Trends in Technology

As parks and recreation professionals, we are in the business of providing our residents quality programs, parks and special events. That is, in a nutshell, what we are here for. So when I was visited by a representative of cyberspace who was promoting PrairieNet, a new community freenet (free space on the Internet), I was amused, bewildered and a whole lot scared.

Why would a park district be on the Internet? What good could possibly come from it? Where in the world would I begin?

Three years and a web page later, I can attest to the virtues of the Internet; what it has done for the Urbana Park District, our residents, and how it will affect the way we do business in the future.

What is the Internet? Simply put, the Internet (or, "the Net") is a massive network made up of a collection of smaller networks, all freely exchanging information over high speed digital telephone lines. The Internet was originally a project of the U.S. Department of Defense. In 1969, its purpose was the transmission of information in the advent of nuclear war.

Now, 27 years and 30 million online users later, the Internet is more than tomorrow's communication standard. It is a rich resource and a powerful communication tool that can and should be utilized right now.

Several navigational tools exist through which you may explore the Internet. The most exciting information search tool is the World Wide Web (WWW or "the Web"). What makes the Web so popular is its easy use. The point and click approach to obtaining its vast amount of information makes the Web user friendly.

This article focuses on the World Wide Web, its components in relation to parks and recreation agencies, and benefits of having a web site on the Internet.

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cyberspace — Refers to an imaginary space where electronic communications take place.

freenet — A community oriented computer system that provides information, communication services and a gateway to the Internet, free-of-charge, to all members of a community.

hits — The total number of times various web site pages and graphics are accessed by Internet users.

home page—The first page of a web site.

HTML (hypertext markup language) — The language used to create web pages.

Information Superhighway —The near mythical agglomeration of the Internet, communications companies, telephone systems and other communications media that many seem to believe will be the "next big thing" in business, academia and industry.

Internet—A worldwide collection of networks that began with technology and equipment funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and today links users in nearly every known country, speaking every known language.

web page — A set of interlinked documents produced by a single author or organization. Synonym for HTML documents.

World Wide Web (WWW) —The complete collection of all Web servers available on the Internet.

COMPONENTS OF A WEB SITE
Typical park and recreation agency web pages can be broken down into at least five categories: publicity, public information, fundraising, volunteer recruitment and general agency information.

Publicity. To maximize publicity, include all of your special events and program registration information. People who "surf the Net" are looking for things to do. Let them know about your concerts in the park, parades and festivals, pool parties and fundraisers. It's a great, low-cost method for reaching people and sharing your message.

Public Information. This includes board meeting schedules, media releases, employment opportunities, capital improvement project updates and more. Beyond this, anything your agency prints—newsletters, annual reports, even your program guide—can easily be recycled and made available online.

Fundraising. Do you ever need sponsorship dollars for agency programs and events? What about money for your Kid's Fund or Flower Island program? Large sums of money are not yet changing hands over the Internet, but again, this is a low- cost method of reaching people who may be looking for a worthwhile charitable organization or a means of advertising their own business. The least it can do is educate people about the needs of your agency.

Volunteer Recruitment. People who use the Internet are often active, involved citizens. And, just as often, people who are interested in volunteering may not always think of your agency or know the diversity of its needs. Listing several different opportunities and including just enough information to whet their appetites are effective ways to recruit.

General Agency Information. Here is an opportunity to

provide information about your personnel, board members, your annual budget, parks and facilities. This section can be as large or small as you wish, including rental information, park acreage and features, history, mission. The possibilities are endless.

HOW CAN YOU GET ON THE INTERNET?
There are three things needed to get a web page up and running: a computer, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and someone to translate your written material into a web page. (If your agency is without a computer or modem, check with your public library or ask an ISP. They should be able to assist you.)

The ISP provides an Internet connection and disk space to store the web page files. Your computer should be able to connect to your ISP through a modem with a local phone call. The Urbana Park District uses PrairieNet (http://www.prairienet.org), the local freenet, as its ISP. Several commercial ISPs also exist. A check of the Champaign-Urbana Yellow Pages under "computer online services" shows a half dozen companies willing to provide this service for a fee. Your ISP will give you instructions on how to get your page online.

The writing of a web page can be done by a volunteer, a staff member, or a paid web page designer. The underlying language of a web page is hypertext markup language (HTML). A volunteer created the Urbana Park District's web page one year ago. At that time, it took him approximately 40 hours to learn HTML and translate and embellish the text-only pages that the district already had on PrairieNet.

Today it would take a fraction of that time because there are several computer programs available to do HTML for you. If you know how to create an illustrated document in a word processor, you can create a web page with one of these programs. The two best programs are Adobe PageMill 2.0 (http:// www.adobe.com) and Claris Home Page 1.0 (http:// www.claris.com). Both are available for Macintosh orWindows. Also, the most current word processors and desktop publishing software are capable of creating web pages.

