a —_ _ “Cultural Resources Foil “andthe / asl ale Wide VAZYN 9 wt . . . ’ * — | a oad ~= ~ AS. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR peational Park Service _, Cultural Resources yt NATIONAL Panksenvice |C Ontents ISSN 1068-4999 PUBLISHED BY THE VOLUME 18 NO.9 1995 To promote and maintain high standards cone meres! | Cultural Resources and the omaeren World Wide Web ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ——————-———--— nen Jersnenieeaicessieenneipee Katherine EL. Stevenson . : : —— What in the World is the World Wide Web? .................2000. 3 EDITOR Diane Vogt-O’Connor Ronald M. Greenberg NPS Internet/World Wide Web ...............c.ee. e.ee0 0ee0e 3 PRODUCTION MANAGER Roger G. Kennedy Karlota M1. Koester Government Information Policy .....0.... .eee. e.ee. ee. e ee 4 GUEST EDITOR Henry C. Kelly Diane Vogt-O'Connor SPECIAL ISSUE ADVISOR Developing a National Park Service World Wide Website: Steve Grosz A Brief History... 1.0..ce. eee eens 9 ADVISORS Paul Handly David Andrews : ; a The World, The Web, and The Smithsonian ...................... 1] loan Bacharach Mare Pachter Museum Registrar, NPS Randall |. Biallas Forging a Presence on the World Wide Web ................00005. 14 Historical Architect, NPS David Andrews, Veletta Canouts, and S. Terry Childs John A. Burns ArchizectN,P S HarryA . Butowsky WWW Sites cf Interest to Cultural Resources Personnel ............ 16 a Jonathan Bayless Pratt Cassity Executive Director, = . " National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Searching the Internct through the World Wide Web Pe er ee ee ee 18 Muriel Crespi Hugh O’Connor Cultural Anthropologist, NP5 upon ahi Electronic Publishing: A Legal and Practical Primer ................ 23 Mark R. Fdwards Melissa Smith Levine Director, Historic Preservation Division, Se SS SS an Sa World Wide Web Resources .... 2.0... 0... cc eee ee eee eee 27 Bruce W. Frv Diane Vogt-O’Connor Chief of Research Publications National Historic Sites, Parks Canada lohn Hnedak From the Industrial Revolution to the Information Superhighway "nen Ey Lowell National Historical Park and the World Wide Web ........ 30 Archeologist. NPS Audrey Ambrosino and Mark Bograd Antoinette |. Lee Historian, NPS Gettysburg £ National Military ry Park and the Electronic Frontier ........ 31 lohn Poppeliers Winona Peterson International Liaison Officer for Cultural Resources, NPS Brit Allan Storey Technology and Technology Hisetonnaan, Bcureaau tof iRecalaAma tiio n Chi: ckamauga and Chattanooga ...0.... .0c e.e ee. eee. ee e ee 33 Jim Ogden CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Stephen A. Mortis Council for the Preservation of the Anthropological Record en and the World Wide Web... ....... 0.0... cece ee eee 34 Kay D. Weeks ' , Techracal Writer-Edror. NPS Diane Vogt-O’Connor CONSULTANTS Cover photo: Exit end of Cane Crusher of a Sugar Mill at Estate Annaly in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Suggests \li 5 eae Nec hy the motion and interlinked nature of World Wide Web, where all knowledge is grist for the mill. Photography Ve Vm. 1. Feeeman by Jet Lowe. Courtesy of the Historic American Engineering Record Collection at the Library of Congress. ey ey ee Image number HAER VI-8-3. Statements of foct ome wews are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an opinion or endorsement on the part of the editors, the CRM advisors wd comttune © the Natoma! Park Service. Send articles, news items, and correspondence to the Editor, CRM (2250), U.S. Department of the Interior, ~~ — Nationa’ Fark Secece. Cots af Aovources. PO Box 37127,Washington, DC 20013-7127; (202-343-3395, FAX 202-343-5260, Internet: [email protected]). CRM N° 9—1995 vr TL 1 Diane Vogt-O’Connor What in the World is the World Wide Web? he World Wide Web (also known Museums, archives, libraries, schools, tribes, pro- as the Web or WWW) has become fessional organizations, and businesses are all one of the most exciting new tools developing Websites to share their cultural for cultural resource managers in resources with the burgeoning audience of Web the latter half of the 20th century. Combining users. aspects of publishing, broadcasting, networking, Among the challenges is the need to keep the National Park teaching, interactive participation, resource shar- information lively, changing, audio-visually rich, Service Director ing, and even fund-raising, the Web offers cul- story-oriented, and compelling for a relatively Roger Kennedy and Secretary of tural resource managers exciting new young, educated, and feisty international audi- Education Richard opportunities and challenges. ence. The competition for the attention of this Riley viewing the Among the opportunities is the chance to audience is fierce—leading to a suprisingly high World Wide Web bring your collections, sites, structures, exhibi- level of sophistication in many cultural Websites with students from tions, publications, and expertise into the homes and in many Web users. The payoffs include a Ashburton Elementary School. and offices of some 10+ million Web users. rich array of public relations, educational, and outreach advantages; as well as the challenge of being able to NPS Internet/World Wide Web adequately handle the increas- ing volume of queries and visi- tors resulting from the ce since the