Review of a CMS article

Huttenlock, T. L., Beaird, J. W., and Fordham, R. W. Untangling a tangled web: a case study in choosing and implementing a CMS.* Library Hi Tech, Vol. 24, no. 1, 2006, pp. 61-68.

This case study told from the experience of the systems department at Buswell Memorial Library at Wheaton College, provided practical advice and insight into choosing and implementing a content management system.

This small, liberal arts college library needed the ability to access more than the basic information contained on their web site using MyLibrary. MyLibrary is a user-driven, customizable information service. It allows anyone to create a portable Web page listing information resources available from the library. Two servers were deployed, one for testing and one for production. A primitive CMS was written in-house to assist in implementing workflow in staging pages in the test phase and then moving them to the production phase. After finding that their in-house CMS was not enough, open source was selected to take it’s place. It took over a year to finally settle on WebGUI for their CMS. WebGUI is an application framework that handles content management as well as managing database connectivity, sessions, and security among other things. It was easy to reuse the MyLibrary data. It’s platform and language were standard: Apache, Perl, and MySQL.

After installation, learning to use the system took a great deal of time. This is true for many open source products where the end-user must learn how to use the system mostly by experimentation. I liked the comment made by one of the systems staff, “that learning often occurred in the manner of ‘light bulbs going on after first blowing a few fuses’”. There were points in time when the decision to go with WebGUI was questioned. The process was frustrating. There was very little guidance on how to use the system.

Eventually, it was found that web site updates were so simple that anyone in the department could make the changes. The site had a consistent “look and feel” based on templates and new pages could be added very quickly. The foundation had been laid for future site expansion.*

The department goes through another hectic period as an upgrade takes place and a complete redesign of the MyLibrary database occurs. Staff felt that there may have been better ways to do the upgrade after it’s completion but did concede that the result gave them a much better working knowledge of WebGUI and better understood the power behind it.

In conclusion, there are several points common to all new projects like this which were made by the staff upon reflecting on all that they had gone through. [1] No matter what open source system one chooses, learning and experimenting is an integral part of the open source community, as it is an environment where “creativity is the mother of invention.” [2] When choosing a system it is important to analyze not only the intended users and what they know, but also the tasks that need to be accomplished by the system. [3] Do not underestimate the magnitude of a project and the importance of communicating this to others. [4] Find what is usable for your unique environment, keeping in mind that what works for one in one setting may not work for another. *

(*Indicates portions of literal text taken from this article.)