Community Portals - The Library’s Role Connect Hamilton – Create Community OLA, January 29, 2004 Paul Takala “No Wrong Door” for Hamilton Information and Services

Outline Context: Provide an overview of the portal project Benefits of Portal Technology Why is it important that a Public Library play a leadership role in development of a Community Portal initiative? Keys to Success Sources for more information

Connect Hamilton – Create Community (CHCC) Chronology Began June 2001 – led by Hamilton Connects March Received matching funding from Connect Ontario for Business Plan Development Business Plan Submitted: March 2003 Conditional Approval for $1M: August 2003 Signed Contract with Province October 2003 Total Value $4.2 M - leveraging $3.2M in cash, staff and other in-kind contributions against Provincial cash contribution of $1M RFP issued on November 28, 2003, closed January 16, Implementation: September 2003 – August 2005

Connect Hamilton - Create Community Partners Lead Organizations: City of Hamilton, (Hamilton Connects) Partners: Community Information Services, FibreWired Hamilton, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Hamilton CommunityNet, Hamilton Public Library, Industry Education Council, Intermedium, McMaster University and Mohawk College

Cash + In-Kind Contributions

Components of the Connect Hamilton Project 1. Community Portal: myhamilton.camyhamilton.ca Portal infrastructure that will enable creation of thematic & organizational sub-portals (i.e.. rural portal) 2. E-registration Beginning with the City Culture and Recreation Department 3. E-commerce Online payment system that can be leveraged by City & other organizations Integration with key municipal applications to facilitate single sign-on 4. Web Casting Creating capacity for Web Casting and archiving of events, meetings

CHCC Governance Structure Summary GEOSmart (GIS) Project Control Group Steering Committee Government Portal Advisory Committee Community Portal Authority Executive Committee Project Management Team Rural Portal Advisory Committee Future Thematic or Organizational Portals Technical Coordination & Implementation Group

What is a Community Portal? Personalized Gateway to information & services, organized around life events, not around organizations providing service. No wrong door! Provides Collaboration Tools that enable community engagement: discussion forums, events calendars and survey tools. Community Driven: site that is governed by a multi- sector board.

Our Vision of A Community Portal A safe public space for users that facilitates the free exchange of ideas. An independent “Portal Authority” will review content complaints and enforce acceptable use policies. The personal information of users will be protected. All transactions will be secure. People will be able to fully engage in the portal and its applications regardless of their location. The portal will provide several useful applications that will be leveraged to benefit the community and community partners.

Portal: User Benefits Single point of access to aggregated information and services robust search engine richer and more current content Single sign-on - authorization, authentication and secure access to information and services Personalization access to authorized content and services configuration according to personal preferences subscription services Web based access to applications

Federal & Provincial Gov’t Info Other local sites.. City Library mohawkc.on.ca mcmaster.ca Users’ Experience myhamilton.ca Community Portal Survey Tools News Closed Discussion Forums Events Calendars Public Discussion Forums Rural Portal Thematic Sub-Portals Organizational Sub-Portals Online Payment Online Registration Content from other sites & databases external to the portal will be integrated with the Search Engine myhamilton.ca Other local sites..

Portal Administrator Benefits Content Management Full lifecycle of publishing content Decentralized Administration Unified administration application (secure & private) Allow for delegating tasks Provides an interface for roles and access Enables the creation of multiple sites (sub-portals) Standardized Integration & Security Integrates with other corporate applications in a standard way to improve efficiencies Metrics - Logging, tracking, and performance metrics

Portal Application Connect Hamilton Project Infrastructure will Enable Content from other sites & databases external to the portal will be integrated with the Search Engine. Federal & Provincial Gov’t Info hamilton.ca hpl.ca Rural Sub-Portals Organizational Sub-Portals Other Local Sites Other Local Sites Integration with applications Other Local Sites Other Local Sites myhamilton.ca Meeting grant requirements will require initial focus on myhamilton.ca and the rural portal. Policies, application requirements & the relevant governance bodies will determine how the portal application is used by partner organizations. City Intranet

Keys to Sustainability Adoption: Comprehensive coverage of information and services An end user experience that meets needs, user participation in design Maximizing investment: Thematic/organizational portals that bring new functionality to partners Controlling software licensing & application maintenance costs Identifying cost recovery opportunities where appropriate Governance: An effective governance structure Clear policies governing: acceptable use, privacy, and content contributions Technical Management Ensuring effective knowledge transfer A robust and flexible content management system City of Hamilton hosting application

Importance of Library Leadership Library as honest broker, trusted Municipal and Community Partner Our information and technical expertise and strong service focus make us uniquely qualified to contribute Key to library’s future to play leadership role in developing a Smart Community Enhance position within municipal government Enhance position with community partners

Keys to Success Support from Senior Administration and Library Board Alignment with Library’s Strategic Plan Ability to build partnerships Ensure project has strong alignment with needs of key organizations Connect with others facing similar challenges Commitment to getting the job done Willingness to take risks and overcome set-backs

Useful URLs Connect Hamilton Project website- Business Plan, Vision …on the “About CHCC” page RFP: Connect Ontario: RNO (Regional Networks for Ontario) Portal Sites:

Contact Information Paul Takala, Virtual Library Branch Manager, Hamilton Public Library Community Portal Project Manager Ext