invention of movable type, people refractory to change have increasing visibility of your cul- grumbled that older methods weren't sufficient to get a message across. Smoke sig- tural resources. nals, drums, and courier pigeons had after all, extended the reach of the human This issue of CRM serves voice. Writing had certainly extended both the reach and the shelf-life of messages. as an entry-level manual for But movable type did have its sway, after which came movable images, some- cultural resource managers times with subtitles, sometimes not. Now, in what some people describe as the wanting to learn how to use the post-Gutenberg age, we are at work on the process of moving from printed lan- World Wide Web as both an guage to printed language and images. informational source and as an Internet is a stage in an unfolding process of amplifying the volume of the outreach tool. It contains arti- data exchanged and the speed of transmission. There is no practical alternative to cles on: the Park Service's participation in this latest evolution of commur ications. ¢ How to search the WWW for Everybody is going to be using Internet or World Wide Web or something close to effective use; them. ¢Where to find assistance and We must be among those having resources in all aspects of & & ha 4) TIVUA this capability, just as we needed to Web use and development be among those capable of verbal lan- work; guage (with children, we call it talk- ¢ Guidance on future direc- ing) and capable of making use of the tions in governmental infor- miracle of writing. The only question mation policy; really becomes, How should we add ¢Case studies oi Web devel- some wisdom to the store of informa- opment from the Smithsonian tion? How do we seek some quality Institution, the Committee on amid the burgeoning of quantity? the Preservation of the Anthropological Record, and Roger G. Kennedy the National Park Service; and ¢ Guidance on the legal Director, National Park Service aspects of Web work. CRM NY 9— 1995 2 What is the Web? ing in a single searchable place at mini- The Web is an internationally networked mal cost. information system that presents text including e A superior desktop research tool allow- databases and high resolution images, sound, and ing access to digital information includ- video on all aspects of knowledge. The effect is ing databases made or held by libraries, like an ever-growing multimedia encyclopedia that archives, museums, and other cultural is being created interactively and cooperatively by resource repositories and organizations the users. internationally. The World Wide Web is also: e A powerful broadcast studio for sharing ¢ A highly visible place to define who we information on our events, activities, are, what we have, and what we do to a and programs. rapidly growing audience currently esti- ¢ A web of informational resources uniting mated to be over 10+ million users. cultural resources professionals interna- e An innovative forum for testing out new tionally through both planned searches ideas for sharing our resources in publi- and serendipitous browsing via hyper- cations, exhibitions, interpretation pro- text links. grams, and educational activities e A place to sell products and request integrating text, graphics, audio, and donations via cooperating associations video. in order to make cultural resources more e A showcase for our staff expertise in self-supporting. “Ask the Experts” columns, online mag- e A democratic assemblage of information azines, and online chat sessions. that requires basic training before mas- e A virtual visitors center for sharing prac- tery is possible. tical information on our cultural e The world’s most powerful printshop for resources with tourists. telling our stories and sharing our mis- e An opportunity to use our cultural col- sion, history, and vocation with an inter- lections and resources to leverage fund- national audience. ing for digitization and outreach projects ¢ The “killer application” that provides a via digital vendors, corporations, and common entry point to all other features foundations. of the Internet. e A powerful antidote to professional iso- lation in remote areas as the Web Diane Vogt-O'Connor is the Senior Archivist in the allows us to network with our profes- Museum Management Program of the National Park sional colleagues and friends regardless Service and guest editor of this issue of CRM. of how distant they may be. e A speedy way to maintain, share, and update policies, procedures, and train- Henry C. Kelly Government Information Policy he communication tools provided taken by the Hubble telescope almost as soon as by contemporary technology pro- the NASA scientists in charge of the project. vide convenient, practical, inexpen- Interested citizens can look at government sive access to people and press releases, proposed legislation, and other information resources worldwide. Anyone with an documents the instant they are released. Online inexpensive home computer willing to spend $10 browsers can now participate in discussion groups a month can sit at home and look at pictures that span the globe, search through digital 4 CRM Nv 91095 libraries, and explore archival photographic and same virtual space seen on their computer screens. sound recordings ranging from classics to