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2001 SAA Web Strategy Plan
SAA Council Meeting
January 5-6, 2001
Washington, DC
by Teresa Brinati, Director of Publishing, and Brian Doyle, Webmaster
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Launched in 1996 and redesigned in 1999, the SAA Web site has evolved into
a vital and creative tool for delivering membership services, disseminating
news, championing ideas and causes, as well as promoting the association and
its products by situating SAA in a global marketplace unreachable through previous
methods. By enhancing the five components of a successful—site content,
communication, commerce, advocacy and education—SAA can transform its
site into a thriving online community and bolster revenue streams.
The 2001 SAA Web Strategy Plan takes into consideration economic factors,
human resources, operational stability, strategic goals, and SAA membership
needs. The following two courses of action are proposed:
- First and foremost, capitalize on existing strengths of the SAA Web site
and continue to give the site forward momentum. Enhancements have been prioritized
into two tiers and include an interactive jobs bank; additional online advertising
opportunities; the implementation of database-driven, dynamic Web pages for
assorted directories and listings; forms to assist with event registration
and journal subscriptions; and online educational offerings. Also proposed
are improvements to the Web site's design and architecture; the initiation
of a "Web Liaisons Program" that would expand guidelines for the
creation of section and roundtable Web pages, as well as facilitate their
integration into the SAA Web community; and an enhanced catalog of titles.
- Second and equally important, the plan proposes exploring global technology
issues in the SAA office, particularly as they apply to the integration and
dissemination of data between Web-based applications and internal management
systems. The present challenge to integration is assuring the adequate and
timely fulfillment of Web-based services, and achieving workplace efficiencies.
At SAA, day-to-day operations—such as management of membership records,
events management, order processing, accounting functions, etc.—depend
on an association management software system. We will research the suitability
of this and other products for integration with Web applications. The ultimate
goal is to find a solution that achieves true resource economy, thus maximizing
productivity and boosting profit margins. Throughout our investigations we
will solicit the expertise of SAA leadership
Attached please find documentation and details supporting the above proposal
as well as cost estimates and a timeline for completion of this Web strategy
plan.
CONTENTS
1) Overview of the SAA Web Site
2) Technological Considerations
3) Immediate Priorities
4) Secondary Priorities
5) Conclusion
1. OVERVIEW OF THE SAA WEB SITE
The SAA Web site includes approximately 350 static HTML pages occupying
nearly 13MB of storage space from a total quota of 100MB. Technical features
on the site are limited to static HTML, Javascript rollovers, the Atomz.com
search engine, and simple CGI form-to-email functions. Data indicates that
the five most requested areas of the SAA Web site during November 2000 were
as follows (approximate hits per week are noted in brackets):
- Online Employment Bulletin [1,175]
- SAA Publications Catalog and other online resources [495]
- Professional Education (seasonal schedule; Directory of Archival Education
in the U.S. and Canada) [480]
- E-mail Lists/Listservs [180]
- In the News [175]
It should be noted that data on Web page hits fluctuates monthly, depending
on SAA events and activities. For example, requests for the online annual meeting
program ranked second in August with 260 hits per week and dropped to 125 hits
per week following the conference, which was held August 28-September 3.
Additional SAA content exists on the Web which is not hosted on the SAA Web
server, including 8 section sites, 4 roundtable sites, a Membership Committee
Web site, and 12 student chapter sites. Content on these pages has not been
calculated in the above data.
2. TECHNOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The static nature of the SAA Web site requires that pages be maintained and
updated manually in HTML by the SAA Webmaster. This is accomplished using Macromedia
Dreamweaver, an HTML-authoring and Web site management program. HTML is adequate
for simple presentation of content via the Web. In addition, interactive forms
(e.g., the Job Ads Submission Form, the Leader List Information Form, etc.)
have been created using CGI scripts, which convert data submitted via a Web
form to e-mail or to a text file stored in a secure directory on the remote
server.
