The University Library at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis has built a multi-platform, multimedia, integrated workstation using Mosaic as an interface. Over 50 stations have been available for public use since April of 1994. Strengths and weaknesses of Mosaic, reactions of users, and the new Library Information System's impact on library staff and services are discussed, along with a description of future development plans.
Envisioning the World Wide Web at IUPUI
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
The IUPUI University Library
The Library Information System (LIS):
Imagine the following scenario:
After reading some interesting abstracts in PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service), a CD-ROM product which deals with public policy and affairs, she decides to focus her assignment on the country of Rwanda. Instead of a text-based document, she uses graphics to represent her points. A map of Rwanda becomes her primary organizing framework. By embedding links within the map, she organizes the basic themes of her analysis of the Rwandan situation. Around the map are icons that she has created using a draw program available via the Scholar's Workstation. Each icon represents a different body of information: an icon representing people is linked to her analysis about the people of the country; an icon representing the politics of Rwanda is linked to her comments and reaction to the current political situation; an icon representing weather/climate is linked to her observations about the climate's impact on the Rwandan experience. Embedded within each of these analyses are further links to primary sources of information located on the Internet. Within her political discussion is a link to the State Department's gopher in Washington, D.C.; a digital movie can be accessed showing the weather conditions as a part of her weather analysis; census information about the people of Rwanda can be accessed by way of her discussion of the populace. People reading her analyses have the opportunity to view pictures, clips of TV news programs, statistical tables, etc., via links embedded in the text which contribute to the conclusions and commentary she is offering.
The English professor, having gathered many such documents from his students, plans to create a homepage which will provide links to the students' documents. As people discover the documents on the Web, they will create links within their own documents which will incorporate the English classes' assignments.
IUPUI offers degrees in 174 different programs, from associate through doctoral levels, to its 28,000 students. As home to the only medical and dental school programs available in the state, and the nation's largest nursing school, IUPUI is an integral part of the health education for the state of Indiana. Several federal, state, and county hospitals and clinics at the IU Medical Center contribute to IU's academic programs in the health professions. The largest law school in the state can be found at IUPUI, as well as the state's only graduate degree program in social work, and the unique and innovative Center on Philanthropy.
Located in the state's largest city, IUPUI sees its primary mission as meeting the needs of the predominately urban population. These needs include classes and services geared toward the commuting student; an understanding of the issues and obstacles facing nontraditional students; an appreciation and recognition of the ethnic diversity found in an urban institution; and recognizing and addressing the impact computer technology has had on education, especially on returning, nontraditional students.
Before construction of the library began, the administration articulated some key directives for the new building. Among these directives was the commitment to delivering information regardless of its format. This meant that the library building needed to be constructed in such a way as to facilitate the delivery of text, video, audio, and graphics. In order to meet this goal, the design of the new library included the installation of both twisted pair and fiber optics cable to over 1700 worksites in the building. This created a sophisticated, networked infrastructure for the system we eventually developed-the Scholar's Workstation. As the environment expands to include additional multimedia capabilities, we will be able to deliver to the Scholar's Workstations a variety of tape formats, satellite downlink, video disc, and CD formats.
Also, recognizing that our patrons work with both Macintosh and IBM computers, we have made a conscious decision to provide both platforms. We currently have over 50 IBM and Macintosh computers available which provide access to in-house resources such as IUCAT (the Indiana University online catalog), application software, CD-ROMs, as well as providing access to Internet resources located around the world. While we provide computer stations from which to work, we also make available network connections so that patrons can bring in their own computers or check out one of the computer laptops available.
Along with the sophisticated hardware, we have spent a great deal of time and energy developing the interface from which information is delivered.
The LIS was just a dream when serious planning for the new IUPUI University Library got underway in 1986/87. While the building was planned from the beginning to house a sophisticated wiring and delivery mechanism that could support all conceivable technologies, it wasn't until several years later that planning got underway for the actual information system it was to house. The vision was to build an integrated workstation, usable by both computer novice and sophisticate, incorporating access to the Internet with a variety of licensed products and locally-produced information and multi-media. But how would we build it and how would it work?
