VBPL Blog policy December 2007

Blog Policy
Purpose
Virginia Beach Public Library blogs support the library’s mission by
• Initiating and extending conversations with internal and external customers
• Collecting input and feedback about ways to improve and/or add services desired
or expected from our customers
• Eliminating geographical barriers to interacting with people of similar interests
• Encouraging innovation and collaborative learning
Library blogs may be either public or private. Public blogs serve as the corporate voice
of the Library Department. They also provide staff and customers with an open channel
of communication. Private blogs are strictly for internal communication within teams,
groups and agencies. They are not intended to be an official channel of communication
between the Library Department and the public. All library blogs will adhere to the
following policy:

Policy
The Library Department supports the use of weblog or blog technology to promote
internal and external communication and to encourage innovation and collaborative
learning among staff.

The policy is aligned with the Library Department’s Achieving A Vision of Lifelong
Learning: A Three Year Plan of Action FY 2006-2008. The Strategic Plan of the
Virginia Beach Public Library and the Library Executive Team provide guidance for the
development of new services and methods of service delivery.
Acceptable Use for All Library Department blogs
􀂃 Blog framework or subject area needs to provide enough interest for a readership
and longevity and be timely enough to be of value.
􀂃 All content (regardless of format) and customization will be in compliance with
the City of Virginia Beach’s policies and directives, including but not limited to
Network Acceptable Use AD 2.04, Records Management Guidelines AD 2.10,
Web Site Content Guidelines AD 2.08 and Electronic Mail (E-mail) Policy.
􀂃 All content (regardless of format) and customization will be in compliance with
the Library Department’s policies and procedures including but not limited to
Online Resource Selection (Collection Management), Materials Reconsideration
(Collection Management) and Collection Purpose (Access to Information).
􀂃 All content must respect copyright and fair use laws.
􀂃 Blogs will be related directly to the Library Department’s mission, values and/or
strategic plan.
􀂃 Blog posts will be professional and reflect well on the Library Department and the
City.
Blog Content
􀂃 Follow all City and Library Department policies and procedures as noted in the
above section.
􀂃 Identify yourself in writing by name and your role within the department when
and where it is appropriate.
􀂃 Respect copyright and fair use laws.
􀂃 Provide interesting, value added content including links to other web sites.
􀂃 Provide content that withstands scrutiny over long time periods.
􀂃 Provide content that keeps readers interest over time periods and withstand
scrutiny.
􀂃 Respect your readers, coworkers and fellow bloggers.
􀂃 Correct content mistakes by modifying posts, citations, links or other content.
􀂃 Encourage others to express themselves.
􀂃 Respect your position and the responsibilities it carries.
􀂃 Provide readers with the option to add signed comments to blog posts.
􀂃 Moderate signed comments left by blog readers.
Comments

Unless specified otherwise, comments are open to all and will be moderated by the blog
owner. Commentary, opinion and reactions to posts are welcome. Comments must be
relevant to the post. Spam, flaming, personal attacks and off-topic comments are not
permitted. The Library Department reserves the right to not publish any comment.
Questionable Content
Questionable content in any blog or any blog post or content that does not meet the stated
blog content guidelines will be examined by the blog reviewer for further action and
removal.


Disclaimer
All private library blogs will have the following disclaimer: “ All content on this site
including but not limited to images, posts, comments, and audio and video files are the
expressed thoughts, opinions or positions of the contributor. They do not necessarily
reflect the Virginia Beach Public Library’s positions, strategies or opinions.”
All public blogs are considered the corporate voice of the Virginia Beach Public Library
Department. All content on a public blog will reflect the positions, strategies and
philosophies of the Virginia Beach Public Library Department. No disclaimer is needed.
Copyright
Content on any Library Department blog will be licensed and governed by a Creative
Commons License.
Procedure
All Internet communication technology projects including blogs will follow the Library
Department’s Communication Technology project proposal procedure and guidelines.
Please see the document for specific details.
Terminology
Blog Reviewer – a person responsible for ensuring blog content meets guidelines. They
will review blog contents at frequent intervals for alignment with guidelines. To expedite
the review process, the blog reviewer will sign up for and receive RSS feed for blogs they
review. If needed, the blog reviewer will initiate removal of content.
Blog Owner – a person or persons who is responsible for the blog project. They initiate
the proposal process, coordinate the planning and implementation, evaluate the project’s
success and do any necessary completed staff work.
Blogger – a person or persons who posts to or updates a blog. They may or may not be
the blog owner.
Content – any graphics, video, audio, text or links that appear on a blog or in a blog post.
Comment – a blog post which is time stamped and identified by the author and or a link
to their Web site or blog. Comments may be threaded so that readers can comment on
other comments; most blog comments are displayed chronologically.
Post – an entry or update added to a blog.
Questionable Content – Content in any format including but not limited to text, images,
video, audio or music files that is inappropriate or that violates copyright laws.

December 2007