Welcome to the ninth issue of the Carolyn Hasenfratz Design and Carolyn's Stamp Store email newsletter.

Contents:

• Send a Free, Personalized Father's Day eCard


• Software is Knowledge: Organize Your Collection


• Carolyn's Stamp Store is on Facebook and Amazon.com


• New Products Added to Carolyn's Stamp Store


• Featured Craft Project from Carolyn's Stamp Store:
  Retro Interlocking Card

In a recent post for the Webinar Resources blog, Nurture Your Most Important Asset: Knowledge, I wrote about how the knowledge that an organization collectively retains might be the most valuable asset in it's possession. One way to preserve such knowledge is to organize your software collection. No doubt you are careful to keep backup copies of your expensive software packages, and you probably have the serial number stuck with a sticker or written on the cd case and software manual so that it's easily accessible to whoever needs it. Perhaps you're not as diligent with inexpensive software packages or free downloads that your employees have discovered. If members of your organization are like me they probably get a lot of work done with the aid of free or inexpensive software in their day to day work or their own personal projects. I suggest that you encourage everyone in your organization to share their knowledge of software by contributing to the cataloging of your collective software collection.

Here is how. Ask your employees to make a list of what they have to contribute. For example, I have FTP software, software for webcams and software that helps me with HTML text editing such as Crimson Editor, Babel Pad and BK Replace Em. I have many scripts in PERL, PHP, and JavaScript that I've downloaded to use in web development. Dont forget about plug-ins or fonts.

1. Get some three ring binders. If there is a lot of software, designate categories for the binders such as "Graphics", "Audio", "Webcams", "PHP Scripts", "Text Editors" or whatever categories make sense for your company.


2. Cut stiff paper such as cardstock, chipboard, or cut up manilla envelopes into 8.5" x 11" pieces and punch holes along one side with a three-hole punch.


3. Now collect the software. If you have a CD for the software, put it in a paper envelope and attach it to one of the cardstock sheets with double-sided tape. If you don't have any paper CD envelopes, you can make a pocket with the template "Pocket Template for CD" found toward the bottom of the Paper Crafting Templates page on one of my web sites.


4. If the software was downloaded and there is no CD, make CDs for each software package or category of software, and put these in envelopes or pockets attached to cardstock.


5. Make notes on the cardstock about what is on the CD, serial numbers if applicable, other helpful information about the software, and put the cardstock sheet in a binder.


6. Print out any manuals or instructions associated with the software, punch holes in the printed out sheets, and put them in the binder next to the cardstock sheet.


7. Use self-adhesive index tabs to organize the collection.


8. Make a list of what is in your library, and give each employee a copy. You might want to make this document a web page on your intranet if you think it is going to get updated frequently. If any members of your organization have a problem and need a solution, or want to learn something new, they now have a valuable library to dip into and increase their value to the organization. And your company will have some insurance against losing valuable knowledge if an employee leaves.

Speaking of product listings, several new products have been added to the catalog on www.carolynsstampstore.com since my last newsletter came out. Here are some highlights:

Until next time,

Carolyn Hasenfratz