Ameritech performed an initial feasibility study in 1989, resulting in a recommendation for development of a graphical user interface to organize all activities available on the system. This feasibility study led to a joint application development (JAD) program undertaken between University Library, IBM, and IUPUI's computing services arm: Integrated Technologies.
The goal of the JAD was to figure out what the Library would need for the stations, and what hardware and software combinations could best provide the most functionality. Beginning in 1992, several teams were developed, incorporating library staff and computing personnel as well as bringing in members of the faculty and student body. Hours upon hours of sometimes heated discussion brought us closer to an understanding of what could be possible. The key elements were that
Alongside the evolving ideas, a variety of computer analysts worked to develop the concepts into working software. But while it was relatively straightforward to put together and test hardware configurations, the software programming that would integrate the applications lagged. Our deadline for putting the system out in public loomed: April of 1994 would be the library's dedication, when a working system had been promised to the many investors in IUPUI's future.
Into all of this mix, entered Mosaic. When we first started to think about the system in 1989, gophers hadn't come on the scene, much less the Web. Even when we started to build the first prototype in 1992-93, the Web was just emerging. The explosion of Mosaic and the Web redefined many of the issues involved with in-house programming especially in the areas of multimedia handling capabilities, security and authentication. By early 1994, concurrent development was undertaken to compare Mosaic's capabilities with the in-house system. The final decision to go with Mosaic was made only a few weeks before the public unveiling.
The computing services arm of one of our parent campuses - Indiana University, Bloomington - weighed in with massive support to make the last-minute switch to the new software and get the stations ready in time for the dedication. External software for the launching of applications and bibliographic databases was developed by Larry Tenny, along with graphics and maps by the staff of the Center for Innovative Computing Applications (CICA), and help screens for applications by training staff and LoriLee Sadler. Tenny and Sadler also provided the training necessary for the librarians to become involved in writing content for the system.
A small team of librarians was formed in February of 1994 to identify Internet resources and to write the help screens for novice users of the system. Of course, for some of us this meant climbing a learning curve that looked like a straight cliff. In six short weeks, the librarians learned basic html, learned both system platforms, learned to find their way around on the Internet, and developed initial standards for the selection and description of sites. In the process, we mounted over 100 sites, and developed the proto-menus of the hierarchical system.
While some continued development has taken place over the summer, the interface available today is essentially the same as what was unveiled to the public in April.
What was it that was so attractive about Mosaic? Knowing that the software was in its infancy - an alpha release, no less - what were the advantages and disadvantages we had to consider?
Perhaps obvious advantages for us were:
Disadvantages of the system were considered, but were eventually discounted:
So what did we eventually set before the public? Look at our site at URL: http://www-lib.iupui.edu to see how we have organized information.
The contents of the system lie behind icons that respond to the vision of the initial focus groups:
The idea of the graphical interface was to invite the novice user to explore, and to help overcome the forbidding face of just text. Knowing that much of the IUPUI population is shy of computers, extensive help was built in. In our naivete at the beginning of the project, we also thought that if we built friendly enough electronic help into the system, that it could take the place of much human attendance.
When almost any resource is selected, a help screen comes up first, explaining what the resource is and how to use it. The help screens are intended for the first-time user. Experienced users can't turn off the help, but can click right through it to reach the site described; we made a large target anchor out of the initial heading of each help screen.
While the system tries to make the type of connection as transparent as possible, sometimes a login sequence is required. Logins are not automatic at this time, so the help screens are especially important for these sites.
Over 100 sites were identified and put in place for the unveiling of the LIS in April. They included an assortment of protocols and types of material, from brief factual lists, such as the current foreign exchange rate, to large gateways and bulletin board systems. The LIS planners had originally envisioned a system which would always point to complete documents, so the inclusion of gateways was a departure from this basic concept.
