Managing Your Internet & Intranet Services: The Information Professional's Guide to Strategy (2nd ed.)

Citation

van Deventer, J.P. (2004), "Managing Your Internet & Intranet Services: The Information Professional's Guide to Strategy (2nd ed.)", The Electronic Library, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 449-450. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470410562009

Today's Web development does not only require acute technical knowledge, but also information resource management skills. Managing Your Internet & Intranet Services … is an excellent starting point for Web practitioners to address information resource management issues pertaining to their Web sites. Peter Griffiths’ book admittedly directs individuals to access more technical documentation with regards to Web development itself as it is not a technical manual. However, Web developers from all walks of life will still benefit from reading Managing Your Internet & Intranet Services … as it focuses on managing the various processes around Web development. I believe that many practitioners as well as future Web developers should go through this book and incorporate some, if not all of Griffiths’ suggestions and ideas found in his exposition of the subject.

The individual or organisation about to develop a Web presence, albeit on the Internet or an intranet will benefit most from this book. It provides the reader with facets of Web development to consider that a person would not normally consider if s/he started from scratch. Though non‐technical, it provides a potential referent starting point for the person who would like to become “technical” in terms of Web development. This doesn't mean that it excludes individuals or organisations that already have a Web presence. Many existing Web developers will also benefit significantly in that they would be capable of identifying and correcting some of the errors that are present in their Web pages.

One aspect that I found most striking was Griffiths’ case for library and information specialists (LIS) to become involved in Web development. Griffiths indicate that owing to the massive volume of information available on the net today, the best way to ensure that a Web site is easily accessed is by using the strong indexing and organisational skills of LIS professionals. This would then basically allow your site to stand out in the “crowd” of similar sites that provide potentially similar information and services.

Managing Your Internet & Intranet Services … shows the developer the importance of effectively identifying and targeting the audience for whom the Web site is being developed. Usually Web sites are developed merely to have a Web presence. However, Griffiths encourages organisations to look at the reasons why a site should be developed, including what the content of such a site should, and in some cases, should not be. He also discusses several aspects of managing a Web site to ensure effective construction and maintenance of a site to obtain its highest potential benefit. The book also address several practical issues such as who the Web master should be, what this person should do, who should host your site, as well as how content should be represented.

Overall, as someone who teaches basic Web development to first year Information Science students, I personally benefited from reading this book. I can recommend Managing Your Internet & Intranet Services … to almost all potential and existing Web professionals. It should be part of the repertoire of recommended material for individuals or organisations planning new or managing existing Web sites.