amateur These environments can convey information just productions. While full motion video on demand is as it would be explained if an infinitely patient now expensive, intense competition to deliver expert led you on a field expedition or the way an entertainment products to homes is likely to make experienced manager would apprentice new staff even this service available to most Americans by members so that they could learn the intricacies of the end of the decade. a business. These tools are already transforming the way Computer simulations, of course, allow risks Americans do business. Networked information real expeditions wouldn't allow and permit explo- and online tools are making standard transactions rations only possible through imagination—explor- more efficient and providing opportunities to do ing lost cities, the miniature internal worlds of things that were simply not considered possible— cells, or enormous worlds in outer space. These and certainly not affordable—using earlier tech- advanced, interactive, multi-dimensional systems nologies. Businesses can advertise and sell convey information and ideas in ways that are products through the World Wide Web. Hospitals can send CAT-scans through the net to get expert consulta- Wclew me lo the tions from distant special- White House ists. Students and scholars can avoid the cost and inconvenience of traveling around the world searching for text or multi-media mate- rials and search enormous archives, located around the world, without leaving their The White House World Wide Web studies. page. Perspective on What's New Networked information is just the tip of the ice- berg—the easy part where A OS,n e. Gutevactive Crtixons’ Handbook the artifacts of earlier com- munications technology (such as prints, photos, recordings) are digitized and President's Vice President's transferred to computer Welcome Message Guest Book Welcome Message archives. Modern informa- tion technology clearly also offers something qualitatively different—a unique easy to grasp, and in ways that make it easy to ability to create synthetic environments. These bridge the gap to more formal representations of environments permit an entirely novel form of information in words and numbers. communication. Instead of seeing a photograph of The Administration's Broad National an old airplane, for example, a complete three- Information Strategy dimensional representation of the plane can be While it’s impossible to predict the impact of constructed in the computer so that it can be these powerful new tools with any precision, there turned and examined from all sides. Moreover, can be little doubt that mastery of the power of simulations permit you to enter the plane and fly it information technology will be essential to the over terrain as historically accurate as archival U.S. economy in decades ahead. It also is likely records permit. that these new tools can be used to achieve real Siniilarly, completely rendered ecologies can gains in areas ranging from health care, to enter- be simulated based on archival documentation. tainment, education, public health and safety. These ecologies can be explored by individuals or Recognizing this, the Administration has an groups working together in the same simulated ambitious program designed to ensure that as environment. The individuals joined in the explo- many Americans as possible are able to take ration need not be in the same physical place. The advantage of new information technologies as individual participants can cooperate only in the rapidly as possible. Since it’s obvious that virtually CRM Nv 9—1995 wy all of the work and investment will be done with- including health care (medical record man- out federal direction or funds, the strategy has the agement, digital transfer of X-rays, and following basic elements: other images), education and training, 1. Ensuring that the laws and regulations gov- intelligent transportation management erning communications encourage private (traffic signals, air traffic control), and a investment and create a competitive envi- host of other areas. ronment with inter-operable systems—an 4. Providing convenient, efficient access to environment needed both to stimulate government information. The new commu- innovation and to prevent the emergence of nications technologies can make govern- monopolies. The Administration has been ment operations and government working with the Congress to design legis- information much more accessible, more lation that will achieve these objectives. It timely, and more personal to citizens. They has been working with a variety of stan- can also make it much easier to ask ques- dards, organizations, and business groups tions and receive responses that are timely, to promote seamless interoperability accurate, and tailored to individual inter- between systems, to ensure the privacy of ests and needs. communications without compromising These technologies can range in func- critical law-enforcement responsibilities, tion from providing timely information on and to ensure the protection of intellectual environmental regulations to efficient property. methods of filing state and federal income 2. Ensuring the widest possible access to new taxes. technologies both by protecting universal The information systems can also access