Sites had to be judged by certain criteria for inclusion in the LIS. Wherever possible, we wanted to determine:
Many documents and homepages presented helpful descriptions of the information they contain when it is factual in nature. The Budget of the United States or St. Olaf's State Department Travel Advisories, for example, stated their sources of information right up front . Many sites were not always so clear, and presented problems if not investigated carefully. Pointing to a gateway represented a special problem, since by so doing, we relied upon another system administrator to evaluate the quality of listed sites.
Frequency of update and host commitment or stability were often impossible to determine. Internet sites come and go, sometimes with dizzying speed. Over the course of the last five months, between 15-20% of our original sites have disappeared or have changed significantly enough to require revision of their help screen descriptions.
Relative value, of course, was based on our knowledge of curriculum and interests of faculty and students. Where materials overlapped, such as with the Occupational Outlook Handbook, or for census and criminal justice statistical information, we tried to point out in our help screen descriptions that additional material was available in the print collection.
Workability of the site was a prime problem. Many sites contained bad links, some were so popular that users could rarely connect, and some required additional software that not all of our machines could support, such as FORMS. Some sites were so loaded with extraneous images that retrieval took unforgivably long. We found that patrons, not realizing that graphics were being loaded, often times abandoned the computer in frustration, thinking that it had "locked up." Extensive graphics are like violence or nudity in the movies - they should be used only when necessary to support the plot, never gratuitously or just to show off.
While documents or homepages that contained too many graphics caused loading and time problems, we also found that lengthy textual homepages were frustrating, as well. Patrons, some of them not familiar with a Mac or Windows environment, didn't realize that they needed to scroll down in order to view the complete page. Long, text-based homepages read like a word processing document and don't take advantage of the hypermedia capabilities. Patrons lose interest quickly when they have to wade through lengthy narrative.
So frequently, links embedded within a homepage did not adequately describe the information they represented. Many homepages on the Web list blind links with terms such as "Fun" or "Awesome" or "Useful Stuff." While there is a place for that sort of linking, the choice of what to include there is completely idiosyncratic and subjective, and not very helpful in the larger library environment of a comprehensive search for information about a topic.
The library's internal support mechanism for the system has evolved in just a few months from the initial temporary project assignment of just 2 1/2 librarians to a permanent team within the department of Public Services. The team members write html files and approach the system as a collection development project. Sharing the burden of upkeep also strengthens the department - each team member is developing a specialty with certain types of resources and will act as staff trainer and expert.
Editorial control is increasingly important, as we realize that what we really have in hand is a cataloging project in a new environment. Parallels between electronic resources and print resources are clear: the librarians have to decide what resources are worth "collecting," and whether to just point to them or to capture them for maintenance on our own server. Once "collected," the resources are described according to uniform standards, "classified" according to where they belong in the system's hierarchical subject scheme, and "traced" for future search, recovery and/or update.
The catalogers have started to joke that the interface team is taking over their jobs, but it is not really a joke. In fact, our colleagues in the technical services have many insights to contribute to our understanding of what is involved in maintenance of this system.
The downside, of course, is that building and repairing sites requires constant attention from a staff that has not increased significantly, in spite of many new responsibilities in the new building. In fact, adding the information system has effectively almost doubled our work load, when patron education in use of the station is considered. Now, whenever a patron asks how to use a particular database, we have to introduce them to the LIS first, then the CD-ROM or other program.
The librarians are also finding that others on campus are seeking us out, as resources for Internet training and preparation of their own Web sites. We have already started to offer html training workshops, and will develop them more formally through our School of Library and Information Science. Faculty are excited about the possibilities of mounting materials on our system, or building their own systems to link to us.
The system has been out in public for just five months at the time of this writing. It is already clear to the librarians who work with patrons that while the LIS usually works well, many features bear improvement.
These observations have been made informally, by librarians working directly with faculty and students, and in teaching or workshop settings with patrons and other librarians. Students with the IU School of Library and Information Science also have used the LIS as a subject for evaluation and constructive criticism. Because user training and feedback are so important for continued evolution of the system, we will be working through this year to develop regular and more formal evaluations.
