Webzine Technologies

Brian Kelly

UK Web Focus

UKOLN

University of Bath

Bath, BA2 7AY

UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher and Further Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.

EmailB.Kelly@ukoln.ac.ukURLhttp://www.ukoln.ac.uk/

Acknowledgments to Marieke Napier, UKOLN who contributed to these slides

Acknowledgments to Marieke Napier, UKOLN who contributed to these slides

2

Contents

• Introduction• What Are Webzines?• The Reader’s View• The Author’s View• The Publisher’s View• What About Funding?• Conclusions

Your input is welcomed

Please feel free to contribute at any point during the seminar

Your input is welcomed

Please feel free to contribute at any point during the seminar

These slides are available from <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/>

These slides are available from <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/>

3

About The SpeakerBrian Kelly:

• UK Web Focus:– A JISC-funded post to advise the UK HE and

FE communities on Web developments– Important dissemination role, through events,

articles and publications • Spoke on “Electronic Magazines: Issues in

Implementation” at ILI 2000 conference• Will run half-day session at ILI 2001 on “Publishing

Web Magazines, e-Journals & Webzines”• Based at UKOLN, University of Bath

*

* JISC – Joint Information Systems Committee See <http://www.jisc.ac.uk/>Please shout if I use an unexplained acronym

* JISC – Joint Information Systems Committee See <http://www.jisc.ac.uk/>Please shout if I use an unexplained acronym

4

About UKOLN

UKOLN:• UK Office For Library and Information Networking• A national centre of expertise in digital information

management• Located in University of Bath• Funded by JISC and Resource (funding body for

cultural heritage sector in UK)• Additional funding from EU, UK, etc. project work

5

Our Web PublicationsAriadne

• Started in January 1996• A longstanding, first generation Web magazine• Funded by eLib (UK HE programme) and is aimed

mainly at library & information professional in UK HE Exploit Interactive

• Started in May 1999• Covered EU Telematics For Libraries programme

and was aimed mainly at library and information professional in Europe

Cultivate Interactive• Started in July 2000• Covers EU DIGICULT programme and is aimed at

cultural heritage community in Europe

6

Ariadne: 1996 -Ariadne: 1996 -

Exploit Interactive: 1999 - 2000Exploit Interactive: 1999 - 2000

Cultivate Interactive: 2000 - Cultivate Interactive: 2000 -

7

About You

What would you like today’s session to cover?

Any specific interests, concerns, etc?

8

Possible InterestsFunding models

Interests

Evaluation

Standards

Functionality

Authoring issues

Quality control

Awareness

Learned journals

House magazinesDesign

Inhouse or out-source

Statistics

Lightweight vs heavyweight solution Technical architecture

Citation

9

What Are Webzines?

What are we talking about?

How does a Webzine differ from a Web site?

Any suggestions?

10

What’s Out There?

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/

http://www.bath.ac.uk/impact/http://www.bath.ac.uk/impact/

http://ais.cern.ch/newsletter/issues/http://ais.cern.ch/newsletter/issues/

11

Characteristics Added to continuallyContent may be fixedNo notion of issues, volume, etc.Can be professional, social, etc.

Web site

Webzines

Are “published”Contain “articles”Have a “publication date”Have (an external?) publisher

Can be professional, social, etc

Professional (academic / scholarly) online publications will have notions of fixed content / permanent record

Peer reviewed /Editor / editorial boardAuthor-defined quality

Issues of “Quality”:

WebzineWeb magazineOnline journal

Terminology:

WeblogsVanity pressSelf-publication

Content

AcademicPublicity / promotion

NewsArticles

Consistent look- and-feel

12

DefinitionIn this talk:

• Webzine will refer to an online (or Web) publication• Webzines can include:

Online journals (Web journals) – peer-reviewed Online / Web magazines – not peer-reviewed – focus of

this talk

• Some use term Webzine to refer to online fanzines

NOTE: A pragmatic definition for this seminar only - which focuses on technical and not philosophical issues!

See <http://www.stm-assoc.org/intconta/aaas/recommend.htm> for a more rigourous proposal and <http://www.issn.org/brochure/The_ISSN.htm> for a discussion about serials and ISSN

NOTE: Stevan Harnad will cover eprint archives next month

NOTE: A pragmatic definition for this seminar only - which focuses on technical and not philosophical issues!

See <http://www.stm-assoc.org/intconta/aaas/recommend.htm> for a more rigourous proposal and <http://www.issn.org/brochure/The_ISSN.htm> for a discussion about serials and ISSN

NOTE: Stevan Harnad will cover eprint archives next month

13

Why Do it?

