Thus far, the plan includes sections on what can be implemented at the VRC over the next month, the next academic year, and during the period of 2009-2011.
Outlined below are my suggestions:
April - May 2008
- Utilize the capabilities of Wikipedia by creating an entry that describes the history and holdings of the VRC. I will also add links to the VRC on relevant pages, such as slide libraries and Visual Resources Association.
- Create a Swicki, which is a customized search engine, to search the VRC's Web Resources page, so that users can conduct a federated search of sites that have been vetted by the VRC.
- Create a blog and write blog entries advertising VRC services and projects.
- Writing meta description tags and title tags for the VRC's Web site. These tags will be targeted to contribute to search engine optimization.
- Creating RSS feeds for VRC content and adding RSS feeds on art and architecture news from the New York Times and the design magazine, Dwell.
- Adding forms, such as a Digitization Request Form, to the VRC's Web site for users to download.
- Adding dynamically generated content to the VRC's Web site, such as a box which promotes different image databases subscribed to by the University of Texas Libraries, web resources for finding images that have been vetted by the VRC, or sites that contain image scanning and presentation tips.
- Creating Vlogs that show users how to find images in different resources.
- Offering orientation sessions that introduce students to the VRC and allow them to sign up for different types of classes, such as "How to Find Images" and "Intro to PowerPoint"
- Adding the VRC logo to slide projectors in School of Architecture classrooms and creating a background for digital projectors that contains the VRC logo.
- Using tradition media, such as the Daily Texan, to promote the roll out of DASe.
- Adding social tagging capabilities to the digital database, DASe.
- Adding instant messaging services to DASe and the VRC's Web site and/or blog.
- Putting discrete images collections in the VRC, such as Texas Architecture, in Flickr.
- Adding mashups, such as Google Maps, to DASe, so that when users conduct a search on Frank Lloyd Wright they will find images and also locations of his works.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
I also mention in the plan how creating faculty buy-in will help the VRC with promoting its resources and services. Ways to create faculty buy-in include:
- Meeting with faculty candidates during the interview process to discuss their images needs and how the VRC can help them.
- Attending faculty meetings to promote DASe and other VRC resources.
- Creating a tea hub at the VRC for faculty and graduate students, so that they become more familiar with the VRC's services, albeit in an indirect way. Discussions over tea could lead to talk of how the VRC can help faculty and students with image needs.
The Beginnings of Plan Implementation
Next week, I will be meeting with Elizabeth Schaub and Chris Rankin, the Webmaster of the School of Architecture, to discuss the best way to implement a blog, a Swicki, meta description tags, title tags, and RSS feeds on the VRC's Web site.
