SLA's blogging platform is available for use by all units.

Some units, especially divisions, may wish to have more than one blog. For example, the Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics Division may want a blog for each topic.

To participate, the unit should have one or more people available for managing the content and design of its blog. SLA will provide technical assistance in establishing a unit's blog - and will be available for ongoing questions - but each unit will be responsible for its blog.

The SLA platform for blogging is TypePad, www.TypePad.com. After evaluating several free and paid blogging systems, SLA selected TypePad for its flexibility and ease of use. With TypePad, you may choose a pre-formatted design or create a design of your own. In addition, you may customize a pre-formatted design to create a new look quickly. TypePad supports HTML, and you may post images and upload files as attachments to postings.

At the moment, SLA has one blogging system open for all units. A few units already have started blogs on this system. If there is sufficient demand, SLA will open additional systems for units to use.

Each blogging system can house a virtually unlimited number of blogs. Each blog can have its own identity on the system, its own name, design, and content. Some of the content - particularly sidebar material - may be shared among blogs using the same system.

Using TypePad is simple and intuitive-most users figure out everything they need to know by just doing it and using the robust help functions.

More Information

• On TypePad, individual postings may be assigned a keyword/topic. Readers may select whether to view postings by topic or in date order. The default is reverse chronologically.
• Blogs can be password protected, but to date all unit blogs hosted on SLA accounts are open to the general public.
• The unit blog administrator must grant top-level posting authority (author or junior author) to people as he/she wishes. The author or junior author must respond to an invitation sent from the administrator through the TypePad site and use the link in that e-mail to establish a free TypePad account. Once that is completed, the author may choose to log in manually or have Windows remember the login name and password. Authors and junior authors may only create top-level posts; they do not have access to change the content or design of the blog.
• The poster or the blog administrator can determine whether comments are permitted for specific posts. If comments are permitted-and if the blog is open to the public- no password is needed to post a comment. The blog administrator has access to edit or delete any postings or comments.
• The blog administrator may choose whether to publicize the unit's blog through services such as Bloglines or by making postings on related blogs.
• Each unit blog has a separate URL. Units can link to the blog from their Web site or distribute the URL through e-mail or discussion board postings.
• Just as units are free to have their Web sites and discussion groups hosted on servers other than SLA's, they also are free to establish their own blogs on services of their choice. Annual costs range from free (Google, for example) to $150-$200 per year (depending, in part, on the amount of disk space used on the host server). Some providers offer custom blog software, but at significantly higher rates.

SLA Blogs on TypePad Include

• Bio Med Division/Systems Thinking Perspective (grant-funded project)
• IPANDA Net (natural disaster response)
• Remembering Frank Spaulding (former SLA president)
• SLA 2005 Conference Blog (SLA's first blog)

For more information or to get started, please contact mbusetti@sla.org.