Exploit Interactive: The Development of a Web Magazine

1
Exploit Interactive The Development of a Web
Magazine

• Bernadette Daly Email
• Information Officer B.M.Daly_at_ukoln.ac.uk
• UKOLN
• University of Bath URL
• Bath, BA2 7AY http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/

UKOLN is funded by the British Library Research
and Innovation Centre, the Joint Information
Systems Committee of the Higher Education Funding
Councils, as well as by project funding from the
JISCs Electronic Libraries Programme and the
European Union. UKOLN also receives support from
the University of Bath where it is based.
2
Contents

• Introduction
• Who are We? Ariadne Web Magazine, Ariadne
  Problems, New Experience, What is Exploit
  Interactive? When Where?
• Magazine Overview
• Infrastructure Design
• Delivery Functionality
• (technology specifications, MS Site Server 3.0,
  functionality, searching, metadata, additional
  functionality)
• Content Production
• (software used, guidelines, content style,
  crossword)
• Challenges

3
Who are we?

• UKOLN is
• UK Office for Library Information Networking
• Provides awareness, research and information
  services
• This includes metadata, distributed systems, Web
  Interoperability Focus posts, Ariadne
• Exploit Interactive Team
• 5 people (3 involved on a regular basis)
• Editorial /Content Production /Systems Support
• Infrastructure and Design (external consultant)

4
Ariadne Web Magazine

• Ariadne
• Parallel print / web publication
• Launched January 1996
• Funded under the Electronic Libraries Programme
• Now on issue 20
• 14000 user sessions per month
• URL http//www.ariadne.ac.uk/

5
Ariadne Problems

• 1. Article Submission
• Via email (little automated processing carried
  out)
• Receive files mostly in WORD, RTF (conversion)
• 2. Article Processing
• Using simple authoring tools
• No systematic management possible
• Web Server Used for Ariadne
• Standard Apache server (UNIX) with SSI for
  metadata inclusion

6
New Experience

• We are interested in
• Gaining experience using NT
• Making use of widely available software
• Reasons
• Evaluate use of such solutions
• See if they can be used without being drawn into
  proprietary practices
• Making comparisons with UNIX solution

7
What is Exploit Interactive?

• A Pan-European web magazine for the Library and
  Information / Networking professional
• A forum for dissemination for EU Telematics for
  Libraries projects and users of deliverables

8
When and Where?

• Issue 1
• Available April 1999
• Frequency every 3 months
• 7 issues
• URL
• The URL http//www.exploit-lib.org/

9
Overview
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN
CONTENT PRODUCTION
10
Infrastructure Design
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN

• Simple Interface
• Easily navigable and downloads quickly
• External consultant used (ILRT)
• Dynamic Delivery
• Uses Microsoft Active Server Pages
• Serves content together with header/footer
• Software Used
• Adobe Illustrator 7.0, Adobe Photoshop 5.0

11
Delivery Functionality
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY

• The following technologies will be used
• Windows NT 4 server
• with IIS 4.0 (Internet Information Server)
• Microsoft Site Server 3.0 softwareWeb management
  system providing a suite of tools used in
  conjunction with the IIS server.
• Provides a shrink-wrapped solution for
  delivering interactive features services.

12
Microsoft Site Server 3.0
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY

• The following features and services may be added
  over the life of the magazine
• Personalisation Membership
• Web view based on stored user preferences
• delivery of targeted content via email
• (e.g. updates, table of contents)

13
Functionality
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY

• The magazine will include
• Browsing of current past content
• Searching (using MS Site Server facility)
• Online feedback to articles
• Virtual meeting place for real-time feedback
• Language negotiation (limited)
• Support for visually impaired and other disabled
  readers

14
Searching
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY

• Using MS Site Server's indexing tool
• Search for articles
• about project PRIDE
• by John Smith
• Restrict searches to the Features section

15
Metadata
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY

• Metadata will be used
• Resource discovery metadata (Dublin Core)
• Admin metadata (e.g. DeleteBy, ReviewBy)
• Auditing metadata (project and section category)
• Evaluating deployment of applications to
• Automate notification for admin procedures
• Process by search engine
• Automatically flag obsolete articles

16
Additional Functionality
DELIVERY FUNCTIONALITY

• Author Upload Centre
• to enable contributors to upload files
  (articles, graphics) using a web browser (MS
  HotMail model)
• author to supply relevant metadata
• Language negotiation
• to provide automatic delivery of pages available
  in additional European languages (at a later
  date)
• language metadata to support searching

17
Content Production
CONTENT PRODUCTION

• 1. Commissioning Liaison
• Telematics for Libraries community
• Commercial organisations (sub-contractors)
• Various subject experts
• 2. Administrative/Editorial Responsibilities
• 3. Content Mark-up/Conversion
• MS FrontPage 98 (using purpose-built templates
  for HTML fragments)

18
Software used
CONTENT PRODUCTION

• 4. Site Content Administration
• MS Visual InterDev 6.0
• MS Site Server 3.0 (suite of tools)
• 5. Further Content Development
• Centron Internet Crossword Creator 3.0
• Adobe Photoshop 5.0 (graphics)
• Paint Shop Pro 4.0 (e.g. screen captures)

19
Guidelines
CONTENT PRODUCTION

• Authors
• Content coverage and writing style, editorial and
  document flow processes.
• Editors
• Definition of editorial processes
• Advisory Group and Editorial Board
• Role and responsibilities (international input)

20
Content and Style

• Feature Articles, Regular Columns, Et cetera
• Updates/explanations of technological
  developments
• Discussion of challenges in Telematics Projects
• Organisational profiles of partners/sub-contracto
  rs to Library community (Fifth Framework
  Partners?)
• European news, events, job postings

21
Interactive Crossword Puzzle

• Software
• Centron Internet Crossword Creator 3.0
• Crossword building programme with Applet converter

• Java Applet
• Electronic counterpart to the familiar
  crossword puzzle
• Reiterates key words and phrases from articles
• Adds a little fun

22
Challenges

• Challenge Comment
• Appropriate content Avoiding simple publicity
• Quality Including writing style
• Minimising editorial role Esp. for non-English
  speakers
• Coverage Full coverage of projects
• Too much content! Personalised views?
• Document conversion Imposed document structure
• Proprietary practices Site Server (catalogue
  wont accept Dublin Core full stop in metadata)
• Style Sheets Problems when
  using Netscape
• Being read Ensuring magazine is read
• The audience Read by right people
• Coverage Europe and CEE countries

23
Related Article

• Launching an Electronic Magazine an overview of
  value-added features and services
• URL http//www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue18/web-magazine
  /

24
Thank you

• Enjoy the Conference