What follows is a draft of the Cornell University Library's Public WWW Site Rights, Responsibilities, and Procedures. I welcome your comments, suggestions, questions, etc. The text refers to "standards and guidelines" which are still being developed by the Design group, etc. --Paul Constantine

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February 28, 1996

Cornell University Library World Wide Web Site
Information Providers Rights and Responsibilities

The Cornell University Library WWW Implementation Committees invite interested library units to participate in the development of the Cornell University Library's Public World Wide Web Site. The CUL WWW will be the primary "window" to Cornell University Library electronic services and Internet resources for faculty, students and staff of Cornell and for scholars and researchers worldwide. We believe that the CUL WWW will be truly useful only if librarians and staff from throughout the library contribute their creativity and expertise to it.

As a foundation on which to build WWW applications throughout the Cornell University Library, the CUL WWW Implementation Committees are developing and maintaining central WWW home pages for the Cornell University Library, and will provide training and support for CUL units to design and maintain their home pages. As library units become interested in becoming Information Providers with their own home pages, the WWW Implementation Committees will provide training and ongoing support, and provide a centrally-managed Cornell University Library homepage and links to common resources such as the online catalog, library hours, system-wide policies, etc. Information Providers are defined as Cornell University Library units, departments and other formal organizational entities. Department heads who receive an Cornell University Library WWW account accept responsibility for the creation and ongoing maintenance of the information contained in their Web pages, even if development is actually accomplished through the efforts of one or more individuals in the unit.

The following "Rights and Responsibilities" are intended to ensure a useful web environment for users across disciplines, and to support and encourage CUL units to become WWW Information Providers.

Cornell University Library Information Providers: Rights

1. Information Providers will receive accounts, computer storage space, technical support and training, and design consultation as needed.

2. Information Providers will control the design, content and presentation of information contained in their Web site, within the constraints of the Cornell University Library WWW standards and guidelines. [These are still under development]

Cornell University Library Information Providers: Responsibilities

1. Information Providers are responsible for seeing that the information in their pages is consistent with the goals of the Cornell University Library Public WWW Site: to provide information in support of research and instruction to faculty, staff and students of Cornell University and to scholars worldwide. Home pages describing personal interests of individuals should be developed elsewhere.

2. Information Providers are also responsible for understanding that the information they put in their pages will be read by many different constituencies and groups. Information that may be completely accurate, appropriate, and useful for a particular group of users may sometimes result in questions or unintentional controversy when viewed by users with different perspectives. The WWW Policy Committee will work with Information Providers to ensure that information that appears in Cornell University Library WWW is consistent with the general goals and statements of the Cornell University Library as an institution.

Procedures

1. Upon application to the Library Technology Division {LTD}, Unit and Department Heads will be given accounts and space on the Library server. Heads who receive an account are responsible for the creation and ongoing maintenance of the information contained in their Web pages, even if development is actually accomplished through the efforts of one or more individuals in the unit.

2. Members of the Library's WWW Design and Developers teams will be available for training and support in the creation of Web pages and use of the server.

3. When Web pages are ready for testing, they should be mounted on the server and their URLs should be distributed to the Web Implementation Committee's Listserv -- CULWWW-L. The Implementation Committee will review and test the pages for a period of one week. Their feedback will be posted to the list and passed on to the pages' developer should s/he not be subscribed to the list. After evaluating the comments received and implementing any changes, the URLs may be released to the public. Public release of the URL constitutes the page's move from test to production.

Posted February 28, 1996