to phone, broadcast, and some provide important tools for improving the advanced services in a modernized productivity of government operations, telecommunications market and by provid- making it easier to coordinate complex ing funds for connecting schools and projects and keep the paperwork to a mini- libraries to advanced services. Universal mum. service is a key part of the Administration's 5. Ensuring that worldwide communication proposals for telecommunication reform— services are inter-operable with domestic including provisions providing affordable systems. The advantages of the new com- links to classrooms. The Department of munication systems clearly don’t stop on Commerce's Telecommunications and America’s borders. U.S. businesses, Information Infrastructure Program pro- research teams, students, and ordinary citi- vides matching funds for schools, libraries, zens clearly benefit when they are able to rural health care providers, economic use the internet to reach archives in Italy development agencies, and state and local as easily as archives in Nebraska. governments with innovative proposals for The administration is working with a num- using telecommunication services. ber of international organizations to encourage all 3. Supporting research in areas key to wide- nations to achieve universal acceptance of the spread use of advanced information ser- principles needed to build an efficient global infor- vices where private funds are not available mation infrastructure that incorporates competi- either because the risks are too great or the tive, private, inter-operable systems. The effort has benefits to the nation far outweigh the ben- met with surprising success in spite of the fact that efits that any individual firm could capture. many nations began the decade with their commu- This has meant investing in key areas of nications systems completely controlled by state advanced computer and communication monopolies. technology (such as the six gigabit test net- Government Information works being conducted in partnership with Clearly the federal government's central role major telecommunication firms) and key in accelerating the development and use of systems issues relevant to the construction advanced information technologies is ensuring a and evaluation of advanced education and regulatory environment that encourages innova- training technology. tion and competition. At the same time, the gov- The user-friendly, graphic interfaces ernment must provide the public with protection now enjoying explosive market growth against monopoly abuse and ensure universal under names like Mosaic and Netscape access to basic services. But the government has resulted directly from federal software other crucial responsibilities—perhaps the most development funding. Federal research is obvious of which is to make the best possible use also funding work in specific applications of the new technology to make its own operations CRM N° 9—1995 re) more efficient, more open, and more comprehensi- Navigating within the Federal Information ble. Infrastructure The federal government is too often seen as a The White House Home Page is centerpiece distant, hostile power operating without concern of the federal government's efforts to make infor- for the needs of individual citizens. The Clinton mation available. This World Wide Web page administration began with a commitment to make (http:/Awww.whitehouse.gov) provides a single every possible use of new information technology point of entry to the federal digital world. to do the following: Supplemented by the FedWorld collections main- e Streamline government operations tained by National Telecommunications and * Reduce paperwork Information Service (URL: e Make government operations more open, http:/Awww.Fedworld.gov) the White House Home responsive, and transparent Page leads systematically to federal information— e Drastically cut the paperwork and forms evervthing from agency press releases to genome required to deal with the government sequences in NIH. The basic page is being Technology clearly can't solve all of the prob- upgraded to provide more convenient searching lems caused by obsolete government management tools for the majority of us who may not have practices. Technology can provide key tools for known to look for the Weather Bureau inside the achieving federal goals quickly and at an accept- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration able cost. Private firms have found that informa- (NOAA) inside of the Department of Commerce. tion technology can only lead to real productivity In addition, a series of specialized entry gains when it is used as an integral part of broad points has been developed for users with clearly management reforms. The Vice President's “rein- identified interests. The U.S. Department of vention taskforce” has done just this. It has been Agriculture, for example, provides a convenient issuing a stream of dramatic management changes point of entry for users familiar with its extension aimed at making government more responsive to service programs. The Vice President's National its ultimate customers—the citizens it is supposed Performance Review team has worked with the to serve. Information technology plays an impor- Small Business Administration and the tant