Beginning with the dedication in April, we invited the community to look at our new system. This, in turn, fueled interest and an immediate demand for tours and demonstrations of our new system. Also, as students began returning to campus this past fall, they encountered the LIS, many for the first time since it became available in April. Some of our patrons familiar with computers set aside their trepidation about a new system and explore the interface; others are hesitant and require a great deal of assistance. Keeping in mind these two types of patrons, we have created a system of instruction and assistance that allows patrons to access the type of help they need, in a way that is most conducive to their learning style.
Over the past six months, levels of service have been developed which range from a simple guide to an extensive one and a half hour workshop designed to provide hands-on experience with the LIS. Given the short time period in which we implemented the Mosaic system, our initial assistance consisted of a welcome guide detailing the icons and the types of information that could be found behind them, and online help screens written for the Internet sites linked to the interface. As the summer progressed, we continued to add to our collection.
Some of our computers are located on an upper floor, away from the Reference or Circulation Desk where help in human form can be found. For patrons working at these terminals, we have employed computer consultants who are stationed in the area to assist with hardware and software related questions. For those times when a consultant is not present, we have installed telephones that ring directly to the Student Consulting helpline. Both the consultants and the helpline operators know to refer students to the Reference Desk for questions which go beyond basic software and hardware related issues.
After our Instruction Team experimented with workshops over the summer, we began, this fall, a series of one and a half hour instruction sessions explaining the concept of hypermedia and how to use the LIS. Approximately 15 workshops have been held in the library's computer classroom during the first month of the fall semester. For approximately 45 minutes, the instructor discusses the history of technology at IUPUI, the Scholar's Workstation, the Library Information System and leads the participants through some sample exercises. The last 45 minutes is spent looking at sites found on the Internet and answering participants' questions. The workshops have provided participants with an opportunity to work with the system on the platform of their choice with an experienced librarian standing by. These workshops have been very successful with many participants commenting about the helpfulness of the instruction.
One concept emphasized at the workshop is that the Internet is a vast source of information that can be unorganized and, at times, frustrating. Patrons are encouraged to be adventurous but are also cautioned that, at times, they are surfing, or swimming at their own risk. Many systems that they log on to are beyond the control of the librarian. Patrons who found information at a site yesterday, and return to get additional information today, may be in for a surprise: the site may not be available due to computer malfunction or too many users may be trying to log on to the host system. As students begin citing information from the Internet for papers, they are frustrated by the lack of standard citation information available for their bibliography and approach librarians for answers. Sometimes we are able to figure out from which source the information was gathered, but, often times, we have to help them to understand that the Internet, in its current form, does not always make information gathering easy. In the LIS workshops, we reinforce this message by not only educating our patrons about our system, but by preparing them for the world of the Internet--a world where they are swimming at their own risk with no librarian on duty.
As was mentioned earlier, the decision to switch to Mosaic soaked up incredible resources at the end of a long development period. Due to the tight schedule, we did not have the chance to gather patron feedback during the initial start-up period. Now, as we have time to use the system and observe patrons doing the same, we look forward to formalizing our system of user feedback. We are looking into the possibility of user focus groups where we gather students, faculty and community members together to interact and comment upon the LIS. While we have an electronic suggestion box in place, we are considering a more formal survey and/or questionnaire we could give to people at the Reference Desk as they interact with the system for the first time. Given that we may soon have a remote population of users with whom we will never come into contact except through the network, we are wrestling with the idea of how to solicit responses and feedback from these off-site users. This will be an ongoing project in the coming semesters.
The LIS is an evolving product. It will never be "finished," and we haven't even yet completed all of the functions called for in our original program. Plans for the academic year include:
Soon there will be so many machines and sites within the building and outside of it that the capacity of the staff to provide assistance will be overwhelmed, no matter how thinly we stretch. Extension of human presence by phone, email drop, or interactive query is planned, but the most effective way to extend the library staff is to make the LIS as inviting and self-sufficient as possible. We believe that the environment of the World Wide Web, and particularly its interpretation by the Mosaic browser, provides the most promising future for continued development.
September 15, 1994