If you've used the World Wide Web, you know what a wealth of information is available at the click of a mouse. What if the information you needed to do your daily job were just as easy to access, in the same efficient format? It could be, and all you need is an Intranet.

No, "Intranet" isn't a misspelling of "Internet." But it is an Internet ... sort of. An Intranet is a limited-access network of computers linked by Internet technology and accessible by Internet protocols for the purpose of exchanging information and sharing resources. Intranets are secure systems, protected by "firewalls," or programs that block access by unauthorized users and are scalable to serve groups of 10 or 10,000.

Many institutions already have a precursor of the Intranet. If your organization has a LAN (local-area network), you have been sharing resources already. At the Pappas Law Library, our network allows us to access a shared laser printer, a scheduling/calendar program, and, albeit complicated, a way to share documents. However, for e-mail we use the University's Unix-based mail programs on the Internet instead of internal electronic mail.

So what more could we do with an Intranet? Plenty, but since we don't have one yet, I'll have to speculate on specific features and uses based on some background research I've done.

The sharing of information, documents and other resources, is the primary purpose for creating and maintaining Intranets. Organizations are always seeking less costly, more efficient ways of publishing and distributing information.

Just as the Internet is the solution for the world at large, so an Intranet can fill the same niche in the smaller corporate arena.

In the past, sharing documents throughout an organization meant writing, editing, printing, reproducing, distributing, updating, and redistributing millions of sheets of paper. Even with the advent of computers, files had to be exchanged on disk, ftp'd, or downloaded by each user. Large files could take hours to transmit. Just as with paper distribution, one change caused the entire process to be repeated, resulting in many lost hours of computer and personnel time on the part of each recipient. Multiply that by the number of employees in a large institution and the result was overwhelmingly inefficient. And in the case of handbooks and manuals, not every employee uses the entire publication enough to warrant the expense of production. Perhaps ten percent of the staff needs to have the whole document at hand all of the time. Other staff may use it occasionally, or use only a part of the document. Or, to save money on copies, documents may pass from user to user on a routing list, a slow, insecure, and uncontrollably variable process.

Internet technology, used on an Intranet, eliminates all of these problems. Documents intended to be shared are not copied and distributed to individuals; rather, they are stored in a commonly accessible area on a server, available to any authorized user. If some staff who use the document regularly need a print copy, that is easily accomplished without the expense of a copy for each person. Those needing only a part of the document can print only the necessary pages.

Routing can be eliminated, resulting in less waiting time for users and fewer lost documents. Access is immediate, in real time. Security issues are also eliminated, because firewalls and passwords protect sensitive company information. Not so with distributed hard copy.

Information available on an Intranet is not limited to text format. The technology can handle graphics, as well as audio and video material. Again, copying is eliminated and distribution is greatly simplified.

Maintenance of resources becomes much more efficient when resources are located in a central place. Only one copy of a document needs to be updated, and this can be accomplished in real time. The corrections and/or updates are then immediately available to users.

The ease of publication with Internet protocols allows anyone to mount information on an Intranet, not just the publishing experts. Authors can have direct, real time access to their work.

Types of documents ideal for mounting on an Intranet include membership lists, catalogs, product information, and demonstrations. In the case of a library, these might include patron, staff, faculty, and institutional directories, policy and procedure manuals, benefits information, forms, frequently asked questions lists (FAQs), newsletters, and new acquisition lists. Training materials and tutorials are especially suited for the Intranet platform, as users can access them at their own convenience and pace, and can review sections to perfect a skill or answer a specific question.

Intranets take advantage of existing technology that is already familiar to many computer users and easy to learn for those new to an online environment. Browsers like Netscape are the means for negotiating an Intranet, just as they are the way to navigate the Internet.

Another plus of using this technology is its ability to accommodate and bring together different systems. There are Web browsers available in all formats, so in our case we could link the PCS in the library, the Macs used in faculty offices, and, if necessary, a Unix machine from the campus network. Distance from the server doesn't matter, so that staff could access the Intranet from home, and faculty on sabbatical, even in another country, could still be in direct contact with the institution.

Intranets may also allow access to restricted databases, even with firewalls in place to prevent unauthorized access from outside the institution. For a library such as Pappas, this would mean access to services such as LEXIS, WESTLAW, RLIN, and FirstSearch. Of course, access to the entire Internet is also possible without compromising security, as well as a connection to an online catalog.

Building an Intranet from scratch can be very expensive; it is much cheaper if there is a LAN/WAN already in place. Many companies which started creating Intranets before the recent wave of popularity and plethora of independent vendors rang up large development costs. Now, if no type of network exists in an organization, it is possible to buy a turnkey system, or even rent or lease an Intranet.

I realize that I've made Intranets sound like an efficient affordable solution to all of everyone's information distribution and access problems. But there are disadvantages lurking under the golden veneer. There is the cost of building one from scratch. This includes hefty equipment investments because each user, or small group of users, needs computer access. Then there's the added on cabling. The server(s) must be of adequate size to move around the resources, especially if they are heavy with graphics or audio and video files; skimping on computing power will seriously compromise response time. There are security issues to address, and the very complicated question of administration -- who will put material on the Intranet and who will maintain it. Why, there was even a program at AALL recently about the conflict between public and technical services personnel when it came to deciding who would author a library's Web page. Just think of the problems involved when designing one's own private Internet! Since maintenance is so important in a shared environment where instead of one person having an outdated document everyone can have an outdated document, it is a crucial to have regular and timely updating.

Even with all of these considerations, the Intranet still looks like a valuable tool for solving so many information distribution concerns in libraries. And its ancestor, the Internet, is a great place to find more information on all aspects of installing your own network. Several of the sites I found are:

» Yahoo subcategory on Intranets --

http://www.yahoo.com/text/Computers_and_Internet/Communications_and_Networking/Intranet/

» Intranet Journal --

http://www.intranetjournal.com/

» Complete Intranet Resource --

http://www.intrack.com/intranet/

» Intranet Knowledge Base --

http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/resources.shtml#in

» Intranet Services Resources and Info --

http://www.iserv.co.za/info.htm

These sites contain articles, glossaries, white papers, case studies, and links that will prove invaluable in helping you to investigate Intranets.

As always, I'd love to hear from readers on subjects for future columns or on your own experiences with the Internet. You can contact me at paperry@bu.edu, or write to me at Boston University, Pappas Law Library, Boston, MA 02215. See you in Cyberspace!