Reasons to provide a Webzine:• Accessibility

• To a wider audience • Worldwide• Reduction of cost?• Functionality

• Searching • Links• Interactivity • Annotations• …

• Fewer limits on article size • Image (you’re progressive in IT)• …

UKOLN also uses Webzines to provide a testbed for our research interests

14

The Negative Aspects

• Resourcing• Financial implications• Loss of some audience• May require a change of culture• Loss of control of information• Development of technical architecture

(addressed here)

15

The Reader’s View

What might a reader expect from our Web publication?

What approaches can we, as publishers, take to satisfy these requirements?

16

What Does the Reader Want?

Well-written, interesting, informative, relevant article Article is easy to find

Publication is easy to find

Article is easy to read

Article is accessible

No hype

Can comment on article

Can contact author

Can read comments from others

Easy printing

Issues:Are these requirements the same as for the author?How easy is it for the publisher to implement?

Issues:Are these requirements the same as for the author?How easy is it for the publisher to implement?

Article should be available for a long time

Article exploits technology: (interaction, simulation, multimedia, …)

Everything works (links, HTML, …)

Entertaining

Notification when it’s released

Attractive and easily-navigable

The Reader

No adverts

Available on Web to all browsers

Available on WAP phone, e-book, by email, …

17

Content

Content is king:• Useful to have a quality publication already• Need to encourage and nurture your authors• Can you use a stick?• Think about syndication and reuse of existing

content

18

Add VarietyA publication full of factual articles can be boring. Why not add a variety of content?

http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/xword/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/xword/http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/game/http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/game/

As well as adding variety, games, crosswords, etc this can allow the publisher to evaluate new technologies such as DHTML (scramble game), Java (crossword), user-agent-driven links to technologies (both), etc.

19

Or Use Cartoons & Jokes

http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue26/cartoon/http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue26/cartoon/

Add jokes for free from <http://onyoursite.com/jokes/> Add jokes for free from <http://onyoursite.com/jokes/>

20

.. Or Caption Competitions

Issues:• Copyright• Rights• Payment for creator

(e.g. cartoonist)• Prizes for

competition winners (sponsorship?)

http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue26/caption/http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue26/caption/

21

News Feeds

You can add news content to your Webzine by using a news feed.

Many news feeds can be obtained for free:

• The news provider benefits from you providing a link to their content

• You benefit by getting content for free

See <http://w.moreover.com/>, <http://www.isyndicate.com/>, etc.

See <http://w.moreover.com/>, <http://www.isyndicate.com/>, etc.

22

Design of Webzine

What type of interface should you use for the home page:

• Preamble • Menu• News • Content “teaser”• Flash screen• …

23

Attractive Design

“Having had a look around at several web sites and e-journals, we found that you have managed to combine simplicity, elegance, completeness and advanced technical backing.”Susan Leech O'Neale, CERN, Sep 99 http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/

http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/mag-features/http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/mag-features/

24

Design Issues

Design brief for Exploit Interactive produced:• Background about publication• Definition of structure (Feature Articles, Regular

Columns, News & Events, Etc.)• Preferred solutions (standards based, no use of

Flash, PDF, etc.)• Importance of accessible design• Available budget• Design solution provided by ILRT, University of

Bristol

Issue:Do you outsource the design (and information architecture) or do it inhouse?

Issue:Do you outsource the design (and information architecture) or do it inhouse?

25

Design Features

Indented margins (IE only)

Footer (enhanced during lifetime)

Footer navigation

Acknowledgments

Local navigation (here in Features section)

Flagging external (and broken) links [added later]

Global navigation (home & search page)

<h2> with grey background

Internal links to references

26

Changing Look and FeelUse of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) makes it easier:

• Support new media types (e.g. print)• For publisher to change appearance (single file)• To allow reader to change appearance either using browser

options or by selection of CSS

Note we provide different style sheets for IE and NetscapeNote we provide different style sheets for IE and Netscape

27

User Control Over Look and Feel

Giving users control over the look and feel: Is good for accessibility (visually impaired, colour

blind, etc.) Can provide support for new devices (digital TV,

…) Can be useful for standard device in unusual

conditions (PCs in bright conditions, use in lecture theatre - with red gun broken!, …)

But: Lose control over branding Users can do silly things

User control – what do you think? Good idea Bad idea

User control – what do you think? Good idea Bad idea

28

Exploitation of Technology

The reader will want the Webzine to exploit technologies, especially in providing functionality not available with print:

• Rich searching• Alternative browsing• Enhanced printing facilities• Automated translation (is this a gimmick or will

technological developments make it usable / controlled vocabularies allow it to be useful in limited domains?)

