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As with any major information project, the basic characteristics of the new
Encyclopaedia have to be defined before it can be updated and upgraded to the
requirements of the Internet age. Here are its most important characteristics:
- The future Encyclopaedia has to be a truly
Internet-based product, taking advantage of new, user-friendly, solutions.
Earlier electronic versions of the Encyclopaedia were just on-line copies of the
printed volumes, even if basic Internet functions (links, search, etc.) were
used to a certain extent.
- The application has to be based on a robust
database infrastructure, in order to serve different data entry, retrieval and
management procedures with acceptable response times. Flawless handling of
different languages and character sets is a must. A reliable security scheme and
easy management functions are preconditions for the safe and efficient operation
of the Encyclopaedia.
- The Encyclopaedia should not remain an
isolated product. It must be organically connected to other SafeWork, ILO or
third party information sources (on-line databases, web sites, user forums,
etc). This is the reason why we have designed it as the core product of the
Occupational
Safety and Health Information Centre (OSH/IC).
- Our target audience is the whole occupational
health and safety community, defined as broadly as possible. The needs of parts
of the world where even basic access to printed and electronic information
sources is difficult or absent will have to be taken into account as well. The
organization of the compilation and presentation of the new edition of the
Encyclopaedia will have to take into consideration the diverse requirements of
the target audience.
- It is very important to pay attention to the
sustainability of the Encyclopaedia. In the print-oriented world, it was
sufficient to think in terms of a new edition every so many years, with the
possibility of supplements issued in between. However, in the Internet-oriented
world we find ourselves in, constant updating of information is both technically
possible and pragmatically desirable. Therefore, it becomes necessary to
develop an organizational structure enabling the ILO to keep the Encyclopaedia
as up-to-date as possible.
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