Besides a program to help write the page, you will need an understanding of web page design. An excellent book for this purpose is HTML for Dummies by Ed Tittel & Steve James (1995, IDG Books). Although you will not need the HTML part if you let a program do it for you, the book contains information on the history and workings of the World Wide Web, and, most importantly, tips for designing good web pages. It will help you avoid mistakes and resist the temptation to jazz up your page with cool but time-wasting fluff.

While creating a web page is the fun part, maintaining it is the real challenge. Somebody needs to be in charge of updating the page on a regular basis. No one wants to read outdated information and everyone wants to know what's coming up at your district. You will need to update your site at least once a month, preferably once a week. Complex sites including items such as online registration require daily maintenance.

BENEFITS OF AN INTERNET WEB SITE
There are three primary benefits of having a web page. The most obvious advantage is that the information can be kept

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current. Information can be changed or added to a page in as much time as it takes to write and send it over the modem. The delays associated with newspapers, television, radio, and direct mail do not exist within this medium.

The second benefit is the advantage that hypertext enjoys over conventional text. Links, defined by the web page author, will take you from one page to another immediately. For example, clicking on an item in a table of contents can take you right to that item without flipping through all the pages in between. A key word on that page could take you to still another page. The reader is free to meander about in a nonlinear fashion, as opposed to a book reader, who is expected to read the pages in order.

The third benefit is cost. It's inexpensive. The costs associated with the Internet are the software, modem and your time. Both Adobe PageMill and Claris Home Page cost approximately $99 and a modem can cost $150 to $300.

FAD OR FUTURE?
Other than the Summer Olympics, the Worldwide Web is the most over-hyped phenomenon in recent memory. The hype may make some people see the Web as a fad. But like many overnight sensations, there were many years of development out of the public eye.

The WWW has a good solid base and is not going away. Apple Computer Incorporated and Microsoft Corporation are both taking steps to integrate the WWW into the next versions of their operating systems so that it will not make any difference to your computer whether a document resides on the Internet or on your hard drive. Internet access is already an integral part of some game and encyclopedia software.

It would be surprising indeed if the WWW were still in its present form 10 years from now, but it will still be here. The question is, will you be a part of it?

In its 1996 membership survey, IAPD asked 283 agencies if they had a web page on the Internet. Of the 139 total respondents, nine indicated yes. Two others stated they utilize other WWW addresses to promote their agency and one other had a web page in development. The expectation is that this time next year, these figures will change dramatically. And why wouldn't they? This is one of the least expensive methods of promoting your agency and it's so easy to do.

The Information Superhighway is coming of age. Park and recreation agencies have always been leaders in our communities and becoming a part of the Internet should be no exception.

Heather W. Young is the public information coordinator for the Urbana Park District. Steven L. Mullen, a member of the Urbana Park District advisory committee and designer of the district's web site, also contributed to this article.

Almost three years ago, the Urbana Park District was given the opportunity to share information about the district via an access area called PrairieNet. This "freenet" is a community oriented computer system that was implemented by a group of volunteers in Urbana-Champaign and is part of a national organization made up of numerous other freenets. The freenet gives Urbana access to community and government databases, forums for public discussion, a full text of books and documents, global electronic mail (e-mail), and a gateway to the Internet

The Urbana Park District began posting its calendar of events and other subjects in a section of PrairieNet devoted strictly to recreation. The information was stored in a text-only format (no graphics) and this setup worked reasonably well.

Then in July 1995, Steven Mullen—a member of the Urbana Park District advisory committee who had some experience with the World Wide Web—stepped forward and suggested that the district translate the text-only information into a home page on the Web. This was a fantastic opportunity for Urbana. The Web affords so much creativity and a better system of providing information, plus the added bonus of using graphics, animation and audio (though we are a long way from that!).

Mullen translated Urbana's information using hypertext markup language (HTML) and taught me how to do it. Very quickly thereafter we had ourselves a bona fide home page on the Internet. A short time later we took the next step and added photos to certain sections.

The Urbana Park District home page includes a calendar of events, general park district information, a senior adult section, facility rental policies and fees, a volunteer and Adopt-a-Park area, information about our nature center and more. It also offers links to e-mail address for comments and suggestions as well as links to other affiliated agencies and the city of Urbana.

User response has been quite good. Since November 1995, the web site has received more than 5,500 hits. The most popular areas include the calendar of events, the nature center, rental information and the volunteer section. We monitor our accesses twice a month and have noticed an increase in use shortly after the site has been updated.

One of the questions most frequently asked regarding me Urbana home page is the amount of time it takes to update it. It is the district's policy that the site be updated quarterly in conjunction with its program guide. This can be time consuming. Oftentimes only minor additions or deletions are needed (i.e., when a special event has passed), and these take very little time. When you base the tune expended against the number of accesses received in a month's time and the verbal and online input we receive from our residents, it is definitely worth the time and effort.

Future plans for the site include the addition of the Urbana Park District newsletters, capital improvement projects and quite possibly a map that you point and click to obtain specific information about a certain park.

—Heather W. Young