• Annotation• Notification• …

29

Rich Searching

You should provide a search facility for your Webzine

If resources aren’t available, try a third party service, such as Atmoz or Google

If resources are available, try to use metadata and configure the search facility to reflect the Webzine structure

http://www.cultivate-int.org/cat-search/http://www.cultivate-int.org/cat-search/

Find articles in all issues published as Feature Articles which concern DIGICULT-funded projects

Find articles in all issues published as Feature Articles which concern DIGICULT-funded projects

30

Ease of PrintingReaders may wish to print an entire issue (e.g. to read on the train)Problem:

• Articles are self-contained HTML resources, so printing the entire issue requires initiating a print for each article

Solutions:• Make use of <LINK REL=“next”> which defines an

“issue” and a specialist browser (e.g. Amaya) which can print all pages

• Specialist desktop applications• Server-side assembly of HTML resource fragments• Server-side creation of PDF version

31

Interface For Print Entire Issue

http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/print-all/print-all.asphttp://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/print-all/print-all.asp

32

Cultivate Interactive SolutionCultivate Interactive makes use of HTML fragments

article1.ssi

header.ssi

DTD.ssi

footer.ssi

article1/default.asp

Article 1An article is displayed by merging the DTD declaration, navigational headers, the body, the footer, etc.

figure1.gif

All articles are displayed by merging the DTD declaration, navigational headers, the content for all articles, the footer, etc.

DTD.ssi

article1.ssi

article20.ssi

Article 1 …Article 20

printall/default.asp

NOTE: location, name & links to images is an issue

NOTE: location, name & links to images is an issue

figure1.gif

figure1.gif

33

Adding New Functionality

The use of resource fragments allows new facilities to be easily deployed:

• Add an accessibility / validation check (for editors only?)• Add an annotation service• Add automated translation of article• Add a “See similar articles” services (planned)• …

Only display to editors?

34

NotificationRather than “spamming” mailing lists when a new issue is released, a notification service may be preferable

You can:• Use Netmind’s free Mindit

service • Build your own list

http://www.cultivate-int.org/notification/http://www.cultivate-int.org/notification/

http://www.exploit-lib.org/notify/http://www.exploit-lib.org/notify/

35

New Reader FunctionsIdeas for new functionality for the readers:

• Automated news feeds (summaries of articles) which can be embedded in third party Web sites

• Summary information available using WAP phones [to evaluate ease of conversion of other XML types]

• Email access to newsletter • View similar articles (using search and metadata)• Personalised interface• VRML, simulation, …

New author / editorial board functions could also be added:• If cookie=“editor” display validation checks• If cookie=“author” display statistics

36

The Author’s View

What might an author expect from our Web publication?

What approaches can we, as publishers, take to satisfying these requirements?

37

What Does the Author Want?

To provide everything the reader needs:(quality article, easy-to-find, annotation, etc)

A simple publication process

Stats on access to article

A sophisticated publication process

Value added services from editorial processes

Kudos (and hits) through proximity to others

Submission to search engines

Metadata and advanced searching

Search engine friendly Web site

A “permanent” location for the article

For the article to have an “impact”

An attractive, usable designThe Author

38

GuidelinesIt is important to provide guidelines for authors:

• Background about the Webzine (aims, target audience, etc.)

• Requirements for article• Submission procedures• Editorial control and

conflict resolution• Use of images• Copyright

http://www.cultivate-int.org/author-guidelines/

http://www.cultivate-int.org/author-guidelines/

Encourage authors to make use of photographic digitisation services such as <http://www.fotango.com/> (e.g. photos of conferences) and clip art collections?

Encourage authors to make use of photographic digitisation services such as <http://www.fotango.com/> (e.g. photos of conferences) and clip art collections?

