Because of our current web service combined with the outstanding campus network infrastructure, statistics from the database vendor tell us that NMC accounts for approximately one third of the total usage of these databases among all of Michigan's community colleges. Provide a high quality service and the students will use it. We are placing a heavy emphasis on the web services, and I need to concentrate on the Library's web site to provide the highest quality information services we can to the NMC community. For example, we are creating resource guides that help our web users locate and evaluate high quality information among the web's vast resources, and we are also making available local resources such as statistical data. I cannot devote any more time to NMC's web server than I already do, and I am seeing problems develop that I simply do not have time to address.
Technology is mainstream in education today.
Improperly managed, it can become a weakness as much as a strength. Larger universities such as the University of Michigan dedicate entire departments to web services. Muskegon Community College contacted me this past fall gathering information in support of creating a webmaster position there. I believe the best solution is to hire a computing professional with solid web experience and strong communications skills who could provide the technical development and staff training necessary to meet the growing demands of our web service. Once thought of as a fad, the WWW usage through out the world continues to grow extremely fast and become more of a necessity rather than a luxury.