Present: Dr. John Olson, Dr. Bob Badgett, Bonnie O'Connor, Elaine Demps, Kat Myers, Brian Neuenschwander, Alan Miller, Anna Maloy, Jim Barrett
The chair, Dr. John Olson, opened the meeting, and received approval of the minutes from the Nov. 16 meeting. He asked Jim Barrett to give the webmaster's report. Barrett reported on the purchase of PeopleSoft software that includes a web portal. Barrett said he and Olson would confer in January with Brian Cartee, director of Integrated Management Information Systems, which manages the CACTUS/PeopleSoft project, about testing the capabilities of the portal, and report back to the committee. Barrett said the library and its web staff would play a larger role in development of the institutional web. He said Olson, Dr. Virginia Bowden, library director, and Jerry York, CIO and vice president, along with the webmaster, have developed several tasks in which the library will participate. Barrett said he and a library working group would begin fact finding about usability and what features users desire from the Health Science Center website. He asked Bonnie O'Connor to describe the project in more detail. O'Connor said the group would examine server logs, do opinion sampling and perform usability testing that will involve many users. She provided handouts about methodology. The goal is to identify the needs and desires of users, and recommend ways to fulfill them, she said. Olson said the committee's next meeting would be at the library so members could see a demonstration of the Camtasia software used for the usability testing. He said he expected the group's conclusions by spring. Turning to new business, Olson said York had asked for the committee's input on his draft memo about web support at the Health Science Center. Olson said the document describes a "distributed" method for providing support. The committee members discussed parts of the memo, focusing on standards enforcement for web content and server security. Olson invited the members to e-mail him with any thoughts about the memo. In old business, Olson invited comment on a proposed web accessibility policy. Barrett said the state would probably require such a policy within the next few months. He said adoption was not necessary until then. Members asked about whether the document should be specific in stating whether university web pages would support older web browsers. Dr. Bob Badgett suggested a policy that cited the accessibility standards of the World-Wide Web Consortium, and to list the versions of browsers needed to view such documents. Barrett said the committee could revisit the issue in January, and said he would attempt to amend parts of the draft, based on the discussion. Olson and the group agreed to meet Jan. 18 at the library, and the chair adjourned the meeting. -- Minutes prepared by Jim Barrett-- Approved Jan. 18, 2001