On a large site, static HTML is cumbersome and labor-intensive. Furthermore,
interactive Web applications (e.g., e-commerce, member "kiosks," etc.)
require the ability to capture and manipulate data. This requires a database.
A database-driven model would streamline the maintenance process and improve
the ability for end users to submit information and/or modify data via dynamic
Web applications. In the future, it would also allow for online member registration,
event registration, and publications sales. The latter applications will require
integration with SAA's association management software system. However, other
Web applications could be developed with the use of an independent database.
SAA's hosting service provider offers a range of options for adding a database
to SAA's Web resources. Renting the database would relieve SAA of licensing
obligations, as well as the responsibility to administer the database. This
option may require migrating the domain to another server platform.
Additional tools will also be required to create the Web applications themselves.
Dreamweaver UltraDev (http://www.macromedia.com/software/ultradev)
is a Macromedia product that allows developers to dynamically connect Web pages
to databases and easily add server-side logic, navigation, and interactivity.
UltraDev facilitates the creation of active server pages (ASP), which function
with MS SQL databases. (Additional information about Dreamweaver UltraDev is
available via the Macromedia Web site.)
In addition, certain proposed Web applications, such as the improved SAA
Online Employment Bulletin and the SAA Directory of Archival Education
in the U.S. and Canada could incorporate online credit card processing.
This would require the establishment of a new Internet merchant account,
as well as a service plan with an online payment vendor. The cost of establishing
an Internet merchant account would need to be investigated further with the
assistance of the SAA Finance Director.
Finally, the proposed Web Liaisons Plan calls for the creation of a sub-domain
to provide server space, along with limited FTP access, for organizational
unit Web sites.
3. IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
SAA Online Employment Bulletin: The SAA Online Employment Bulletin is
an area ripe for development. Web traffic data shows that this page, the most
visited area on the SAA Web site, continues to offer a significant revenue
stream for the association. The standardized nature of its content lends itself
well to database functions. The proposed Web application would allow advertisers
to submit announcements, as well as institutional logos for display, which
would immediately be posted to the SAA site on a daily basis, enhancing its
benefit to advertisers and job seekers alike. A "mail this job to a friend" link
could also be incorporated for each announcement. Real-time credit card processing
would be an optional feature.
SAA Directory of Archival Education in the United States & Canada: An
enhanced online version of this publication would allow institutions to submit
and modify listings throughout the year. Like the SAA Online Employment
Bulletin, this would be a database-driven application. Real-time credit
card processing for submission of institutional listings would be an optional
feature.
American Archivist Online Subscription Form: A CGI form-to-email device
would facilitate collection of subscription information, or modifications
to pre-existing records, for the American Archivist via the SAA Web
site. Similar to those forms currently used, data would be e-mailed to the
appropriate staff member(s) and/or written to a secure directory.
SAA Web Advertising Program: The most visited area on the SAA Web site
is the Online Employment Bulletin. Since posting job ads online in February
1998, advertising has skyrocketed. Certainly, a number of economic factors
have contributed to the growth of jobs, but SAA cannot ignore the revenue generated
by these classified ads—roughly 2% of SAA's gross income. By introducing
online display advertising opportunities to other vendors, additional revenue
can also be generated.
Internet advertising is a combination of traditional advertising and direct
marketing. The advantages it offers are targetability and personalization;
tracking; deliverability and flexibility; and interactivity. Like all other
advertising, online advertising attempts to disseminate information in order
to affect a buyer-seller transaction. However, Web advertising differs from
other media by enabling customers to interact with the advertisement. Options
range from clicking on the ad for more information, to technologies which permit
the customer to take the next step and purchase the product in the same online
session. Both Archival Outlook and American Archivist accept
display advertising. In addition, the International Archives and Technology
Exposition during the SAA annual meeting allows vendors to promote their products
and services in person. The SAA Web site will permit vendors to have a presence
with SAA year-round. An advertising package will be developed incorporating
all of these potentialities by summer 2001. Achieving a fluidity between traditional
print and Web media is a goal.
