Museum Intranets: Techniques, Issues, Strategies

Guy Hermann, Mystic Seaport Museum, USA

Overview

Why do Intranets matter to Museums?
Intranet Virtues: the sales pitch
Intranet Applications
A Few Examples
Making Your Intranet Work
Concerns
Planning for an Intranet
Resources for moving forward

The Sea Connects all Things

The Web Connects all Things
What is an Intranet?
The Internet in a bottle
The Internet with your friends
Internet tools used on an internal network

How is this different?

unlike traditional networks ala Novell
not proprietary, built on standards
no file and print services

Why does this Matter to Museums?

Content: the world wants our information
Access: the web is easy to use
Outreach: the web'ís reach is broad. For us, outreach is "mission critical"
Economy: the same technology can be used inside and outside the museum. Cost savings on technology & support. Standards are a good long term investment. Tools are cheap, often free
Foresight: the Web is the future

Why does this Matter to Museums?

Museums are information factories. One of our key issues is how we manage that information to turn it into content and then revenue. The Internet holds the promise of transforming our current file & print networks into real knowledge networks.

Intranet Virtues

Business Benefits
User Benefits
Technological Benefits
Bottom Line benefits

Virtues: Business Benefits

standards are a good investment
flexibility helps mitigate effects of technological change
global availability
a place for defining internal organizational identity
hit-lists provide real feedback on usage
a framework for evolving technologies

Virtues: Technology Benefits

platform independent
immediate, universal access
scalable, easy to grow
can combine modern interfaces with existing data systems
internal bandwidth enables apps not possible on the ënet
shorter system development times
the technology growth area

Virtues: User Benefits

the semblance of one source for information
consistent interface
easy, consistent access to information

Virtues: Bottom Line Benefits

reduced information handling costs
more accurate, timely information
tools & technologies are very inexpensive
network ìuser countsî do not matter
reduced admin. work for IS
minimal training costs

Virtues for Museums

standards, standards, standards
build skills which are transportable from internal to external use and vice versa
can build & test internally, make public when ready
extremely cost effective

Intranet Applications

Intranet Applications
mirrors Internet applications
post static info
distribute frequently updated info
online data entry forms
e-mail & discussion forums
data integration and access
workflow applications

Museum Intranet Applications

Collections Access
Publication archives
Inquiry response archive
Media library
. . . . ?
Database Access
Examples: Our Intranet
Announcements
Long public information pieces like Interpretation handbooks
staff phone book & e-mail directory
Calendar entry & database
Facility scheduling
Searchable archives
e-mail & database entry forms
soon, integrated collection access

What Makes our Intranet Run?

Ethernet & LocalTalk network
WebStar web server with database, search, calendar, and other add-ons
SMTP Apple Internet Mail server
MacDNS & ìlistservî server
Filemaker Pro database server
AppleSearch server
all easily replaced with other tools on other platforms

Web Server picture

Web server screen shot
Making Your Intranet Work
Project Plan
Network
Windows or Mac computers with TCP/IP
Web Server & other server software as desired
Some IP management skill
Buy in from management & users

Project Plan

As with any project . . . .
Business purpose: how does this help the museum?
Goals and objectives
Timeline
Responsibilities
Evaluative criteria

The Network

An Intranet presupposes a functioning network (although it may help justify one)
Virtually any network will do (using gateways, etc.)
Ethernet is preferred
Does not require an Internet connection

Windows or Macs with TCP/IP

Netscape etc. require GUI capable computer
unconfirmed rumors of DOS browsers,
e-mail works on DOS

TCP/IP is the "language" of the Internet

TCP/IP is also the most costly & complex part
TCP/IP now comes with Win 95 & Mac 7.5, but still requires setup & management

Web & other Server Software

Should be able to get web, mail, and other software free
Commercial software is more flexible, robust, better supported
Can mix & match, but consistency has its virtues
Need not be one of the big guys (Netscape, etc.)

IP Management Skill

By far the most difficult part
Set up and manage DNS
Much harder if you have a full Internet connection already
ISP will have or know someone good with this
Once up and running, not difficult to manage

Buy in from Management & Users

Critical to long-term success
Can happen as the project evolves
Give users control over their own materials
Also must give them support to help them make it happen

Setting up a Web Database Server

Enable TCP/IP
Add new server entries to DNS
Install & configure web server software
Install & configure database
Install CGI software
customize database
create forms

Web Product Options

Web Servers
Mail Servers
News & conferencing servers
Database connectivity
Bundles ala AISS

Concerns

Security
Firewalls
Other options
Is the technology ìready for prime timeî?
Who's in charge?
Who gets charged?
Justification....ROI

Some Planning Guidelines

involve end-users early on
start small. learn the technology
many possibilities means many pilot projects
still changing quickly, a good reason to minimize investment
highly cross-departmentalóbe careful to work within your institutional culture

Planning for an Intranet

needs assesment/identify promising pilot projects
identify possible approaches
identify potential obstacles
make a final plan

Good Luck!

Guy Hermann
guy@mysticseaport.org