39

Upload ProcessesIt is desirable to enhance the processes for submission and processing of articles submitted by authorsCurrently:

• Files emailed to editor alias (which has a Web archive)We’d like:

• Web-based upload area, with author supplying metadata in standard format

• Automated MS Word -> HTML fragment conversion• Publish in pre-publication

area with automated link creation

Can we do this with limited technical resources and budget? We need to exploreMS SiteServer features

Author Upload Area

File Browse

AbstractArticle Type: Feature News

Expiry date (news items):

40

Authoring IssuesAuthor

Wordformat

MS Word

HTML tool HTML

format

Email

FTP

HTML importfilter

HTMLformat

HTMLformat

Word / RTF HTMLconverter

QA

(fo

rmat

, p

roo

fin

g,

etc)

QA

(fo

rmat

, p

roo

fin

g,

etc)

Editor

HTML form

HTTP / WebDav

Need to avoid bottleneck in Word HTML processing and misuse of HTML templates

Need to avoid bottleneck in Word HTML processing and misuse of HTML templates

QA – ManualAutomated

QAdistributed ed. board

peer-reviewing

41

StatisticsAuthors may want immediate access to statistics for their article

The use of externally-hosted Web statistical services such as Nedstat can provide this with minimal work from the publisher

Total number of pageviews: 2434.

Top day so far: 30 January 2001 with 592 pageviews

Total number of pageviews: 2434.

Top day so far: 30 January 2001 with 592 pageviews

http://uk.nedstat.net/viewstat.asp?name=cultivate-3-presentationshttp://uk.nedstat.net/viewstat.asp?name=cultivate-3-presentations

42

CitationReaders and authors will want accurate citation information:

• Memorable URLs• Consistent terminology, style, content, etc.

Cultivate Interactive stores names, article title, issue number, publication date, etc in neutral format.

A server-side script (ASP) transforms this into the published version.

For citation purposes:Kelly, B. "What's Happened To My Slides: Giving Presentations at Conferences", Cultivate Interactive, issue 3, 29 January 2001URL: <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/presentations/>

Brian KellyUK Web FocusUKOLNUniversity of BathBathEmail: b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk      Phone : +44 1225 323943

43

Contact Details

The approach to providing citations helps us to be consistent

But what should be done when:• An author changes her name (e.g. marriage) or

status (becomes a Professor)?• An author’s email or postal addresses changes?

Ideally we should:• Store information in database and allow reader to

view original and latest detailsFor citation purposes:Kelly, B. "What's Happened To My Slides: Giving Presentations at Conferences", Cultivate Interactive, issue 3, 29 January 2001URL: <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/presentations/>Author’s email address has changed: [View current information]

44

AnnotationJakob’s Neilson Alertbox is a valuable resource for Web developers.

Jakob provides annotation which allows him to add text to previously published articles, without changing the content of his original article

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981227.htmlhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/981227.html

45

PollsPolls can help to get feedback:

• On the Webzine itself• On the content of articles

Polling software includes:• Externally-hosted services• Locally-developed software

http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-focus/http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-focus/

For a review of online polls see “Providing User Feedback services through Polling Software” at <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/polls/>

For a review of online polls see “Providing User Feedback services through Polling Software” at <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue3/polls/>

http://ais.cern.ch/newsletter/issues/http://ais.cern.ch/newsletter/issues/

46

Experiences

Little use of Hypernews to comment on Exploit Interactive articles Should we:

• Promote more • Have comments inline• Provide timed realtime chats (e.g HumanClick.com) • …

47

Find Article From AltaVista

Search engines can drive much traffic to a Webzine, esp. if articles contain unusual names (e.g. orgs such as CERN):

• Be proactive in ensuring Webzines are indexed by major search engine vendors

• Ensure that Webzines are indexed in a timely manner (just before new issue released)

• Provide a search engine friendly site map (e.g. issue or volume table of contents) containing lists to all (all new) articles and submit it to search engines

48

Tools

Many tools are available for submitting Web sites to search engines, including desktop applications and Web services

NOTE:• Submit the URL of a

page with links to all pages (e.g. table of contents, site map, What’s New page)

• Beware of spam

http://www.scrubtheweb.com/http://www.scrubtheweb.com/

49

Has It Worked?

After indexing:• Use (e.g.) AltaVista search

facility to count nos. of pages it has indexed

• Use tools to check position for typical query (e.g. Informant)

http://informant.dartmouth.edu/http://informant.dartmouth.edu/

Informant sends regular emails with info on position of query in AltaVista

• Why is my Webzine not in top 10 for query?

• Should I resubmit?• Is the service incorrect?• Should I use another service?

Informant sends regular emails with info on position of query in AltaVista

• Why is my Webzine not in top 10 for query?

• Should I resubmit?• Is the service incorrect?• Should I use another service?

