Going on ten: community information grows up
| Date | 01 April 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830610669592 |
| Pages | 227-233 |
| Published date | 01 April 2006 |
| Author | Ian Baaske,Rob Zschernitz |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS,
PART 2
Going on ten: community
information grows up
Ian Baaske and Rob Zschernitz
North Suburban Library System, Wheeling, Illinois, USA
Abstract
Purpose – To provide an example of a successful, long term online community information network
for public libraries looking to enhance their community information resources.
Design/methodology/approach – Describes the genesis and current development projects of
NorthStarNet, an online community information network comprised of 40 þpublic library
community sites in the Chicago suburbs.
Findings – Needs of communities and libraries regarding web hosting and online community
information have changed greatly since the launch of NorthStarNet launched in 1995. Original
community sites were so individual that content and usability issues were taking prominence.
Development of a unique application allows for the creation and maintenance of sites with graphic and
technical sophistication by library staff and community members with limited technical expertise.
The new application also supports the aggregation of the community information from the 40þ
individual sites to make it globally searchable.
Originality/value – This paper describes a service that has successfully positioned libraries as an
importantresource and technology leaderin their communities. Includedare descriptions of applications
that make the onlineresource user-friendly to thosethat create and maintain, as well as use thesite.
Keywords Information centres,Public libraries, Communities,Internet
Paper type Case study
Long ago, in the olden days of 1995, when NorthStarNet began, securing a web site for
the local garden club was one of the main goals. This to the utter delight of said garden
club and countless local gardeners. NorthStarNet was and is a community information
network, hosted and managed by the North Suburban Library System (NSLS), a
state-funded library consortium in Wheeling, Illinois and serving the densely
populated Chicago suburbs. Public libraries, both NSLS members and members of
other library systems which participate in NorthStarNet, get space and tools to build a
community web site. Additionally, libraries have unlimited server space to fully host
web sites for community organizations, schools, local government, and houses of
worship. These members of the community – called “Information Providers” or “IPs”
in NorthStarNet parlance – have full control of their web sites through FTP or
Microsoft FrontPage and have access to the types of tools available in any other
hosting environment, including virtual domains, PHP and MySQL databases.
At each library is one or more “Library Coordinators” (LC), who not only maintain
the community web site, but also help the IPs to maintain theirs. Oftentimes, this
includes tutorials or one-on-one lessons in HTML and basic web design – with the
end result that the IP learns an important, transferable skill and gets a free web site
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
Going on ten
227
Received September 2005
Revised November 2005
Accepted November 2005
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 24 No. 2, 2006
pp. 227-233
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830610669592
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