ABSTRACT
The explosion of Web 2.0 into libraries has left many smaller academic libraries (and other libraries with limited computing resources or support) to work in the cloud using free Web applications. The use of commercial Web hosting is an innovative approach to the problem of inadequate local resources. While the idea of in-sourcing IT will seem daunting to some, the process of setting up and administering hosting and applications is remarkably accessible to staff with basic word processing and Web skills. This article demonstrates the degree to which recent advances in commercial Web hosting and open-source applications have reduced the process of administering Web services, once time consuming and technically demanding, to near point-and-click simplicity. This article reports on the Kraemer Family Library’s use of commercial Web hosting to develop and host a Web 2.0 staff intranet. The staff of 9.5 full-time equivalent librarians and 21.5 full-time equivalent staff serve 8,000 students and 700 faculty and staff at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The small number of library faculty and staff provided the opportunity to experiment with Web 2.0 concepts and applications. Since certain IT-supported requirements were lacking, the library looked for no- and low-cost ways to host the intranet outside the university computing environment. After researching the use of free Web applications, the library’s planning team decided to build its intranet using open-source applications and commercial Web hosting.
