Internet tools can be applied to private intranets to build a 24-hour virtual   information center and ultimately the knowledge bases that a workforce needs   to be successful. The course presents conceptual and proven technologies that can be used to realize the power of the Internet within your organization as an intranet. One of the organizational benefits of a Knowledge Center is having a centralized source for access to a myriad of information resources that have been certified by in-house information professional(s) as containing appropriate, accurate and timely content. Discussions will focus on providing access to information resources, including Z39.50 catalogs, internal and external URLs, mailing lists, news filtering services, CD-ROMs and virtual-mounted databases.

Case studies will illustrate good design standards that incorporate judicious use of  graphics, text menus and consistent navigational aids. We'll show you how tools like CGI and JAVA can be used to build an interactive environment, supporting reference requests and feedback, offering self-serve ready-reference FAQs and incorporating basic and advanced search tools.  Usage analysis tools will play an important part in helping you analyze use of  the Knowledge Center, including what information is being sought, the navigational path taken, etc.

We'll show you how to keep users on your intranet page, even after they have accessed a locally mounted CD-ROM or other application. All users may not be given access to all resources through traditional network password technology and/or multilevel  authentication such as a token card. We will present solutions for dial-in modem pools for nomadic users, including dial-in ISDN for the power users from home. Discover how a Web browser can be the common client over the existing WAN to deliver centralized  reference/research databases over the WAN to branch offices. We will review case studies for expanding the WAN to reach remote dial-in and remote branch WAN (56K+) users. Intranets and WANs demand security; hence, the need for a corporate firewall. You'll learn why and how firewalls are playing an integral role in providing and prohibiting access to users and resources.

User access to databases via the Web is fast becoming a critical service of information  professionals. This course will provide all the building blocks necessary for creating such access. Topics to be covered include: HTML forms, structured query language (SQL), middleware, Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC),   Perl and VBScripting, and the use of ActiveX. Software products, such as Cold Fusion, Oracle, and Bluestone SapphireWeb will be covered in detail.  The actual setup of a web/database connection will be demonstrated, step-by-step, during the class. The course will end with a discussion of security issues.

This course is ideal for system administrators, webmasters, and other information professionals who wish to publish database information or provide access to databases using the Web, particularly via Intranets

For each of these implementation approaches we'll identify the system components and  requirements, discuss the typical work flows and the advantages and limitations of each approach. We'll also look at some examples of current real-life implementations.

We'll cover the issues and concerns involved in planning a digital implementation. The special problems associated with the conversion and storage of library materials will be examined in detail. We'll also cover various methods of estimating the costs associated with digital library implementations.

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) is an amalgam of standards and technologies -- HTML 4.0, JavaScript, and the Document Object Model (DOM)  -- aimed at supporting the creation of interactive, highly formatted Web pages. This workshop examines DHTML's core technologies, with special emphasis on implementation issues, design problems, and general applicability.  Coded  examples are prominently featured.

This course is particularly useful for webmasters or anyone involved in the creation of Web pages.

The course is presented in  two parts.  In Part 2 of Introduction to Dynamic HTML we'll see how Cascading style sheets offer new opportunities in Web page layout, presentation, and management. This segment of the course focuses on the World Wide Web Consortium's Cascading Style Sheet specification, version 1, and includes coverage of the following topics: Basic CSS Properties, Rules, and Syntax : Syntax and usage methods under HTML. A discussion of the types of Style Sheets including: External style sheets, Document level style sheets, Inline styles and the related issues of declarations, properties, selectors and inheritance.

We'll discuss general design issues under CSS including fonts and typefaces and the host of Web issues relating to controlling the appearance of type. We show how CSS can be used to control text formatting and look at text formatting issues. Beyond type and text, we'll look at  CSS formatting properties and important color issues.  Also we'll get an overview of CSS positioning model  and discuss the formatting and positioning of elements and touch on: Block-level and inline elements; Floating elements; Creating overlay effects; replaced (and re-sizable elements); Backgrounds, Miscellaneous Properties and the Stylesheet Cascade

Finally, we'll  show some of  the advanced features and future developments of CSS: version 2 of W3C's CSS specification, scripted  documents and the Document Object Model; font  downloading and dynamic fonts; aural stylesheets and printing and other presentation media.

