BCN was just then beginning to develop its information base, and the contents of the directory was a natural addition. Through multiple meetings with appropriate County authorities and United Way agencies, the BCN coordinator was able to convince the community that an online version of the directory would be an excellent substitute for the previously printed material. Because the print version of the Directory was printed only every several years, its contents were frequently inaccurate due to administrative changes, services going out of business, or phone numbers changing. By placing the Directory on BCN, and providing the United Way with a process for periodically updating the material online, the Directory would be far more accurate and timely. The project began in the spring of 1994. Refer to Madeline Gonzalez's report to the Boulder County Information and Referral Committee (http://bcn.boulder.co.us/human-social/report.html) for details on the project. In the report, Ms. Gonzalez explains that the University of Colorado and BCN would step in to assist the Information and Referral community in placing all referral information online. The timeliness of the University's interest in assisting can't be overstated. Moving the directory to an online service was the only way to keep the vital resource in use.
Creating the online directory represents a tremendous effort in introducing the use of electronic media to dozens of agencies and hundreds of human service programs (http://bcn.boulder.co.us/human-social/center.html). It should be noted that the graduate students and staff of Computing and Network Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder have done an outstanding job of providing a service for the community.
The following section of this paper will outline the steps taken to facilitate the Community Resources (Human Services Information Center) project on BCN.
10.1 Online Community Resources Directory
After attending regular Information and Referral meetings held by the County of Boulder, the BCN Coordinator gained an appreciation for the scope and usage of the Community Resources Directory.
I. The BCN technical staff decided to use FoxPro database software to construct an input form the specific program information. After all entries were to be completed, the collection would then be uploaded to BCN in html. Realizing that not all agencies or programs were going to have network connectivity, BCN planned to provide the directory information in disk format with Mosaic as the browsing tool. The disk version of the Community Directory would then be copied as appropriate by Boulder County United Way and sold to the County agencies and programs who could not access BCN via the Internet. The Directory would be updated twice per year.
II. The United Way sent out mailings to all agencies and programs that had previously purchased the directory to gather program updates from the providers and to inform them of the change and the unavailability of subsequent printed versions of the directory. A computer resource inventory survey was also included. The new program update form had been constructed from previously used update forms, but its design had been significantly influenced by the programmers working on the FoxPro database. The goals of the survey were to determine whether providers had network connectivity, learn what types of computers and software were in use, and get a feel for employee computer skills. Updates for new entries into the directory trickled in from the agencies and programs for months. However, it became clear that the important notice, telling that the *printed directory* would not be printed again, had either gone unread or had been misinterpreted.
III. The project appeared to be moving along rather smoothly. After only a few months, 39 agencies and over 200 community programs were entered into html for public viewing on BCN. The first presence for the Community Directory had been established. Attention then turned to inputting the newly updated program information provided with the help of the FoxPro database program.
Several months into the project, BCN began receiving the resource surveys telling what types of computers and software agencies and program employees were using. Of 300 surveys mailed out, we received 100 complete surveys. From them, we learned that original assumptions about user sophistication were inaccurate. The original plan called for distributing disk versions of the Community Directory along with the Mosaic browser to agencies and programs did not have network connectivity. This assumption would have worked if all agencies and programs were using computers with adequate memory and if PC users were using Windows.
The surveys we received indicated that of the 100 respondents, 49 were running Windows, 4 had Macintosh, 6 had no computers, 23 were DOS-based, and 18 didn't know what sort of computer or software they were using. There are at least 800 non-profit organizations in Boulder County who at some point use the Community Services Directory. 300 of these are heavy users. If these survey is at all representative of the general public, there are many agencies with far less sophistication than we originally understood.
We learned that the browser DosLynx would be an adequate substitute for agencies/programs that are using the DOS platform; however, the configuration requirements for DosLynx are far too complicated for the average user to deal with. We are now beginning to write a script for automatic installation of the program for use by the agencies and programs. BCN will also provide complete documentation on use of the software and the Community Directory.
By June 1995, we will have completed the first updates for all agencies and programs participating in the Community Directory. The disk version of the directory will be at the United Way to be copied and distributed to the community. It doesn't seem clear whether all agencies are really aware of what the change will mean to them individually. Since the product isn't in their hands yet, we have no feedback to offer on the use of the disk version of the directory. Agency and program directors who have attended BCN's public orientation sessions (or have access to the Internet) are very pleased with what they see online. The directors understand that the online version will replace the printed book, and they appear comfortable with using it.
10.2 Lessons Learned: Community Resource Directory
1. The process of bringing the human services online is probably the most rewarding of any efforts we have put forth.
2. We would strongly urge that end users who will use the material at work be involved in the developmental process. Getting the organizations to participate isn't as easy as it sounds. Social service communities are busy with day-to-day operations and have had little need in the past for technological applications in terms of information and referral services. While most realize that the world of information is changing, that doesn't translate into an understanding of how the change will affect individuals and the way they conduct human services. Most people who are just learning about the Internet or the World Wide Web don't realize the impact of its use, and so feel inadequate in contributing to the development of tools.
3. Determine early on in the project whether any of the services the community network plans to provide will in any way include business process reengineering. We knew that the Directory would never be printed again, what we didn't realize was how difficult it would be to change the process that had been in place for 20 years. We learned that the re-invented update form was substantially different from previously used forms. The changes resulted in confusion on the part of the agency/program submitting the update form. In some cases, the new form was completely discarded in favor of the previously used forms. In other cases, agencies created *hybrid* update forms by pasting elements from the new form to elements of the old. United Way employees responsible for getting the update forms to BCN often rewrote much of the information supplied on the form from the agency or program.
4. If the agencies will be using the service electronically, help them build Internet connectivity into their planning budgets by identifying volunteers who can work with the organizations to articulate their technology needs.
5. Provide connectivity to the resource if necessary through a dial up modem pool if possible. BCN will be providing dial up service only to the non-profit community service organizations.
6. Most agencies do not have adequate computers, much less any kind of Internet connectivity. A role the community network can play is to help identify would-be donors in the community, and provide a matchmaking service between technologically sophisticated volunteers and/or donors and the organizations who need their assistance.
7. Training is a very important aspect, and needs to be included. As mentioned above, social services people are already overworked and underpaid. We need to make the systems as easy to use as possible, but no matter how easy we think using the Web is, we still need to provide hands-on training.
Information accuracy for the community organization is vital in maintaining community support. BCN will be exploring the possibility of providing an online update form for future updating requirements. Providing a direct means of updating the Directory will remove the opportunity for error, which is introduced by multiple interpretations of the original text. We originally planned for the United Way to complete all updates using the FoxPro database. The updates would then be periodically uploaded to the online directory. We now believe that a well constructed perl script can be incorporated with an easy to use Web form so that providers would be more apt to update their own information as it changes.
Comments: Catherine Weldon or Madeline Gonzales