ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 2 /C&RL News Large-scale application of a Web browser B y A n n K o o p m a n a n d S h a r o n H a y Designing an interface fo r the ultimate workstation T he University Library at Indiana University- Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has built a multiplatform, multimedia, integrated workstation using a World Wide Web browser as an interface. Providing access to multiple Internet sites, online catalogs, networked ap­ plications, indexes/abstracts, video resources, personal storage space, and communications, the Library Information System (LIS) has be­ come the primary tool through which informa­ tion is both delivered to and manipulated by students at IUPUI. The intent o f the system is to provide, at a single station, everything a re­ searcher may need for project work from start to finish. Since the introduction of the LIS in early 1994, librarians have learned many les­ sons about the design, delivery, management, and use o f technology. The cam p us environm ent As its name implies, IUPUI is a collaborative venture between two Big Ten universities— Indiana (IU) and Purdue (PU). The two merged their Indianapolis programs in 1969, combin­ ing IU’s focus on the liberal arts and profes­ sions with Purdue’s emphasis on engineering, technology, and the sciences. Over 170 pro­ grams, from associate through doctoral levels, are available to more than 27,000 students on this commuter campus. The university’s primary mission is to meet the needs o f the diverse ur­ ban population o f Indiana’s largest city. These needs include classes and services geared to­ ward the commuting student, appreciation of the ethnic and international diversity o f the population, and recognition o f the impact com­ puter technology has had on education, espe­ cially for returning, nontraditional students. The lib ra ry environm ent As part o f its mission, IUPUI recently built a new University Library, a $32 million state-of- the-art structure designed with the electronic age in mind. Before construction began, the administration articulated some key directives for the new building. Among these directives were commitments to deliver information re­ gardless o f format, and to deliver that informa­ tion to virtually every seat in the building. This meant that the library building had to b e con­ structed to provide delivery o f text, video, au­ dio, and graphics to individual sites through­ out the facility. To meet this goal, the design included the installation o f both twisted pair and fiber optics cables to more than 1,700 work sites— more than 125 miles of optical fiber. Rec­ ognizing that patrons work with a variety of operating systems, the library provides a mix­ ture o f platforms. More than 75 public work­ stations currently in place provide access to in- house resources and unrestricted access to the Internet. Network connections are also avail­ able throughout the building to patrons who bring their own computers or check out one of the library’s supply o f 20 public laptops. Developm ent of the Lib rary Inform ation System Planning for what was to becom e the Library Ann Koopman is coordinator o f electronic information resources at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, e-mail: koopman@jef l in.tju.edu. Previously she was science a n d engineering librarian at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Sharon Hay is reference librarian at IUPUI, e- mail: shay@library.iupui.edu mailto:shay@library.iupui.edu Ja n u a ry 1 9 9 6 /1 3 Information System began in 1989, assisted first by Ameritech and later by IBM as a joint appli­ cation development program. In the process the library also developed a fruitful partner­ ship with Integrated T ech n o lo g ies (IT ), the computing services arm o f the campus. Every segment o f the IUPUI community was involved in the development o f the LIS through partici­ pation in focus groups. This resulted in com ­ munity acceptance and ownership o f the final product. Originally programmed in HyperCard and Visual Basic, the LIS was always intended to have a graphical user interface and to provide audio and video com ponents. Extensive design and programming w ork had already b een com ­ pleted when the first graphical World Wide Web browsers appeared. It was immediately appar­ ent that a graphical brow ser offered several advantages over in-house programming: • Involvement o f the librarians in the con ­ trol o f their own information environment. W eb sites are easy to maintain, as opposed to using programmers to cod e every addition or change. Cost issues are implicit here as well. • Multimedia capacities o f the system. The ability to deliver audio and graphics, and to launch external software from within the inter­ face w ere very attractive.