CONTRIBUTE

What does WebJunction mean by "contribute"? It refers to our members sharing knowledge and experiences with the rest of the library community on the site. This simple activity is what solves problems, improves our skills, and moves the library field—and WebJunction—forward.

If you have created an account (it's free!) and have something to share on any library-related topic, here’s how you can contribute:

Submit a Document

  • Publishing is now easy and immediate.
  • A variety of formats are supported, including HTML, MS Word, PDF, audio files, and images.
  • The User Guide provides help for submitting documents, including details on using a WYSIWYG editor and information about using images in your contributions.
  • Be sure to check out these articles on best practices for web content:
  • Be sure to read about our policies and tips about Copyright and Creative Commons.
  • Check out how you can submit content for our ongoing features: Spotlights, Dear Community, and Member Tips.
  • Remember, your contributions don't have to be long or polished like a journal publication or book chapter. Don't assume that only best practices are shared here: your colleagues will welcome stories of lessons learned, mistakes made, and strategies tried. If others can learn from your experience, it’s worth sharing.
  • Never assume someone else has already published on what you know or the documentation you have. Everyone has something new to bring to the community.

Comment

  • Share your thoughts or opinions on BlogJunction, on a document or course, or on a member's public profile.
  • Comments can alert contributors and editors about outdated content or links, suggest additions, or simply provide kudos or encouragement.
  • Comments can be a great way to network with your peers.

Discuss

  • Dicussions are now collocated alongside content. To find your old favorites, see "Where's my discussion forum?"
  • Post or respond to a discussion thread.
  • Welcome new members to discussions.
  • Facilitate helpful, friendly, engaging discussion between other members.
  • Share articles and news.
  • Help answer questions.
  • You need not have all the answers; offering a warm “hello” is a great way to engage, and you may be able to connect someone to another member with the answers they need.

Recommend

  • Your recommendations can help guide others to relevant content and courses; contribute this way to help others achieve their learning goals.
  • Use and build the wisdom of your "network" to help surface content and learning.

Tag

  • Tagging increases findability, surfacing timely and relevant content.
  • Tags can say "this is what this document/discussion/course means to me, and so it might be helpful to others like me."
  • Tagging is great way to connect a specific piece of content to a project or team.

Rate

  • New tools on WebJunction give you the ability provide your input on content via a 1 to 5 star scoring system.
  • Rating can help surface content that members find valuable--or not so valuable. Don't be afraid to be honest; the tool is there to help assess and improve content.

Facilitate or Present

  • Webinars: share your expertise as a presenter or suggest a webinar topic.
  • Be on a WebJunction panel at a conference.

Moderate a Group or Topic

  • Stay tuned for the rollout of our Topic Moderator program.
  • Create and moderate a Group. Groups are in beta form on the site, but do visit the Groups section of the User Guide to understand what makes a good group and how to best manage your group or check out a list of recently added groups on the Member Center homepage (bottom left corner). 

Be an Advocate for WebJunction

  • Advocates are evolving at WebJunction. Come get involved!
  • Your testimonials can help others find the right tools on WJ to help them do their job.

Community Guidelines

  • The Community Guidelines are a living document, open to member review, comments and updates. Guidelines also exist as a community project in the WebJunction Wiki for member editing and feedback.
  • You can help keep the quality at WebJunction high by encouraging members to follow the guidelines. If you see behavior that runs against the community grain, feel empowered to speak up through a comment, discussion or group.

Contributor News and Information Resources

Archive of Advanced Engagement Webinar