50

Avoid Junk Being Indexed

A search for your Webzine gives you:• The pre-release information, contained in the

editor’s personal home page • The pre-publication Web site

To avoid this happening make use of a robots.txt file and the Robot Exclusion Protocol (REP):

robots.txt

User-agent: *Disallow: /

Pre-release Web site

NOTE:Think about this from the startOnce a page is indexed, it’s difficult to get it removed

You can also control robots by using the <meta link=“robots” content=“noindex”> tag in HTML pages (e.g. don’t index news pages)

51

The Publisher’s View

What might a publisher wish to provide for its Web publication?

What approaches can we, as publishers, take to satisfying these requirements?

52

Statistics

An analysis of Web statistics is needed:• For reporting to funders and other stakeholders• To spot trends• To aid in dissemination• For server performance monitoring• To identify browser characteristics

But:• It can be addictive• It can be time-consuming• It can be misleading

For further info on Web statistics see article at <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/>

For further info on Web statistics see article at <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/>

53

Approaches to StatisticsCultivate Interactive uses 2 externally hosted statistical services:

• Nedstats (stats for individual articles)

• SiteMeter (stats for entire Webzine)

and analysis by WebTrends

http://sm6.sitemeter.com/default.asp?action=stats&site=sm2-exploit-home&report=33

http://sm6.sitemeter.com/default.asp?action=stats&site=sm2-exploit-home&report=33

Externally-Hosted: Minimal resource

requirements Extra info (PC analysis) Email notification Loss of info Reuse may be difficult

Externally-Hosted: Minimal resource

requirements Extra info (PC analysis) Email notification Loss of info Reuse may be difficult

See <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-focus/> and <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/statistics/>

See <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-focus/> and <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue7/statistics/>

54

Other Indicators

Web stats are of uncertain quality due to effects of caching, robots, single visitors, etc.

Other useful performance indicators:• Nos. of links to your Webzine• Proportion of your Webzine which has been indexed

http://www.linkpopularity.com/http://www.linkpopularity.com/ http://www.altavista.com/http://www.altavista.com/

55

News Feeds For Others To UseYou can provide news feeds from your Webzine:

• Additional dissemination• Remote site drives traffic to you

UKOLN has developed CGI and Javascript parsers for RSS news feeds:

• CGI version works for any browser, but use requires CGI privileges

• JavaScript version requires JS-support, but can be used by HTML author

UKOLN has developed CGI and Javascript parsers for RSS news feeds:

• CGI version works for any browser, but use requires CGI privileges

• JavaScript version requires JS-support, but can be used by HTML author

56

Article MaintenanceWeb sites deteriorate:

• Information becomes out-of-date• Hot news becomes stale news• Links start to break• Metadata changes (email and postal address of author, etc.)• New formats are introduced (HTML -> XHTML)• New functionality is introduced (automated translation)

What should be done if:• The links from an article become broken• The author’s email and postal address changes• An article now contains incorrect information• You wish to change the font used initially

Should:• They be fixed• They be left – don’t tamper with published information, as this

sets a dangerous precedent• …

57

What Is The Article?

A published article may be treated as an aggregation of resource fragments:

• HTML / CSS stuff (DTD, <HTML> elements, CSS attributes, …)

• Navigational fragments (header, footer, …)• Branding (name of publisher, funder, etc.)• Core content (the bit which would be printed in a

conventional publication)• Additional end user functionality (translate this

article, find similar articles, annotate article, …)• Publisher / author functionality (validate this article,..)• …

58

Permanent Record or Updated Resource?How do you regard an article published in a Webzine:

• A fixed record which should not be changed (unless, possibly, a formal update / reprint process is gone through)?

• A resource which can be updated according to pragmatic criteria (e.g. fixing errors, annotating when out-of-date, but not changing the original meaning)?

59

A Pragmatic ApproachThere is a need for a policy (and related procedures).

This will reflect the role of the Webzine.

How about:• The meaning of published information will not be changed once

an article has been published• References (hyperlinks) which become broken will be

annotated if they are fixed or removed. Original link information will be available to the reader.