role in many of these reforms. Department of Commerce to introduce a U.S. Dramatic gains in the performance of a large Business Advisor page (URL: system like the federal government require making http:/Avww.far.npr.gov.VDOTS) providing a format investments and taking some risks before savings convenient for small businesses interested in find- can be realized. This is obviously difficult in a time ing practical information on regulations, Small of extreme fiscal stringency. Many agencies are Business Innovation Research programs, and other faced with the problem of maintaining an increas- topics. ingly expensive system for handling public Creating Digital Records requests and inquiries while finding the funds to While much of the information generated by invest in modern information systems that will the federal government is produced on comput- eventually make their operations much more effi- ers—including the word processor used to create cient and less costly. The Administration feels that this manuscript—only a fraction of this informa- it has developed a balanced approach which can tion is available online. There are several reasons ensure adequate investment in new systems while for this. Some are simple to remedy and others still cutting the overall cost of government. But its much less tractable. plans are vulnerable to budget cuts from the Problems resulting simply from inertia or Congress. lack of understanding on the part of public offi- Federal efforts to use information have taken cials are real but are being quickly remedied. The three basic forms: more serious problem is finding the funds needed 1. Providing convenient and easy-to-use tools to purchase and maintain the computer and com- for searching through the maze of govern- munication equipment needed to make the infor- ment information and locating what you mation available, to periodically refresh the data, want when you want it. and to reformat it as the communications, soft- 2. Making raw data available in digital form ware, and hardware systems change. In most cases so that it can be stored, searched, and it should be much less expensive for the govern- transmitted by the new systems. ment to initially make information available in 3. Providing a convenient way for citizens to electronic form than it is to make it available communicate with the government—both through conventional means, such as printing doc- sending forms to the government and uments or answering phones. receiving individualized data from the gov- Agencies find it difficult to justify invest- ernment. ments in new computer systems while they main- CRM N° 9—1995 NS tain parallel, older systems to serve people lacking paper, microfilm, original photographs, motion pic- access to computer communications. The problem tures, sound recordings, and other document types is compounded because many agencies must fund captured using older technologies. The cost of digi- data dissemination by selling their publications. tizing this information can be very high, though Shifting to free electronic dissemination would dry the actual life of each generation of digital copy up the only source of funds available for making may be shorter than that of the original document. information available in any form. There is an old Digital data can be copied to new storage tech- debate about whether the economy as a whole nologies at a comparatively low cost. benefits if the federal government charges citizens The bulk of the reformatting cost is associ- for information which they could use to improve ated with moving original rare materials from stor- the performance of their businesses or make them age and ensuring that they are properly handled, better citizens. The new technology has forced the described, and made available. Materials with issue into the spotlight at a time when funding for unclear copyright status may also require some any new programs—however cost effective—is dif- legal research. It would be extremely useful to pro- ficult to obtain. vide digital representations of archival and In spite of these problems, the administra- museum materials, such as photographs, sculp- tion has aggressively encouraged agencies to make tures, or technology of historic interest. material available in digital form. The efforts have The most attractive digital format for met with a considerable amount of success—par- archival and museum materials would be one in ticularly in agencies familiar with the new tech- which the digitized image could be manipulated— nologies. A search of the federal digital holdings or even disassembled—as a part of an interactive will, for example, lead to the following: (begin at virtual environment. The cost of creating such rep- URL:http:/Avww.whitehouse.gov). resentations is now well beyond the reach of agen- e Extensive collections of National cies with federal collections. Technology costs Agricultural Statistics maintained by change rapidly however. USDA including the National Spatial It is unlikely that much archival information Data Infrastructure database in the Soil on cultural collections will be transferred to digital Conservation Service form using today’s tight federal budgets. Instead, ¢ Collections of unclassified satellite pho- cultural resource managers must develop innova- tographs from the CIA