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Brad, The situation here was very similar to yours. The library had its own web server for many years. After the previous library IT manager retired (and before I was hired to replace him), it was decided that all the library servers would be virtualized and live in the infrastructure provided by campus IT. Before I started, the plan was tentatively to merge the library website with the campus website, which uses Adobe Contribute and Coldfusion (not fun). At the same time, the library had been planning internally to redesign its website for years and to implement Drupal. We wanted more access to the web server to do more complex stuff than static web pages. When I resisted moving to the campus website, we were told that the library would not be able to have its own server for our website because it would be a security problem for us to have full OS-level access to a server that lives in the infrastructure of campus IT. We ended up outsourcing and renting a virtual server from Linode, and campus IT agreed to point the library subdomain to that server. In the theoretical future where the website is 100% finished and feature-complete (read: never), we will create a design spec fully documenting what we need and how to manage it at the OS level, and we will move back to an on-campus server. There was definitely tension between the library and the campus IT department throughout this whole process, although it remained very civil. In part, we were able to pull this off because there were some major personnel changes going on in the IT department, and they didn't have the time to devote to figuring out an approach that they better preferred. (As a side note, I ended up making an executive decision to drop Drupal because it was causing way more problems than it was fixing, but that is another story.) Josh Welker James C. Kirkpatrick Library University of Central Missouri -----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brad Coffield Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2014 10:40 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [CODE4LIB] Informal survey regarding library website liberty Hi all, I would love to hear from people about what sort of setup they have regarding linkage/collaboration/constrictions/freedom regarding campus-wide IT practices and CMS usage and the library website. Some history: For a very long time our library ran its own server and its own website, completely independent of campus-wide concerns (save for occasional requests for help from IT with server issues). A few years ago the server began to reach EOL and it was determined that we couldn't afford to get another. Also around the same time it was deemed that the library website needed a complete re-do. I was tapped to do that re-do. During that process the Marketing dept got involved and it was agreed upon that the library's general look should be aligned with the university's public site (which I think was a good idea). Then it was determined that because of that decision that the simplest way to achieve it was to put us inside their existing CMS which was already setup etc etc. Part of the problem is that the existing CMS is Ektron... The revised library site went live in Ektron 2 years ago. My marketing contact was a massive help in getting it live and training me in ektron etc. He is now no longer with the university and we are in the middle of a transition period. My inclination and desire is to regain some level of independence wherein we collaborate with IT in getting our own server space on their servers but are not tied to their decisions regarding CMS, how and when to go mobile-friendly, etc. Our site is still not fully, truly what it should be because of limitations with Ektron and I would like to get out of it. I would like to have the option to either run a CMS of my choice or go CMS-less (since I'm the only editor). I fear that the site will be held back from being able to do the things that it needs to do. I'm hoping that I can get some responses from you all that way I can informally say "of x libraries that responded y of them are not firmly tied to IT." (or something to that effect) I'm also very curious to read responses because I'm sure they will be educational and help me to make our site better. THE QUESTION: What kind of setup does your library have regarding servers, IT dept collaboration, CMS restrictions, anything else? I imagine that there are many unique situations. Any input you're willing to provide will be very welcome and useful. Thank you! Warm regards, Brad -- Brad Coffield, MLIS Assistant Information and Web Services Librarian Saint Francis University 814-472-3315 [log in to unmask]