• The look-and-feel of the Webzine may be changed retrospectively for published articles. If feasible, it should be possible for a reader to return to the original look-and-feel

• Changes may be made to HTML, etc. elements.• Changes made be made to the navigational and functional

fragments for an article

60

StandardsThe publisher should be interested in standards:

• To maximise potential readership• To provide long-term access to resources• To avoid application / platform dependencies

We use:• HTML (moving to XHTML, but issues over tools)• CSS (but issues over browser support)• Dublin Core metadata in HTML

We are thinking about:• Transforming XHTML into WML using XSLT• Providing DC metadata in RDF• Using RSS for news feeds• Other areas which inform our research activities

61

ArchitectureKey feature – use of neutral fragments which are transformed, easily managed and reused

TitleAuthorURLdate

HeaderFooterArticle body

TranslateSee also

DTDCSSHEAD

Various fragments are processed by server scripts and can be managed

Add new functionality:• Print all• Translate• See also

Manage functionality:• New translation• Update Web stats• Manage metadata

Add new format, etc:• PDF, WAP, eBook,

email, ...• Full list of authors• User-defined views

variables

content

HTML

Render article

Render issue

Createsite map

62

Applications

What applications can be used to implement this architecture?

Cultivate Interactive

MS SiteServerMainly used for indexing functionAlso provides site management toolsAuthor upload facility is of interest

HTML Authoring ToolsHotMetal / FrontPage / HTML Kit (under review)

Web StatsNedstats / Sitemeter (Web-based)Misc submission tools

Software Development (ASP Scripts)Visual InterdevNotepad

63

Applications – Licensed or Free?

Background:• Limited budget available for Cultivate Interactive• Limited resources for software development

(bought-in Postgraduate help)• Provided opportunity to evaluate / report on

potential for (free) Web-based services - ASPs (Application Service Providers)

Use of mainly free Web-based service:• Web statistics• Submission to search engines• Polling services• Monitoring service availability

Use of mainly free Web-based service:• Web statistics• Submission to search engines• Polling services• Monitoring service availability

64

Applications – A CMS

The model for Cultivate Interactive has worked wellFor a larger-scale project, a CMS (Content Management System) may be needed:

• Manage access by multiple editors• Manage access rights (design can change

appearance, editor can change content)• Manage workflow processes

• Manage application developmentIssues:

• Open source (e.g. Zope) vs. Licensed• Capital costs vs development costs• Entry point (size of Webzine, budget, …)• Support

author editor pre-release site review publication

65

IdentifiersPublisher should provide short memorable identifiersIt’s wise to avoid platform & application dependenciesIt’s also useful to use directories to group issues and articles

www.cultivate-lib.org/issue3/presentations/

www.cultivate-lib.org/issue3/presentations/intro.htm

www.cultivate-lib.org/issue3/presentations/intro.asp

www.cultivate-lib.org/get-article?issue=3&title=presentations

Short, memorable, language & format independent

Longer, format specific, scope for confusion: .htm or .html

Also application-specific, possible mirroring / indexing problems

Very application specific, not indexable, caching and mirroring problems But use of a database helps with Web site maintenance

NOTE: database generated resource can have static URL

66

Mirroring / PreservationIf your Webzine is popular you be be asked if it can be mirrored (low bandwidth areas, or Intranets, ..)You may also wish to consider the longterm preservation of the WebzineIssues:

• Absolute vs relative URLs• The root of your Web site and its structure• Mirroring the content or the application• Sucking the Webzine vs pushing (replicating) it• Navigation on a mirrored site (where is home?)• Mirroring exactly vs rewriting bits

If a site can be mirrored easily, it’s more likely to be easily preserved or transferred to other platforms. So even if mirroring doesn’t appear

to be of interest, there may be other benefits

If a site can be mirrored easily, it’s more likely to be easily preserved or transferred to other platforms. So even if mirroring doesn’t appear

to be of interest, there may be other benefits

67

D-LibD-Lib is mirrored at UKOLN at <http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/dlib/dlib/dlib.html>

NOTE:• Search and the results are

not at mirror • Long URL of UK mirror

68

Developments With IdentifiersLibrary professionals have an interest in persistent addressingURLs break when:

• An organisation is renamed

• A Web site is reorganised

Possible solutions include:

• DOIs (but mirroring issues)

• OpenURLs (address mirroring and resolution)

• …Area is of interest to UKOLN and JISC

See <http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI> for background info

See <http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI> for background info

69

Funding Issues

How is our Web publication to be funded?

What suggestions do you have?

70

Funding Options

Your Webzine could be funded:• In-house: it’s part of your job• From savings from replacing the print edition• Through advertising revenue

(see <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conferences/ili-2001/advertising/>)

• Through subscription• From grants, project funds, etc.• …

Any comments on these options?Which is likely to be feasible for your

publication (and your culture)?

Any comments on these options?Which is likely to be feasible for your

publication (and your culture)?

71

Questions

Any questions?