Presented at Information Canada '94
September 27 - 30
The University of Waterloo Library has recently developed a gopher-based information system. The Library information system is soon to be on its own server, and is also accessible through UWinfo, the University of Waterloo's Campus Wide Information System (CWIS.)
The 9 members of UW Library Internet Resources Committee were the builders behind the scene. In this presentation I will describe our activities and experiences. I will concentrate on three main aspects of the development process, viz. the acquisition of specific technical skills, decision-making concerning candidates for inclusion on the gopher, and the conceptualization of the menu structure. In my conclusion I will briefly describe our gopher maintenance procedures and offer some details of our promotional activities.
The Internet Resources Committee was formed In the Spring of 1993 . Members of the Internet Resources Commitee meet weekly, often for more than two hours at a time. The initial gopher building activity was absorbing. We were all deeply involved in the process and found the work to be very rewarding.
Most of us on the Internet Resources Committee were technical neophytes. By late Spring we had each taken an information provider's course to familiarize ourselves with techniques used to make information available on a gopher system.
The techniques themselves are surprisingly easy when adequate equipment is available. We made considerable use of the cut and paste and mutiple sessions techniques that are available with Windows software. We became quite adept at placing our own text files in our gopher information system and creating links in our system to directories and files of information elsewhere in gopherspace.
Text files can be created on editors such as Wordperfect or a UNIX editor, such as pico. Files composed on a hard drive must be saved as ascii text, then transferred to the UNIX account that supports the gopher. Files that are created directly on the gopher's UNIX account can appear immediately on the gopher.
Link files that contain the gopher address of resources found in gopherspace can be selected, copied, and pasted into the gopher's UNIX account. With link files, local information systems can be used to connect with distant resources. The connection appears seamless. Users may not immediately realize they are accessing resources that are not actually mounted on the local system.
Having acquired the basic technical skills for information providing, our next major objective was to decide what information to provide. We decided on two major categories of information, viz. information about the University of Waterloo Library, and information that could support the research efforts of our user community.
When compiling information about the Library, we relied heavily on an existing paper document, the UW Library Handbook. This was a booklet that had been in use over a period of 25 years, receiving annual revisions. But the handbook had become increasingly expensive to maintain, so much so that the Library was no longer in a position to support it. The thought of making the information available on the University's CWIS seemed like the ideal solution.
The handbook contained information concerning library hours, facilities and equipment, information services, and so on. We took the existing information, provided some update where necessary, changed it to ascii text, and transferred it to the gopher's UNIX account. The layout of each text file was altered to some extent so as to allow for a more attractive and user friendly appearance on a computer screen. As well, each file was given a standard heading and a notice indicating time of last update.
We also recognized that a gopher information system would be an ideal means for conveying time-sensitive information. Library newsletters, already in electronic format, were transferred into the UNIX account. Our Library newsletters describe events such as the opening of the Library's electronic reference service, a the receipt of a gift presented to Special Collections. Orientation schedules and the New Library Acquisitions lists appear in the gopher information system.
The second main category of information we decided to provide on the library's gopher system was information that could support research efforts of our user community. This category includes text files composed by library staff as well as resources located in gopherspace.
Among the files composed by the Library are our two publication series, a "Titles" series of bibliographic guides to the Library's reference collection on various topics, and a "How To" series of instuction sheets on topics such as how to search CD-ROMs and how to find periodical articles in the library. These publications were converted into a standard layout, saved as ascii text, and entered into the gopher's UNIX account. We have also made user education brochures available, including brochures describing techniques for searching Watcat, the University of Waterloo Library's online catalogue.
Resources located in gopherspace that support our clients' research efforts include library catalogues from around the world, government information, electronic texts and journals, subject specific information servers, and subject-specific guides to the Internet. Members of the Library's Internet Resources Committee dedicated many hours to scouring gopherspace in search of scholarly resources that could be of interest to our user community.
One of the primary skills of our profession is the organization of information. Simply gathering and providing access to information would only be minimally helpful; the coherence of the organizational structure through which the information could be accessed was recognized to be of considerable importance.
Some of our most active meetings were brainstorming sessions where we imagined various possible structures and directory names. An effort was made to identify directory names that would be precise, descriptive, and jargon-free. We wanted the menu pages to be as uncluttered as possible. That meant that long lists of resources were not acceptable; types of resources had to be classified by type and purpose.
In the end it was decided that he main page of the library area could contain directories for information about the library such as library hours, locations of our collections, borrowing policies, etc. Information supporting research was gathered under a single directory on the main page. We called the directory "Finding information."
Within "Finding information" users can acces library catalogues and research guides. As well, we wanted to provide access to the many electronic journals and other scholarly Internet resources in a manner that would be most helpful to the students and faculty on our campus. We settled on a listing classified by UW academic departments. Each discipline area was given a standard structure, including an area for listing electronic books and journals of relevance to the discipline, a directory for listing subject-specific research and Internet guides, and an area for listing subject specific gophers, such as a gopher of a scholarly society in a given discipline. UW researchers can turn to the discipline area with which they are concerned to find relevant materials. The browsing through endless lists of irrelevant material might then be substantially reduced.
A major advantage of the discipline type of classification is the resulting involvement of our collection development librarians. Our subject specialist librarians are highly involved in the selection and evaluation of Internet resources placed in the gopher directory for their disciplines. Students and faculty on campus are encouraged to contact selector librarians to offer feedback regarding the content of the discipline area, and suggestions for additional resources that could be made accessible through the discipline area.
Currently we are in the process of organizing procedures for streamlining the electronic selection process. Selectors who have been alerted to a resource, or who have discovered a resource in the course of their own net surfing, may contact a member of our Acquisitions Department. A link to the resource can be created the same day.
Our gopher building is not finished; there is continuing construction and ongoing maintenance. New resources are found each day, others disappear, change address, or are superceded. Currently, IRC members are defining tasks, assigning responsibilities, and developing codes of practice in an effort to maintain a useful and current Internet information system. At the same time, the information structure throughout the library area, and in each discipline area, remains stable, thus providing consistency and predictability in the volatile world of Internet gopherspace.
Promotion of the system to the UW community has been a highly satisfying aspect of our work. We're finding a great deal of interest and enthusiasm among our users. Library staff, particularly subject specialist librarians, are committed to spreading the word about the information available, through general user education workshops and demonstrations as well as subject and course specific instruction sessions.
It's been just over a year now since the system was first introduced. Interest is continuing to increase. We anticipate a further heightening of interest as ever more resources find their way to the gopher.