing Your Library Technology Plan" (ISBN 0-8389-3491-9). I have not read the entire book (it is on order for me), but the portions on Amazon's site look interesting enough, although fairly similar to the topics covered in the "Wired for Good" book mentioned earlier. This, of course, focuses more on some of the unique aspects of libraries, but looks like it takes a similar step-by-step approach to the planning process.

Here's a link I found on the Ohio State Library resource page - links to many great resources re: technology planning.

[url http://www.ilsr.com/tech.htm ]http://www.ilsr.com/tech.htm[/url]

Brenda

We recently wrote a quick security assessment and would like to receive feedback on it. It can be reached at the following URL:

[url http://techatlas.org/tools/partner/assmt_preview.asp?asid=245 ]http://techatlas.org/tools/partner/assmt_preview.asp?asid=245[/url]

Specifically, we are wondering if there are any questions we missed, explanations or recommendations that are missing key pieces of information, additional resources we might include or other points that you feel could be explained or expanded upon in the assessment.

In addition, one part of the assessment is a "Security Policy Template" that we compiled from a variety of sources to assist organizations in planning and creating security policies. Any feedback on this document would also be appreciated. The document can be downloaded at the following URL:

http://techatlas.org/tools/shared/SecurityPolicyTemplate.doc