This workshop will explore issues in the design, management and creation of image databases, including capture, storage, display, networking, standards, compression, copyright, metadata, and digital archiving. Participants will learn the issues involved in creating and maintaining image databases and making these available on the Web, as well as how to evaluate image database tools and products. Examples will be taken from existing or prototypical image database systems used in a variety of environments. New technologies and approaches such as content-based image retrieval, DVD, and image distribution testbeds will be explained.

The workshop will be primarily lecture format, liberally illustrated with slides and overhead transparencies. The workshop is aimed at the information professional with little or no knowledge of the issues involved in creating an image database. The goal is to provide an understanding of some of the complexities. Participants will gain the knowledge needed before undertaking image database projects of their own.

Knowledge Management (KM)  has exploded  onto the information management agenda from near obscurity just a year or two ago.  It is one of the most important new areas for information management and promises to leverage the expertise of information professionals by putting them in the center of critical business functions.  Unfortunately, hype and rumor have made KM one of the most misunderstood topics around. This course will help participants separate fact from fiction. It will examine the critical factors in the successful implementation of KM.  It goes beyond the hype and bells and whistles of the software tools to look at the heart of Knowledge Management.

Using practical examples and case studies the course will explore the business drivers and objectives of knowledge management (KM).  It will consider the three linked areas of focus for KM implementation and examine the key elements for successful implementation. We'll  explore potential benefits and methods of measuring success and assess the skills required in a KM team and the long term roles that will emerge.  We'll examine the role of information management skills in the broader organization wide context and discuss how information in its broadest context can be used to stimulate creativity and innovation in a knowledge environment.

We'll provide an overview of why knowledge management has arrived, why business is driving the process and how objectives differ from business to business. We'll closely examine the potential benefits and objectives for different sectors and share lessons from the field on how to effectively implement a knowledge environment.  We'll assess the skills needed to implement KM and and provide examples and guidelines for measuring the value of KM.

This course is aimed at those in a position to influence their future. It is not a technology course, but rather a practical examination of how to successfully implement or participate in the implementation of KM.

Prior to joining TFPL Angela held a number of senior information posts within the private, public and academic sectors.  She is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, the Institute of Information Scientists, the Library Association, and the Records Management Society, and is a Fellow of the RSA.

One of the great intellectual contributions of the 20th century has been the development of statistics as a tool for researchers.  Unfortunately, the formal statistical training many information professionals receive is limited to a course or two that attempts to meet the needs of the researcher rather than the needs of the practitioner or consumer of research.   Many introductory courses do not help students distinguish between the forest of broadlyapplicable principles from the trees of statistical procedures and formulas.  Courses with a traditional perspective make it difficult for information professionals to get the most out of what they read (or refuse to read!) in researchbased journals.

Just as the weekend gardener does not have to identify each weed to use a broadleaf herbicide with some success, so too can the nonresearcher use a few conceptual tools to simplify the job of reading empirical research and interpreting statistical analyses.  Things can be simpler for consumers because they can make use of information that is not available to the researcher.  For example, if journal editors can be relied upon to ensure that statistical procedures were selected properly and carried out accurately, then readers could focus their efforts on interpreting and applying what is published in these journals.  Similarly, the task of reading statistics is quite different and much less complicated than the task the researcher faces in selecting statistics and calculating results. 

The primary goal of this workshop is to present these conceptual tools and, through examples and practice, help information professionals gain proficiency in understanding, evaluating, and applying what they read in empirical research reports and journal articles.  A secondary goal is to show how these tools can be powerfully applied to qualitative methods of research as well.  This workshop will be useful to information professionals who are "consumers" of empirical research and to those who want a refresher or overview course on these topics.