* Virtually all previ­ ously developed icons and images could still b e used. • T h e hyperm edia freed om o f the W eb environm ent. T h e original system had b e e n d esign ed rigidly, using h ierarch ies and di­ rected paths— very lik e gop h ers. U se o f the W eb p reserved the h ierarchies as an option, but also o p en ed horizons for m ore flex ib le m ovem ent. There were difficulties, o f course, with the selection o f and migration to Mosaic, the browser initially selected. Most notable was that user authen­ tication had to b e shifted from o p e n in g s c r e e n to s e r v e r level— that is, to the point o f login for each application. Dif­ ferences between early Mosaic i n t e r f a c e s fo r th e m ultiplatform environm ent, such as different button bars, were disturbing. Finally, along with their em pow erm ent in the area o f interface control, librarians had to accept the re­ sponsibility to learn and handle technology. Im­ pact on staff time was significant as the librar­ ians entered the partnership. The site Key features o f the hom epage (URL: http:// www-lib.iupui.edu) include: • A bitmapped image hom epage, with al­ ternate line mode access for remote users. • An express bar o f high-demand services, such as word processors and the local online catalog. • Division o f resources by major type or category, such as campuswide information, on­ line catalogs, communications, and a special “reference department.” Under the icons lie hierarchies o f menu screens, further breaking down categories. Lay­ ers are no more than four screens deep. Help screens are interposed betw een each item listed on a menu and the actual site and are intended to assist the novice or the remote user. Experi­ enced patrons can’t “turn o f f ” the help, but can move rapidly through it to reach the site de­ scribed— the initial heading o f each help screen is a large target anchor. Other applications, such as bibliographic databases and word proces­ sors, provide help online. Choice of sites a n d o rg a n iz a tio n The original 100 Internet sites loaded for the April 1994 public unveiling o f the system were assembled rapidly by a small team o f librar­ ians. All types o f sites w ere included, from fi­ nite documents to gateways and bulletin boards, as well as every type o f protocol. Sites were The hom epage o f the IUPUI U niversity Library is a bitmapped image w ith an alternate line-m ode o ption fo r rem o te users. 14 / C&RL News . . . save radical changes for between semesters. . . . Think twice before changing a major icon, pathway, or browser during term paper season. judged, as with any collection development program, by certain criteria for inclusion: • The source, reliability, and completeness of information. • Frequency o f update and commitment of the host to maintenance and stability. • The relative value of the information to local clients. • The workability of the site, i.e., its ease of connection and ease of use. At first, maintenance of links was extremely demanding. Constant review and update were required. Within the first six months o f opera­ tion, 20 percent of the original Internet sites either disappeared or changed enough to re­ quire rewrite of the help screens. As the Web has matured, substantive sites have become more stable, and programs like MOMspider are available to automate the link-checking pro­ cess. Long-term maintenance issues have also forced organizational changes in the library. A team of librarians now works on the system as a collection development project. Team mem­ bers write html files and develop expertise in certain types of resources. They also teach html to faculty and students, and consult with fac­ ulty or other librarians who wish to mount their materials on the system. Lessons learned As one of the first library sites to appear on the Web, IUPUI has had time to listen to patron and staff feedback. Some of the issues raised address content, others address process. What have we learned? 1 ) D esign f o r long-term flexib ility , a s u m in g c h a n g e s in techno logy will b e the n o rm . Browser capabilities and refinements have grown, as have html standards. IUPUI now uses Netscape and continues to review other browser products. The dangers of designing to a single browser or set of equipment quickly became apparent after Netscape was introduced in early 1995. Many files had to be rewritten not just because of instruction differences, but because o f display differences. As another ex­ ample, the homepage image was designed as a single-screen image for the SVGA monitors s in the library building. Remote patrons using VGA monitors, however, cannot see the full image on one screen. They have to scroll around to use many o f the icons, thereby defeating much of the purpose of the design. 2 ) G ra p h ic s a r e n ’t n e c es sa rily b e than text. Use of the bitmapped homepage inhibits the indexing capabilities of some Web search agents. The icons selected for the home­ page area are not as intuitive as originally hoped, and patrons complain about the large number of them. The use o f visual metaphor has become far more sophisticated since the early days of the Web. At the same time, simple words tell patrons what they need to know without a lot o f distraction, and without over­ whelming their modems. 3 ) L ack o f an in tern a l s e a r c h e n g in e o p ­ ion on th e h o m e p a g e f r u s t r a t e s p a t r o n s w ho r e m e m b e r a r e s o u r c e by n a m e but not h e h ie r a r c h ic a l p a t h to g e t th ere. Alpha­ betical lists by site title becom e too cumber­ some to use after the site grows beyond a cer­ tain point. Given the variety of search engines available today, this needs to be considered a basic necessity for any large site. 4 ) It is p o s s ib le to try to h e lp u s e r s too m uch, a n d th ereb y m a k e th em dislik e o r re s e n t th e in terfa ce. The original concept of help screens, instructing patrons on how to click and navigate the Web, were appropriate at first because o f the newness o f the concept. By now, however, patrons are much more sophisticated. Unless there are login instructions or other spe­ cial circumstances, routine help may not be worth the resources required to create and maintain ­ it. 5 ) At th e s a m e time, p a t r o n s n e e d help with m any o t h e r activities, s u c h a s e q u ip ­ ment glitches, p a p e r supply, a n d w o rd p r o ­ e s s in g com m an ds. Originally designed for completely independent use, workstations on upper floors are now monitored by library staff. A special cluster o f stations, attended by a com­ puting services consultant, provides advanced assistance with core programs. 