 | mission statement pt 2: ***DEADLINE FOR FEEDBACK THURS MAR 5*** |
|
Mission Statement: There seems to be some confusion in regards to our mission statement b/c some students are trying to create a mission statement for the POD PROJECT (formerly ODBS PROJECT) while others would like to create one for OUR CLASS and its limitations. Those who are thinking of the former are suggesting that this is a major undertaking that may not be accomplished by our class. (see former discussion: http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=94#p7541). Those who are thinking of the latter want to express our limitations. Both parties are cautious in that we want to avoid creating a statement that we as students can't meet. Our preliminary branding and the letters of intent for Outreach and CR now both assume we are creating and writing these products for Prof Caidi with the assumption that she and Adam will take our products to further the ODBS project in our absence. I now think that the mission statement should match those assumptions, but if the majority wants to change the scope them to reflect us as students, here is the place to have your say! + + + Summary of earlier discussion: - Margaret proposes a statement: The Purpose of the On-Demand Book System is to faciliate the need for physical books in rural and isolated communities, within the context of learning, education, knowledge sharing, history recording. M emphasizes the need to keep the statement media non-specific as well as the fact that we may not accomplish the creation of a mission statement. - Nira, Fiona, Dominika and myself express concerns that our statement should not suggest that ODBS is an educational venture and that it could also include notions of leisure. - Nira mentions that the statement could include notions of self publishing, and local content. Mark agrees. [n.b. others in the last Outreach meeting also support this angle.] - Margaret suggests change to The Purpose of the On-Demand Book System (ODBS) is to facilitate the need for physical books and promote the joy of reading in rural and isolated communities, within the context of learning, education, knowledge sharing, history recording. [n.b. ppl really liked the addition of joy.] For full discussion, please see the other mission statement thread in this forum. |
 | Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
I worry about the "is to facilitate the need for physical books" component and am not sure what that means. I do like the addition of " promote the joy of reading" What about “The Purpose of the On-Demand Book System (ODBS) is to promote the joy of reading in First Nations rural and isolated communities, within the context of learning, education, knowledge sharing, history recording by providing access to bookbinding equipment and books online via a web portal." |
 | Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Cathy ... I really like the way this one is shaping up. One thought for everyone's consideration ... "promote" seems to imply (at least to me) that the folks we serve need to be encouraged to read which might seem somewhat patronizing to some. When I looked up a synonym for "promote", another possibility might be "support" ... Brian |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Hi Brian, I think you are absolutely right. Support sounds much better than promote. What about “The Purpose of the On-Demand Book System (ODBS) is to support the joy of reading in First Nations rural and isolated communities, within the context of learning, education, knowledge sharing, history recording by providing access to bookbinding equipment and books online via a web portal." Thanks Cathy |
 | Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Hi all, That's a great mission! I think you've covered all of the important things the ODBS has to offer. One thing I would suggest is that it be reworded slightly. How about: By providing access to bookbinding equipment and books online via a web portal, the On-Demand Book System (ODBS) will (or hope to) support the joy of reading in First Nations rural and isolated communities, within the context of learning, education, knowledge sharing, history recording ." |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Hi All, **Deadline for comments Tuesday, March 3rd at 12:00 noon** In class on Thursday it was discussed that the following three concepts should be incorporated into the mission statement: 1) hands-on experience 2) ownership 3) creating content At our meeting today, the Promotions and Outreach team has revised the mission statement as follows: "The purpose of the On-Demand Book System (ODBS) is to support the joy of reading in the First Nations rural and isolated communities within the context of learning, education, knowledge sharing and history recording. By providing access to bookbinding equipment and books online via a web portal, the user will have a hands on experience by creating a book(s). The books created can be downloaded from the Internet or created using local content to foster a sense of ownership." |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Incorporating all of the facet of the project is difficult and wording it elegantly is all the more difficult. You've done a good job putting it all together. Here's my suggestion: The purpose of the On-Demand Book System (ODBS) is to support the joy of reading in rural and isolated First Nations communities within the context of learning, knowledge sharing and history recording. Using either the ODBS custom online-content portal, or using content originating in the community, the user will create physical copies of texts using special ODBS bookbinding equipment. By providing physical copies of digital texts, the ODBS will foster a sense of ownership and encourage literacy for all. Thoughts? |
 | Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
A suggestion to this sentence: By providing access to bookbinding equipment and FREE ONLINE CONTENT via a web portal that is developed by users in the community. I bring this up because in conversation with a YICT worker, when presented with a summary of the project as such, they are under the impression that ANY books are available for download and print. I would remove the last sentence altogether. Just a thought! |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Good point Margaret, we need to make sure that ppl understand the scope of the service. We may want to include in mission statement the ability to access works released under a creative commons license. |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Maybe what we are getting into, is now giving a simple, general mission statement, with a separate list of objectives that this project to do. Many not-for-profit organizations have this. Could we try that format, Cathy et al.? |
 | Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
I am all for a general mission statement that is not too heavy or difficult to process- Margaret, your idea about a simple mission statement with a separate list of objectives sounds really interesting... but I think it might be difficult to break it down into this form because of the multi-dimensions of the ODBS.... maybe referencing not just what the ODBS does, but what we hope it can accomplish as well? So we'd be integrating some vision on top of the practical aspects in bulleted form? |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
That format is particularly well suited to organizations that have a variety of ways to grow and expand. Let's take internet archive's mission statement for example: Web Site Intro: The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. About Us/Mission Statement: The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. (Source: http://www.archive.org/about/about.php) The Internet Archives does a ton of different projects with different partners... even though we are focused on FN communities, we can agree that each of them have unique needs from each other, just as all the 'information organizations' that IA collaborates with have different goals and priorities. Hope this helps my case. =) |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Margaret, I've posted the latest statement to our Moodle intro page; I hope that my About ODBS section encompasses what you've suggested by stressing its customizability. Pls let me know if I've misunderstood. |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
Hey Erica, glad you've figured out how to edit. =) I'm not sure what the statement "ODBS custom free online-content portal" is trying to convey, could you elaborate? And then I can tell you whether that's what I meant? =) Just as an aside, the system design is at a very rough and early stage, so our team can't really commit to saying exactly how the portal will work, so perhaps a more general statement about the portal will suffice. Looking forward to meeting with you or getting a list of the 'features' or 'content' you'd like to see on moodle as well, so I can give you some recommendations as to how to best upload them to the moodle site! |
| Re: mission statement (part two: *PLEASE USE THIS THREAD*) |
|
I agree about a general statement, and in the Q&A I've been very explicit that the portal does not yet exist, and a launch date is undetermined. OK, I will edit the statement; whatever we say there should be clear so that ppl new to the project know exactly what we're talking about! |
| Re: mission statement pt 2: ***DEADLINE FOR FEEDBACK THURS MAR 5*** |
|
Hey everyone, our team decided we needed a deadline for the MS so that we can start working on updating the Moodle, esp the intro which really needs to be edited, esp now that we are getting community members involved. Thanks for your understanding! |
 | Re: mission statement pt 2: ***DEADLINE FOR FEEDBACK THURS MAR 5*** |
|
I agree that this is a general mission statement, adding specifics to it may be helpful, but..... as the internet archives statement is helpful do you have any suggestions that are unique to the ODBS?? |