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Hi Geof, Here at LibrariesWest we faced a similar challenge, compounded by the fact that we’re a consortium of five separate authorities with their own shared drives, intranets and so on - each of which are only accessible from within that authority. We did not have a consortium-wide document management system that sat outside the corporate structures and provided access to the increasing volume of LibrariesWest-related documentation. So, we developed an extranet to provide a starting point. Our main requirements included: * Document repository for consortium-related work (for example service development teams, project documentation, training materials etc). * Accessible to staff across the consortium using existing network infrastructure. * Minimal technical barriers to use (for example we didn't want staff to have to install new software or log in for the majority of the extranet). * Free or very cheap! The extranet is based on the open source LifeRay <http://www.liferay.com> CMS, and end-user access is all via a browser. It sits on a server in Somerset, but is accessible across the consortium using the WAN infrastructure that supports our shared LMS and associated systems. LifeRay does a good job and is pretty straightforward to set up, configure and maintain. I looked at Google docs and Shrepoint as options. Google docs was fine but managing user access would have been too much work for what we wanted. Sharepoint was a bit of overkill for what we needed and would have probably ended up costing money. I have used it in previous roles though and it is great, especially if you want tight integration with MS Office. I also looked at online services like Huddle, Basecamp etc, all of which have their plus points so it’s certainly worth looking around at what’s available out there on the web now. It’s still early days for us, but staff are using it more and more. One challenge was to identify, verify and load the backlog of consortium-related documentation onto the extranet. Until now this was all sitting on various shared drives, personal folders and local hard disks and no doubt duplicated many times around LibrariesWest, so apart from anything else it was a fantastic opportunity to do some housekeeping and consolidate everything in one place. The main audience for the system are staff who are involved in consortium work – primarily the various service development groups that coordinate activities across LibrariesWest. We are gradually broadening this out though as we introduce new functionality. We envisaged the extranet as a document library first and foremost, but we are exploring new potential uses as and when a need can be demonstrated. For example, we have tested collaborative tools like wikis to support shared resource development. I have also recently been testing some online meeting systems to see whether we can use this to supplement physical meetings around the consortium. I’m afraid I can’t show you the system in action because you have to be in a LibrariesWest site to get to it. However you can see a couple of screen shots here which should give you an idea of how it looks: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0vjt6SSQq6rMmEyOThjYTYtMjM0Ni00YTEzLWI3MjgtMTEyNjczYWRkNjVj&hl=en Hope this helps, just let me know if you need any more info. Dylan Dylan Edgar Library Systems Manager LibrariesWest [log in to unmask] www.librarieswest.org.uk -----Original Message----- From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Geof Elgie Sent: 21 February 2011 12:03 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Sharing documents in a library service environment I am currently investigating how we in the Surrey library service share documents between libraries and library service development teams. I am looking for a quick summary of how other authorities approach this. I will post a summary of all responses. We have an intranet which is county wide but all files are fixed and can only be updated by web site developers, with delays. We also have a shared folder system which is mostly concentrated around the library service development teams, and access to each folder is controlled. This leaves the dual problem that we either limit access (and thus not everyone can see everything) or we don't limit access and lose all control over who updates what, when, with dangers such as there being 18 different latest versions of a document. Also, does anyone have experience of: (i) widespread use of something along the lines of googledocs (ii) a more structured environment - such as Microsoft SharePoint? This communication is intended solely for the person (s) or organisation to whom it is addressed. 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