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Connections Project -- the next phase...

Two years ago we set out on the pilot connections project to introduce the Internet to a few community hospitals in the region. Straight forward enough, we thought: connect the sites and evaluate the costs and benefits of access to a world of networked information and communication. At the time we had little appreciation for the issues this project would raise along the way. There were technical and financial trouble spots, but organizational issues occurred in all cases, and dominated in some. The big story of the pilot connections project became the role of the librarian in introducing the Internet in a hospital setting, and the ensuing relationship of the librarian with the information systems staff and the administration. Who should play what role regarding information and networking in the health care setting? Sometimes it seemed as if we were fanning the flames of this argument. Evidence suggests, however, that the project has raised the visibility of librarians as partners in the information management process.

The project has also served to raise the awareness of the Internet among librarians: two years ago only 5% of hospital librarians in this region had access to the Internet. Today, that figure is 76%. Comparable figures are not available, but it seems reasonable to assume that this level of access is much greater than the national average.[1] Certainly some of this increase would have occurred without the influence of the project. But we think the dramatic size of the increase is attributable to the attention paid to this project.

In spite of how positive and noteworthy these outcomes are, these are not what we initially set out to find. What we did find is that few community hospitals are technologically ready to jump to a direct Internet connection. To get to that point requires careful planning and educating and all that takes time. We also found that conventional dial up access is too limited to realize enough of the potential of the Internet to make its value readily apparent to any but a librarian or other information cognoscenti. Therein lies the genesis of the next project.

Given the state of development of the Internet on one hand--particularly the chaotic connections market--and community hospitals on the other--with their lack of advanced networking--a middle way is needed to bring these two together productively. At this point, that middle way is SLIP/PPP access. SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) and PPP (Point to Point Protocol) software enable a user to establish a direct connection to the Internet through a modem and a conventional telephone line. This provides a way for a user at a remote site to have a direct connection to the Internet, without additional, expensive equipment and circuits. All it takes is some software to make it all work.

Why SLIP/PPP over regular dial-up? Conventional dial-up access limits you to a single session between your desktop computer (acting essentially as a dumb terminal) and a host computer on the Internet. SLIP/PPP software enables you to have multiple sessions open simultaneously. For example, you could have your e-mail open, along with a telnet session to a remote host, possibly cutting a search result and pasting it into a message to send to someone. Conventional dial-up access would require several successive dial-up connections, along with logging in and out of remote systems one at a time, to do what can be done seamlessly with multiple sessions.

Other advantages of SLIP/PPP access include the capability to manage graphics and other multi-media files which are becoming increasingly common with many network applications (e.g., Mosaic), and potentially, the assignment of a network address (IP number) which is required by some applications (e.g., GRATEFUL MED and Ariel).

In order to fully manage information in all formats that the Internet makes possible, there is no doubt that SLIP/PPP access is the way to go for those sites which are not yet ready for a high speed Internet connection. Testing SLIP/PPP access is a logical next step from the pilot connections project. We propose to test this form of access and determine 1) what difference it makes over conventional dial-up access, and 2) what can users accomplish with SLIP/PPP that they couldn't accomplish with conventional dial-up?

We have been allocated funding to conduct this project over the next year and a half with up to 20 sites. If you are a northwest hospital librarian, consider yourself to be a reasonably experienced dial-up Internet user, and are interested in participating in this test project, please contact us soon.

What would you as a participant get out of it? Benefits could include: a high speed modem, software, a SLIP/PPP account set up and partially subsidized use. And, of course, the satisfaction of exploring new territory and contributing to a study project!

What would you have to do? Accomplish minimal objectives during each project quarter (e.g., contract with an Internet service provider for SLIP/PPP service, transfer software files from the NN/LM W3 server via the SLIP/PPP link, document several other uses of the service), share your observations of benefits and costs over conventional dial-up access, and agree to provide brief quarterly project reports. The NN/LM PNR staff will provide technical support.

Using SLIP/PPP may be a route toward maintaining your visibility in the race toward the information superhighway. If that is attractive to you, we can help you do it. Call or e-mail us now for more information.