There will be no display advertising on the SAA home page. Instead, there
will be discrete placement on heavily trafficked areas as well as on undervalued
Web space (thank you pages or receipt-for-payment pages). Ad formats to be
offered will include banners, sponsorships, and vendor links.
- Banner ads were the first type of advertising (besides a Web site itself)
that cropped up on the Web. They come in a range of sizes, but are usually
7 inches wide by 1 inch deep (468 pixels x 60 pixels). "Although advertisers
and publishers have been saying that advertising must go ˙beyond the banner,'
this format receives the vast majority of Web ad spending and will continue
to be a Web advertising staple." (Advertising on the Internet, 1999)
- Sponsorships will allow advertisers to sponsor specific areas or sections
on the SAA Web site (e.g., the annual meeting area, sections of the publications
catalog, etc.).
- Vendor links are text advertisements running down the left or right side
of a page.
Web Liaisons Program: As indicated in Section 1, a significant amount
of SAA content exists outside of the SAA domain (i.e., archivists.org) in the
form of section, roundtable and student chapter Web sites. This extended Web
community is not currently indexed by the SAA search engine, causing "satellite" information
to be less accessible. The diffuse nature of the resulting network impedes
communication within the Society, as well as the effectiveness of SAA's Web
presence.
The goal of the Web Liaisons Program is to establish greater cohesion between
the numerous segments of SAA's online community and to strengthen the Guidelines
for the Society of American Archivists Web Sites (http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_b.asp#website),
where necessary and appropriate. The program's proposed objectives are as follows:
- To establish optional server space for organizational units via SAA's hosting
plan and to provide limited FTP access for the maintenance of unit Web sites.
The creation of a sub-domain would help to segregate content maintained by
the SAA Webmaster from content maintained by organizational units, thus preventing
the inadvertent deletion of essential files and otherwise protecting the
integrity of SAA's home page;
- To provide easy-to-use templates that would facilitate development of unit
Web sites and help maintain consistency of navigation tools throughout SAA's
extended Web network;
- To establish a SAA Web Liaisons e-mail list;
- To maintain a flexible approach that does not require the use of certain
development tools, dictate methodology, or otherwise undermine the "diverse
nature of the units."
It should be noted that while server space and design templates will be provided
to organizational units, they need not be required to use them. The search
engine currently used by SAA allows for multiple entry points. That is, it
can be configured to search pages within multiple domains. By combining entry
point settings with URL masks (i.e., directories not to be indexed), the SAA
Webmaster can tailor the searchable area to include content hosted at any location
on the Web. What is most important, and what the Web Liaisons Program seeks
to accomplish, is to foster better communication and coordination between the
SAA Webmaster and SAA's section, roundtable, and student chapter Web liaisons.
4. SECONDARY PRIORITIES
Continuing Education Online Program: The Report of the SAA Task
Force on Continuing Education (http://www.archivists.org/governance/tfce.html)
calls for the reorientation of SAA's education program "to take advantage
of the rapidly maturing technology of distance education." This entails
the creation of online workshops.
The recent hire of two part-time SAA Education Directors will allow this program
to move forward, but important questions have yet to be explored in depth.
For instance, in accordance with the TFCE report, special consideration will
need to be given to the relationship between course developers and course instructors.
Courses will need to be "portable"—that is, independent of any
particular instructor. At the same time, the partnerships between the SAA Continuing
Education Department, course developers and instructors will necessarily require
a degree of flexibility.
In the course of the coming year, we will need to identify what technological
components will be required to accommodate these considerations (e.g., portability,
flexibility). What instructional features should be incorporated and what are
the budgetary implications? A number of potential models are being explored
to answer these questions. They include:
- ASP Solutions
ASPs, or application service providers, are Web-based products such as Blackboard.com.
They provide out-of-the-box, user-friendly development tools for creating
online courses that are administered via a graphical user interface (GUI).
Typical features may included Web-based e-mail for instructors and students,
discussion boards, chat rooms, utilities for testing and tracking
of student performance, and online registration/payment functions. The primary
benefit of such solutions is ease of use since the technical infrastructure
is ready-made. However, the cost of these programs may be prohibitive.
