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By Adriana A. Davies
Many people may still think of "heritage" as merely preserving
"old stuff." But we can use the latest technology of the World Wide
Web to enlighten them. In 1999, Museums Alberta obtained a grant
of $75,750 from the Canadian Millennium Partnership Program for
initial website development costs to create Alberta Heritage On-line,
containing information about many of our heritage resources. The
application included the support of the Cultural Facilities and
Historical Resources Division, Alberta Community Development. Project
management and implementation has been undertaken by myself for
the Heritage Community Foundation which has fast-tracked the project
to get the site up before the New Year.
 We faced the same challenges as anyone wishing to have an engaging
web presence: content, money, and technical know-how.
Heritage organizations have within them a great amount of material,
potential content for a website. This presents both an opportunity
and a challenge. Heritage information is held by various institutions
and organizations such as archives, museums, societies dedicated
to specific aspects of historical, natural and cultural heritage
as well as individuals who are passionate about our heritage. However,
at present, no one source or vehicle pulls it together.
While a number of heritage institutions and organizations currently
have websites, no authoritative "gateway" site to Alberta's heritage
exists-another challenge to face, notes Michael Payne, Head of Research
and Publications, Community Heritage Services. "The issue for Internet
users is not the quantity of information available, but its quality.
Teachers at all levels, parents and students themselves are concerned
that the information being accessed on the net is accurate, balanced
and authoritative. Net users want to be reassured that the sites
they consult are enlightening and informative, not dispensing misinformation
or, worse still, disinformation. There is a real need for someone
to establish the heritage equivalent in Alberta of the 'Good Housekeeping
Seal of Website Content Approval'."
The public trust mandate of heritage institutions and organizations
increases the need to define content standards and a capacity to
adhere to them. Nothing like that exists at present, although the
Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) has undertaken to develop
standards for heritage educational content for the web.
We have only begun to address issues of "authority" with respect
to content but in the works is the setting up of a Website Editorial
Board as well as specialist content committees including representatives
from the school system. But, I believe that with Michael Payne,
the Provincial Historian, onside and myself as a Senior Editor of
the Canadian Encyclopedia responsible for science, technology, industry
and material culture we have a pretty good fix on where to find
reliable content. We will also be addressing specific audience needs
with a priority being curriculum-related content for grades K-12.
Content development, site development and maintenance, and hosting
are not cheap and the challenge to make use of the new communications
technologies comes at a time when government-run heritage facilities
have weathered cutbacks. "Marketing on the internet is a real challenge
for small attractions, including most museums and historic sites,"
comments Craig D'Arcy, Marketing Coordinator for Historic Sites
Service. "You really need to be on the Web, and people have to be
able to find you. One little local website is expensive, and it
won't show up on major search engines. By putting a comprehensive
database of cultural attractions on Alberta Heritage Online, we
can really target consumers of cultural heritage experiences."
Content and design have to work together. We know we have to find
the most effective way of communicating the heritage of the province-from
web design and language, to the content itself. We must marry content
to the needs of potential users- school children seeking information
for a report, potential visitors to the province, people who are
just curious about heritage. We also have to anticipate changes
in the technology so we make the right decisions about database
design and not exclude potential users and their future needs.
We were able to fast-track Alberta Heritage On-Line with support
from the CHIN Gateway to Learning Resources project. Through the
federal Young Canada Works Program, we recruited two International
Interns for a six-month period to assist with content development,
as well as one Technical Intern, who is a whiz at database design.
With content and funding in place, we still needed a team with
the technical know-how to actually get the website up and running.
We hired Canadiana Group Inc. (now part of Pangaea Systems Inc.)
to develop the site, conduct focus groups, develop a multi-year
strategic plan and host the site for one year.
The Alberta content of the Alberta-Montana Discovery Guide to
museums, parks and historic sites is fully searchable based on attraction
name and type, tourism destination region, and location, and is
visually rich. However, other parts of the site, Youth & Education,
Alberta's History, News & Views and Heritage Resources, at the moment
are text heavy as we research and obtain permission for visuals.
Getting heritage on the web has required us to think about text,
visuals and audio to make it come to life.
With the launch of this site, we have an enormous opportunity to
communicate what we are all about to new audiences not just in Alberta
and Canada, but also around the world.
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