Google Drive

I have used Google Docs for several years to share documents among members of various committees I have been on. It worked really well for sharing documents when I was the chair of the Federal Depository Library Council, since we had members from all over the country. We also used it during our meetings to share notes and collaboratively draft recommendations.

Here at OSL, I've also used Google Drive for sharing documents. I used it to share the many files associated with the proposals we received for the recent RFP for the Statewide Database Licensing Program with committee members who were evaluating proposals. We have also been using a shared spreadsheet file to identify all the invited participants to the NW Digital Collections Summit meeting to be held here at OSL on March 20. Using Google Drive to share documents for short term work is much more efficient than setting up a web page. Also, the ability to "group edit" documents is extremely valuable.

Most recently, the Library Support and Development Division used a Google Document to work on our Division's strategic plan. We used a template document created by Katie to fill in information about how each of the programs/projects we work on fit into OSL's strategic imperatives. We went over instructions for filling out the template as a group, and then worked on it to individually fill out information about each of our projects/programs over the course of an afternoon. We then came together the following afternoon to review and edit the document.

We did struggle a bit with "version control", in that some of us that were not used to managing files in the Google Drive environment had trouble remembering not to "save" the document. When you use the save function in Google Docs, you create another version of the file that is no longer the same one that is being shared. You also have to remember that if you are the "owner" of the document, if you manipulate the file (rename, save a different version, etc.) that will impact the ability for others to access the document. Google Docs editing has some differences with Microsoft Word, so that can also be a bit challenging to get used to.

In all, I think Library Support's recent activity was a very good opportunity for everyone in the Division to either brush up or learn Google Drive skills ... exactly what we need to incorporate these tools into our daily work life.