- University Partnerships
Similar to the ASP model, these are fee-based services in which higher education
institutions rent their technological infrastructure to organizations.
The benefit of this arrangement is that it would appear less commercial,
an important consideration for a non-profit professional association. An
example is NIU's Division of Continuing Education (http://www.online.niu.edu/dce/about.html)
which "works in partnership with regional businesses, institutions,
associations, and groups to provide a variety of customized services. Faculty
and alumni experts offer specialized services in the areas of consulting,
training, and research. Specialists within the division provide additional
administrative services to groups and organizations involved in seminars
and training activities." Cost and functionality of these solutions
are yet to be determined.
- In-house Solution
Macromedia—the manufacturer of SAA's Web-authoring software, Dreamweaver—has
developed a free extension called CourseBuilder, which complements Dreamweaver
and Dreamweaver UltraDev. The extension provides a suite of developer tools
specifically designed for creating Web-based course materials. These include
utilities for interactive learning and testing (e.g., multiple choice and
true/false questions, text entry items, etc.) The program also provides "a
visual interface for creating engaging interactivity and sophisticated logic
for Web applications, interactions that judge user responses, track a user's
movements on the screen, time out a question, or respond to an interaction
with any number of multimedia or logic-based responses." In addition,
student progress and/or test scores may be recorded in a database. The benefit
of an in-house solution is cost-savings for software and services. Conversely,
it would require significant development time and could tax SAA's human resources.
Additional Database-Driven Web Applications: Many other areas of the
SAA Web site—those containing standardized, formatted content—could
also benefit from the database model, discussed in Section 2 and proposed for
the SAA Online Employment Bulletin and the Directory of Archival
Education in the United States & Canada. These include:
- The SAA Professional Resources Catalog
- The Directory of SAA Student Chapters
- The Directory of Archival Organizations in the United States & Canada
- The "International Archival Organizations" listing
- The "Associated Professional Organizations" listing
- The SAA Leader List
Improvements to Graphic Design and Navigation Tools: Improvements to
the SAA site's graphical interface should be made on an ongoing basis. Good
design is not simply a cosmetic issue. It has a substantial impact on the marketability
of SAA's goods and services. It is also crucial to making information on the
SAA site easy to find. Since implementing SAA's "new look" in 1999, we
have observed certain design strategies that work very well. In other cases,
there is room for improvement and refreshment. As the various objectives
outlined above are implemented, design changes will also occur as a simple
matter of course.
5. CONCLUSION
The proposals outlined in this report represent a considerable amount of time
and effort, ranging from the improvement of existing SAA Web resources to the
implementation of state-of-the-art technologies and the creation of three innovative,
new programs (e.g., the Web Advertising Program, the Web Liaisons Program,
and the Continuing Education Online Program). This is in addition to regular
ongoing projects, such as production of Archival Outlook, the SAA
Professional Resources Catalog, the SAA Employment Bulletin, the American
Archivist, promotional brochures, advertisements, ongoing Web maintenance,
and myriad publishing activities. Subsequently, the proposed Web projects are
slated to be completed within the next 18 months, if not sooner. Implementation
will be on an incremental basis.
Our long-term vision also includes the delivery of fundamental member services
via the Web, particularly member registration, event registration, an online
member directory, and publication sales. Development in these areas is vital
to the success of SAA's Web site. However, progress must be made cautiously
and give adequate attention to SAA's operational stability, human resources,
and budget. The technological systems required to introduce data integration
between the Web and our association management software system are complicated
and raise serious compatibility issues.
It is our recommendation that an internal Technology Working Group be assembled
that would include skilled IT consultants, the SAA Webmaster and other administrative
staff. The purpose of this working group would be to continue a detailed exploration
of the data integration challenge and identify feasible solutions that will
allow SAA to bridge the technology gap and build the infrastructure that will
bolster revenue streams and transform the SAA site into a thriving online community.
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