Second plenary today is from Susan Farrell – asking ‘are web managers still needed when everyone is a web “expert”?’. Slides at http://www.slideshare.net/iwmw/farrell

Susan asks – why web manager are not valued? Who are these ‘web experts’? Should we be looking at recognised qualifications? How do we show the value we add to the institution? She is thinking of the ‘softer’ skills sides – writing for the web, metadata, search, user interface design etc.

Susan asks what is the perception of ‘web people’ – techies in a cellar? Are staff and students aware of what you do?

Web professionals – similar to librarians? … but less respected Susan suggests:

• Organising information
• Classification
• Cataloguing
• Updating users on new resources

Some issues Susan outlining:

• user research & usability testing – difficult to get funding for this
• writing for the web – devolved responsibility can mean that web team can’t affect what is written
• SEO – not appreciated, but lots spent on ‘marketing’ – but SEO is marketing, so why mismatch?
• Metadata – no-one interested (welcome to the library world)
• Information architecture – expectation that you can just change this to suit specific needs
• Search – expectation of good search experience – but

Experience that ‘consultants know best’ – often listen to consultants above local expertise.

What is a ‘web professional’?

• Need broad range of skills and experience
• Softer skills less recognised
• No set qualifications
• Skills being absorbed by other roles

[hmm – I struggle with this in the way that I struggle with the professional status of librarians. For me the key thing about the professional status of librarians is not skills or qualifications – these have changed over time and continue to change. However, the professional ethics are (and should be) more persistent – ‘Concern for the public good’ and other principles listed at http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/policy/ethics/pages/principles.aspx should be true no matter what the technology. So what do ‘web professionals’ stand for?]

Susan saying web professionals have to promote themselves to key audiences…

Susan asking do web professionals need a professional body?

So – are web managers still needed when everyone is a web ‘expert’? Yes – but we need to promote ourselve and be part of the solution in our Institutions, not part of the overhead…

Q & A

Q: Martin Moyne – is it that difficult to justify? Survey that says web site No 1 factor in overseas students making decisions

A: But perhaps senior management don’t know that?

Q: Careers advice – came across career advice on government site for web managers that said this was going to disappear as a career and suggested a move to finance!

A: Perhaps this is where a professional body is needed – make a representation to government etc.

Q: Brian Kelly – what do we need to do?

A:  Perhaps not a generic thing – tuned to institution?

Q: (from me) librarians have a set of professional ethics – do web managers ‘stand’ for anything?

A: perhaps to many routes to being a web manager to say there is a standard approach

Q: Jeremy Speller – status can’t be gained overnight – takes along time

A: True – but got to start somewhere