An economical, low-effort newsletter gets the job done Copyright 1992 CAUSE FROM _CAUSE/EFFECT_ VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3, FALL 1992. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear,and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301, 303-449-4430, e-mail info@CAUSE.colorado.edu AN ECONOMICAL, LOW-EFFORT NEWSLETTER GETS THE JOB DONE by Albert L. LeDuc ************************************************************************ Albert L. LeDuc is currently Director of Computer Services at Miami-Dade Community College, where he has worked for the past fifteen years. He received the 1985 Frank Martin Service Award from CUMREC and the 1986 CAUSE/EFFECT Contributor of the Year Award. He has served on the CAUSE Editorial Committee and CAUSE National Conference Program Committee. ************************************************************************ ABSTRACT: Too often computing services newsletters take a lot of time to assemble, edit, and produce. While desktop publishing has the potential to reduce this effort, it more often causes such newsletters to get thicker and flashier. This conforms with the basic irony of many computer systems: while they may have been originally justified as cost- or effort-saving devices, mostly they end up allowing us to do things we would not have considered doing before. Computer services at Miami-Dade Community College certainly was typical of this syndrome: our classic newsletter was abandoned in 1986 because it was taking too much time to produce. But something still was needed to communicate to our users and staff. As the director of computer services, I noted the success that Miami-Dade's south campus registrar had achieved in publishing a one-page news sheet covering registration activities. That sheet, published irregularly, offered very short news items, was produced using simple word processing software, included some attractive graphics, and had the joint effect of being newsy and interesting. Why not, I thought, attempt that kind of newsletter in computer services? I experimented with putting together a one-page newsletter to see how long it would actually take to do the work and found that it took all of two hours to produce--an eye-opener for me! Surely I could find that kind of time regularly--and, in fact, I have, though my time budget now has increased to three hours every month since that first issue was distributed three years ago. Some basic principles After that first issue, three general objectives were established for this "new" activity: (1) The newsletter was going to communicate. That communication needed to be broad enough so that internal and external readers could get information from it equally easily. While there might be a need to communicate technical items to technical readers and training information to a varied audience, the newsletter was not going to be used as a technical source document. Each item was going to be brief; when necessary, names and reference numbers would be provided as sources for further documentation. There would be no in-depth reportage, nor lectures. Rather, we would use a "McDonald's" approach--fast news, delivered quickly and cheaply. (2) The newsletter was going to be a public relations activity. It had been clear for some time that computer services activities were generally not well known throughout the College community. Not only were our services fuzzily understood, there was some active animosity, mostly based on misunderstanding. It was obvious that we had failed to gain any visibility for some truly remarkable activities that were going on. (3) The newsletter was going to be used as a recognition device. One of the problems with "remarkable activities" is that some of them take place in the dead of night due to the efforts of relatively unknown people. It seemed that the newsletter could be used to point out people whose contributions to the College might easily be overlooked otherwise. In fact, because computer services is removed from the central teaching/learning mission of the College, most of our staff are obscure and need some recognition beyond the immediate work group. Newsletter content Having established those principles, several decisions had to be made about the content of the newsletter. A number of guidelines were created: * Priority should be given to large-effort system success stories, emphasizing accomplishment. * There should be articles on new hardware and software as soon as they are approved, both to prepare users for their arrival and to impress upon them the many changes that occur in tools. Moves of equipment also should be pointed out. * There should be occasional articles discussing systems that are in progress, mostly to note training needs. * There should be occasional statistics, but only if they are truly interesting ones (e.g., the fact of the two-millionth caller to our voice-response registration system was noted in one newsletter). * New staff should be identified along with the job that they do, and people who get promotions, upgrades, and other special recognition should be spotlighted. * "Fun" features need to be included (e.g., every other month there is a "mystery person" whose identification brings the "detective" a nice prize donated by a vendor--now the most popular feature in the newsletter). * There should be no personal (family) news. Everyone has children who have done remarkable deeds, but if those deeds are noted, they can * As filler, job-related facts or jokes may be used very occasionally. * Ideas from all "subscribers" should be encouraged. Today our newsletters are eagerly awaited and avidly read, but results go well beyond delivering interesting news. Every time we are able to get a user to see the size, scope, and importance of the entire set of computer services activities, we gain ground and increase our organizational self-esteem. We serve five campuses over a wide area, three of which have computer centers with a three-shift operation; over ninety people are working to serve College needs. Too often, the complexity of our organization is not understood. The newsletter helps to get that message across. Newsletter standards In addition to general principles, several style decisions molded what the newsletter has become: * The style is simple, clean, and brief--a one-page, single-sided, three-column format--with up to 750 words, using lots of white space, tidy fonts, five graphics per issue, and consistent layout. * We stick to a regular schedule. The newsletter is dated and distributed by the first working day of each month. * Appropriate graphics are always used. They can be humorous or specific, but they must relate to the article. * Care is taken to ensure that proper credit is always given for all participants in an activity, including users. * The general tone is breezy, but not trivial, and the newsletter has to pass a test of being truly interesting. * Every issue is proofed carefully to remove as many typos as possible and to check accuracy. Typically, the three other directors in computer services go over at least one draft of the newsletter before it is distributed. Advice to others This kind of newsletter, while somewhat unique, may have universal appeal in times of fiscal constraint, and is within the reach of anyone willing to invest a little time to get it under way. Here's some summary advice for those who would like to try an economical, low-effort newsletter: * Set a time budget for newsletter production and stick to it. * Set objectives for the newsletter that focus on how to improve your environment. * Learn a little about design--too many newsletters are poorly designed by amateurs running amok with desktop publishing software. * Establish a schedule for publication and stick to it with the obsession of a daily news hound. * Edit each article until it is "net"--and then edit it one more time. * Get help from others for article ideas. * Don't overcommit to doing something that is beyond your ability to keep up. ************************************************************************