Friday, February 27, 2009

Success!

This week was the final push to get the new website ready for public viewing: working out more glitches as we found them (what happened to those links that worked before??? why can't I upload this file???) and one final meeting of our committee before the Friday morning roll-over.

Thursday night, after a fun drive home in a blizzard, I was ready and waiting at my computer to see what would happen at 8 p.m. (the time we'd asked for the change to occur). Lois sends an IM: we need to change our DNS servers! Of course we do; we'd asked about that a while ago, but then forgot once we were busy with website content and other details. Can I remember the log-in to that account? Of course not; that information lives in a folder at my desk so I don't need to remember. Really, changing DNS information isn't something I do every day. She finds the file, gives me the log-in info (I probably could have guessed - it seems obvious once you actually have it in front of you!). Strangely, although we have 2 domain names only one shows up. I change those numbers, and we try to figure out how to log in to do the other domain name. I even call tech support (and sadly, am a bit rude to the gentleman on the other end when he tells me Bozeman Public Library is the account holder, and only the account holder can change who has access to things). There is a form that Lois, who is listed on the account, can fax in with her ID and another piece of ID with her address (like a utility bill - it was starting to sound like she would be issued a library card!). Then in a few days she might be authorized.

That didn't sound promising. The other name on the account? Aaron, who is no longer with the City and we have no idea how to contact him. But Lois keeps working, contacting City IT with the hope that they have the information we need. And, these things take 24 hours or more to actually happen, so I go to bed not knowing if the new website will appear or not.

But, at breakfast I check and am able to see our new website! It's a miracle that lasts until I get to work and discover it doesn't seem to appear on computers anywhere in the library. Since the old site still works, we wait to see what will happen. Our web host says the change worked and it's probably our network having an issue with the whole DNS thing. I called my dad - he had the new site, and after lunch the public computers in the library seem to have it too. So it's like one of those images slowly coming in to view - by tomorrow we expect everyone will see it!

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