Get current, join the conversation…

Scholars and researchers worldwide are discovering new ways to take advantage of Internet communication technologies, including blogs, to test out their ideas, get connected with far-flung colleagues, promote their institutions and their ongoing research, and reach audiences outside the confines of academia.

Faculty and research staff at TDL member institutions can become part of the conversation of the blogosphere with a TDL Scholarly Blog. The TDL blog service uses WordPress, an open-source blogging platform that is easy and intuitive to use. The TDL hosts and maintains the WordPress software, but individual users have administrative control over their own blogs – how they look and function, how comments are moderated, who is listed on blog rolls, and more. TDL Scholarly Blogs are available free of charge to faculty members at TDL member institutions.

Why should Texas scholars blog with the TDL?

With TDL Scholarly Blogs, faculty members can:

• promote their own work and the reputations of their universities;
• become part of a community of Texas scholars that promotes the standing of scholarly institutions in Texas;
• gain access to the TDL’s rich set of services, including faculty member Web pages, Research Wikis, and peer-reviewed Electronic Journals;
• benefit from feedback on and discussion about their ideas, research findings, and writing;
• disseminate their work to a wide audience, including readers outside academia; and
• support their universities’ wider missions of teaching, research, and outreach.

How do I get my own blog?

Scholarly Blogs from the Texas Digital Library are available for free to faculty members at TDL member institutions. If you would like to create a blog, please complete this form or contact the TDL Helpdesk at support@tdl.org. A TDL staff member will help you claim and set up your blog.

To get started, follow the “5 Steps to a TDL Scholarly Blog.” Also refer to the user manual in the TDL Wiki for additional information.

Any institution of higher learning in Texas may become a member of the Texas Digital Library consortium. To find out more about institutional membership opportunities, please see the Membership section of our Web site.

Where do I go with questions?

For more information about using TDL Scholarly Blogs, please visit WordPress.org documentation pages. You may also contact the TDL Helpdesk.