6 ) D em a n d f o r co m p u tin g always swells o m eet a n d e x c e e d supply. Add to that cyni­ cal rule the fact that at IUPUI all workstations tter t t c t Ja n u a ry 1 9 9 6 /1 5 perform all functions, and the result is lots o f new “appropriate u se” policies. Signage is only partially effective at keeping word processing, e-mail, and frivolous Internet use out o f the reference area, where legitimate scholarly de­ mand often exceeds the supply o f equipment. U se o f b lo ck in g featu res available fo r s e le c ­ tive denial o f sp ecific reso u rces from s p e ­ cific m ach in es can help staff avoid b e c o m ­ ing police. 7 ) It q u ic k ly b e c a m e c l e a r th a t all d e ­ p a r t m e n t s in th e l ib r a r y w e r e b o th a ff e c t e d by a n d i n t e r e s t e d in t h e p r o j e c t . The initial team o f librarians involved with the project was drawn solely from public services. Later, two interdepartmental groups were formed to deal with policy issues (standards, organization, ac­ cess) and editorial issues (collection develop­ ment, resource description). The resulting cross­ fertilization has been very positive. 8 ) P a t r o n e d u c a t io n w a s a n d c o n t in u e s to b e p a r a m o u n t . Organized general classes, departmental outreach, and constant market­ ing o f group instruction options are the only econom ical way for beleaguered library staff to keep up with large-scale patron need. Addi­ tional impact on reference encounters has b een severe; patrons require not only delivery o f in­ formation at the point o f request, but instruc­ tion on use o f the system in order to obtain it. This is a familiar problem encountered with the introduction o f every new technology. The main problem is getting the patrons who need it most to attend the workshops in anticipation o f future need. 9 ) E v o lu tio n is n e c e s s a r y a n d g o o d , b u t s a v e r a d i c a l c h a n g e s f o r b e t w e e n s e m e s ­ te rs . Simple additions o f new sites, like add­ ing new books to the shelf, can take place at any time. But think twice before changing a major icon, pathway, or browser during term paper season. As simple-minded as this may seem , com peting interests may drive timetables and installation dates without regard for patron needs or staff capacity. The librarians, esp e­ cially the public service librarians, sometimes need to intercede in the planning process on behalf o f the patron. 1 0 ) D o n ’t let p e r f e c t i o n g e t in t h e w ay o f a g o o d j o b . This is almost a corollary to the previous lesson learned. Rapid evolution in this medium is a fact, and w e can squander both our time and patrons’ tem pers by trying to maintain hierarchical relationships, lots o f rules, and testing ad infinitum. Sometimes w e just have to put material out and see how people react to it before w e can progress, knowing it is easy to change and to grow. Rapid-response team­ work based on trust in patrons and colleagues is the most constructive strategy. 1 1 ) T h e lib r a r y is b e c o m in g a p u b l i s h ­ in g m e d iu m . While pointing to lots o f sites at other locations is like building a collection o f books, the development o f unique content con­ tributes to the scholarly repertoire. IUPUI’s con ­ tributions o f its Philanthropic Studies pages and Special Collections pages are the library’s first unique publications. T he next step is to col­ laborate with faculty to produce teaching ma­ terials or to publish new scholarly works in the electronic medium. Conclusion The LIS is an evolving product; it will never be “finished.” Growth in numbers o f sites, num­ bers o f stations, new technologies, and uses must b e assumed, and librarians must partici­ pate fully at every stage. The cost o f such participation can be high. The LIS project has stretched human resources, sometimes to the breaking point, and has forced major organizational shifts within the library as librarians take on new roles. T he challenge faced at IUPUI is to create a distributed system that is as independent as possible o f human attendance, conserving this type o f staff resource for development o f the interface. Even so, the interface is like the new IUPUI library building, just a shell. What matters is the content— what is on the shelves and how people get to it, or collections and signage, if you will. It also matters how people can inter­ act with what they find. The promise o f the electronic environment to bring the patron into a much more interactive context as consumer, manipulator, and contributor o f system content is wide open to development by entrepreneur­ ial librarians. * A u th o r n ote: Copies o f the launcher soft­ ware, written by Larry Tenny o f University Com­ puting Services, IU-Bloomington, are available at: s ite : f t p .la w .in d i a n a .e d u ; p a s s w o r d : yourusemame@host.domain; login: anonymous; directory: /pub/www. For the Windows launcher, download two f i le s : la u n c h e r .z ip ( s e t f i le to b in a r y ) ; launcher.readme (set file to ascii). For the Macintosh launcher, download one file: M aclauncher.sea.hqx (set file to ascii). ■ ftp://ftp.law.indiana.edu