tive funding approaches including foundation e An enormous variety of real time and funding, partnerships, and cooperative agreements historical weather data and weather with business and academia. satellite imagery from NOAA as well as To be successful, these innovative extensive environmental data and infor- approaches must take advantage of the enormous mation on geographic, atmospheric, and resource represented by federal archivists, cura- oceanographic information tors, historians, and other staff. These cultural e Extensive collections of press releases, resource managers are familiar with the signifi- regulatory notices, and announcements cance of the digitized collections. Cultural resource from most federal agencies managers provide significant “value added” ser- ¢ Educational statistics from the vices when they share their knowledge and exper- Department of Education tise about the digitized collections with the public e Seven million references and abstracts in via the new information technologies. the National Library of Medicine Communicating with the Government e¢ GRATEFUL MED software providing Effective use of new information systems inexpensive access to the Library's col- means much more than simply making informa- lection of medical and health science tion available in raw form on a modern communi- information cation network. The effectiveness of the system ¢ The National Park Service's descriptions depends on an ability to reduce the transaction of the 360+ national parks, including costs people experience when dealing with the overviews of trails, camping, weather, government. In particular, this means getting clear, site highlights, and peak tourism; as well timely answers to questions and minimizing the as overviews of all NPS programs from paperwork and hassle involved in responding to curation to the Historic American federal requests for information. Buildings Survey (http:/Awww.nps.gov) We hope that the networks being put in The funding problem is compounded when place will lead to a great improvement in systems the information is not available in digital form. which now depend largely on phone-answering This is true particularly for archival information and paper-mailing. Several additional steps are where documents are available only as ink on —Kelly, continued on back page 8 CRM NY 9—1995 Paul Handly Developing a National Park 4 Service World Wide Website A Brief History t's been described as an electronic the suite of interpretative tools used by the insurrection. A ground swell of National Park Service staff to convey the experi- resources and creativity has been set ences and uniquely American spirit that the free, and the key that opened the flood nation’s park lands embody. The importance of the The National Park gates of this creativity is the World Wide Web Internet as a method of interpretation should not Service World Wide Web home page. (the Web). The Web, the graphical medium of be underestimated. In April 1994, an Executive Order required ' Netscape - [The Naional Park Service Home Page] >|] federal agencies to provide spatial data online for Fie Eat View Go Gookmarks Options Directory Help | public access. The Internet was clearly the best [Back Jonas | Home J |R eload| i vaaes| ]O pen | Print | Find J | sep J and most accessible way to provide information Location: [httpuAvww_nps.gov! across the United States. It was clear that the NPS should provide more than just raw spatial (Geographic Information System [GIS]) data on NATIONAL PARK SERVICE g@ the Internet, and before long a small group of peo- ple began developing data applications on the Web that would be attractive to users. By October Welcome to the U.S. National Park Service 1994, fueled by the Yosemite home page devel- oped by Joe Coho of the Western Regional Office, The National Park Service is dedicated to conserving unimpairetdh e natural and cultural resources of the nation's parklands, and througha variety cfn ationaalnd international programs, extendintgh e Patrick Gregerson and the author developed basic ben fits ofn atural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation to people throughout this home pages for the parks in the then National country and the world. Capital Region (NCR). A discussion group was formed within NCR to discuss the potential and future direction for the NCR Websites. By January 1995, this truly servicewide revo- lution had caught the attention of the Director and What park is this? his staff. The Director applauded the work done on the Wed, formalized the program and gave it 4} his support. A small group, made up of WASO + : program staff, regional staff, a superintendent, and Ae) | other park staff, was formed to plan out the devel- the Internet, has put a whole new face on the opment of the NPS Web program. That same The NPS Museum way information is shared inside organizations month, the first conceptual framework for the NPS Collections home and around the world. The Web has empowered —_W ebsite was presented at a national teleconfer- page includes pro- files of over 300 millions who can now share NPS museum col- their stories and information ¥ lections; a Treasures complete with pictures, sound, of the Nation and even video. exhibit containing images and The marriage between the descriptions of National Park Service and one of nationally significant the world’s most innovative objects and speci- information technologies is eas- mens; and bibliogra- ier to understand by looking at phies and publications created the purpose of the Internet. At its by the NPS root, the Internet is designed as Museum an information tool, and as such, S aaiabt ana:d ss ji whd ie, ei povciotnn einen,a nd in some repositories outside the National Park Management pro- Service. For more information and images on these collections, click on “Park Museum Collection Profiles” and “Treasureos f gram. it becomes a natural extension of the Nation.