The University of Minnesota Libraries has provided a platform for students and faculty to publish their own weblogs via a centralized Library system service. The U Think site uses Movable Type to publish individual weblogs. They have a process for creating a weblog that is integrated with the University's student Internet account initiation process. They provide a good set of guidelines in their Ways to use blogs page, and each user gets a complete MovableType environment where they can create multiple blogs and add authors. A directory of all weblogs is also provided.

They've take a very open approach that encourages anyone in the University to begin publishing. This is the right approach for this environment. It centralizes the technology, but gives complete control over how and when to publish to the author. MT authors create their own categories, for instance. MT is popular and usable, so it should work for both students and faculty alike.

Even though the system is centralized in this example, blog authors will get a sense of ownership because they get a place to isolate their voice and focus on/develop their thoughts while also being able to connect them to others via comments and trackback. These are like open notebooks in an academic environment.