Documentation: we all know it’s important. It helps to preserve institutional memory, allows future you to get up to speed, and can be a useful resource to share with colleagues. Yet this important activity is often neglected. Why? Well, one hurdle is simply not knowing where to begin. Another, because we are faced with perennial deadlines and constant day-to-day tasks, is that it too often falls to the bottom of our to-do lists. To encourage library publishers to undertake this important work, the Library Publishing Coalition has designated February as Documentation Month!
Documentation toolkit
To support the community in creating documentation, members of LPC’s Professional Development Committee have created a Library Publishing Documentation Toolkit. It consists of four sections: Getting started with documentation, Planning a documentation day, Suggested documentation projects to tackle, and Sharing documentation beyond your institution. The toolkit is available in PDF and as a Google Doc.
Ways to participate in Documentation Month
For everyone:
- Create some documentation! The purpose of this event is to support library publishers in creating documentation about their publishing programs, so if it inspires you to create even one piece of documentation, you’re participating!
- Follow along on Twitter using the #LPCDocMonth hashtag. We will share a weekly discussion prompt to get you thinking about documentation.
- Organize a local documentation day (see the toolkit for instructions). Share a photo or agenda from your event on Twitter with the #LPCDocMonth hashtag & receive a free registration for the virtual 2021 Library Publishing Forum (limit one per library).
For LPC members:
- Attend the weekly community calls! In addition to opening and closing calls, we will have an update on the Library Publishing Workflows project and a policy-writing community call.
- Participate in an accountability group. We can pair you up with a buddy or two to support each other throughout the month.
More information on how to participate in the member-only events will be shared via the member listserv.
Happy documenting!
From the Documentation Month planning group (Allison Brown, Erin Jerome, Emily Stenberg, and Melanie Schlosser) on behalf of the LPC Professional Development Committee