“ For technical references on preserving and protecting objects, specimens, and archives, click on “Publications. CRM NY 9—1995 9 planning, and other communi- ties with the NPS. The second session, held in Washington, DC, provided a similar oppor- tunity for interested parties and other NPS Web develop- ers to shape the growth and Written history has its place, says James Deetz in his book /n Small Things Forgotten, “but there is a look of the NPS presence on time when we should set aside our perusal of dianes, court records, and the Web. By National Park inventones, and listen to another voice “ That voice speaks powerfully from the thousands of federally sponsored excavations across the country, inside and Week the NPS Website had outside the national parks You can participate in archeology or just learn more grown from a prototype to a about it by browsing below iull-blown vehicle for convey- ing interesting information to The National Park ence, and based on that framework, members of the public and to NPS employees throughout the Service Archeology the team agreed to work toward completing the Service. home page. first stage of the NPS Website by March 1995. Soon after National Park Week, Steve For the next two months, an intensive effort Grosz, Steve Pittleman, Chip Jenkins, Betsy was made by team members to flesh out a com- Chittenden, the author and many others began the prehensive Website for the entire National Park task of producing the first servicewide vision doc- Service. Each program office was primarily con- ument aimed at guiding the further development cerned with developing its respective home page, of the NPS Website. By early August the NPS Web but offices with more expertise assisted in the Primer and the NPS Web Manual were released development of multiple home pages. Dave via cc:Mail. Using these two documents, employ- Duran, of the NBS (formerly the NPS GIS ees throughout the Service have added to the Washington Office) who posted the first draft of growth of NPS'’s Web development. the National Park Service home page months ear- The interest and commitment to the NPS lier, worked c'osely with the author in setting up Web development process by a wide range of NPS and building the current NPS Web Server, even as employees is a reflection of the growing interest in Dave was developing the NBS Website. The the larger Internet community as a whole. The Denver Service Center's Technical Information Center (DSC) scanned the The National Register Information System (NRIS) entire Red Book Index The National (The National Parks: The National Register Information System (NRIS) is the official database of the National Register of Register Index 1993) and sent _ Histone Places. The database contains nearly 65 000 listed properties which are searchable by 2 million indexed terms Information System home it to the NCR where _ Access the NRIS | page. the file was converted |P ublic access is available wa the internet or “dial-up”. If you are accessing the NRIS from this page, remember to associate a telnet — into Web hypertext | product with your browser. Frequent users may wish to Telnet directly on 165.63.212 245 to the NRIS computer After making the | Connection, type “Natreg” to begin. Feel free to reference the NRIS computer in your own home page mark-up language Fajen cotta tae 5 (HTML) format. This text was the basis for each of the 368 park home transformation from the one-or-two person effort pages. The graphic headers for each page were into a servicewide effort occurred faster than developed largely thanks to Russell Bellknap of many previously thought possible. the DSC's Eastern Team. Each program area of the The NPS efforts have not been lost on the Service contributed to the rapid growth of the vast audience of the Internet. Those who have Website. It is this “distributed” nature of the Web contributed to this process should be proud of the and its authors that is the real power and force fact that the NPS Website was rated in the top 5% behind the exponential growth of the Web in gen- of all most popular sites on the Web by Point eral, and the NPS site in specific. Survey. Through the dedication of this “grass- By March 1995, much of the work that had roots” effort, much has already been accomplished been outlined in the original meeting two months and with the growing interest by park staff, who earlier had been completed. Two review and com- knows where this might lead? ment sessions were held to help hammer out the kinks in the new NPS Website. The first session, Paul Handly is the National Park Service based in Denver, consisted of approximately 20 Webmaster. interested parties from the natural resources, CRM NY 9—1995