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In the pre‐Web days, in fact not more than two years ago, there was no mention of the word or even a job description for what we know today as the Webmaster. The phenomenal and even unexpected growth of the Internet, but specifically the World Wide Web, created the need for a completely new and unique staff member in an organisation with very specialised interests and skills. It soon became clear that practical knowledge of new skills such as HTML formatting and Web server installation and maintenance were imperative for an organisation that wants to stay ahead of its competitors. Today, the main assignment of a Webmaster is to design, implement and maintain an effective World Wide Web site. To be able to do this the Webmaster must acquire knowledge of diverse fields such as network configuration, interface and graphical design, software development, business strategy, writing, editing, marketing and project management. Furthermore, both the growth rate of the Web and its impact on enterprise are responsible for the fact that the task description of the Webmaster is under constant transformation. Instead of being only responsible for HTML formatting, programming and Web site maintenance, Webmasters have become an integral part of a larger Web site team and have to manage other specialised tasks such as being an editor, graphic artist and programmer. The Webmaster has in certain instances become an important part of the team responsible for the entire business strategy of an enterprise, because many Web sites are now being used for their marketing and supporting activities. However, with online database vendors such as KR Dialog, DataStar, Medline and LEXIS‐NEXIS also moving into the Web environment, a few of which have already implemented Web‐based interfaces to assist in the online search process, the Webmaster's responsibilities might extend to that of supporting information professionals and their online search activities as well. Hence the goal and position of the Webmaster will be discussed in an effort to indicate how the Webmaster can play a role in enhancing the online search process.

The unique features of the web, such as hypertext and hypermedia, the large number of web sites with good quality information sources, current developments in electronic commerce, and the developments in digital publishing, are variables working together to provide a fascinating environment wherein diverse teaching and learning experiences can be developed. However, to be successful, courses should be carefully planned. In an environment where more and more tertiary and other institutions are embarking on distance learning programmes, a formal tertiary course can only succeed if it addresses a niche market. Furthermore, if the full advantage of the Internet and the web is to be utilised, the demands on the resources of the specific teaching unit, that is human as well as technical resources, are extremely high. Carefully worked‐out policies and managerial discipline are prerequisites in an environment where successful distance learning courses are being offered. The Postgraduate Diploma in Information Management (PDIM), implemented at the Rand Afrikaans University since 1998, is described as an example of a successful web‐based distance learning programme.

The concept of the electronic workstation/or the information specialist and/or client or user of information services has been made possible by various recent developments in information technology. These include the availability of fast, hi‐tech local networks; interface capabilities to connect these to wide area (digital) networks; large, commercially‐available source and referral databases; local online systems such as CD‐ROM databases; and integrated and intelligent software with which relevant information may be downloaded and repackaged. Reasonably‐priced, high‐speed microcomputers, with which these electronic facilities may be accessed, are now a common phenomenon. The term ‘knowledge gateways’ is already in use. This paper addresses the challenges of the information specialist of today to utilise fully the processing and communication power of the electronic workstation to deliver information services to the right client, at the right time, in the right format and at the right cost. Various studies have already described how information technology (IT) has been used to integrate or centralise various information sources. However, knowledge on the skills and intellectual input needed by the information specialist to implement IT effectively, must still be investigatedfully. Topics to be covered in this paper refer not only to extensive, new developments aimed at creating infrastructures and facilities to achieve integration at workstation level, but also to negative issues, such as the shortcomings of tertiary training programmes, ineffective or even non‐existent in‐service training, lack of awareness of how to use IT, and lack of motivation among senior staff. The emphasis will be, apart from international trends, on the South African scene, with special reference to the academic or university environment.

The World Wide Web has become an important resource of timely information for the information professional. Unlike previous (traditional) formats of information, especially paper‐based publications, the Web has also brought the concept of electronic publishing within reach of any person who has browser access to this Internet navigator. It therefore implies that the information professional can also take part in the publishing process by creating and maintaining a homepage on the Web. Although a few articles have been published on homepage maintenance by information services, not much has been made available about the requirements for homepage design, or guidelines for the planning and structuring of a complete homepage environment. This article provides a few basic guidelines on homepage design, arguing that the physical appearance of a homepage is similar to that of a good graphical user interface (GUI). In designing a complete homepage file, the premise is that basic hypertext design principles could also be applied in the World Wide Web environment.

The feasibility of publishing an electronic journal which will be accepted by the scientific community has always been hampered by factors such as a lack of standardisation of data transmission codes, limitations regarding the incorporation of graphics and photographs, as well as the absence of special columns, book reviews, letters to the editor, product reviews and advertisements. Standardised communication protocols such as TCP/IP have brought this dream one step closer to reality. The final step could be an electronic journal published through the World Wide Web (WWW), currently one of the frequently used Internet navigators. Three WWW specifications provide the ideal arena for electronic journal publishing: URL (uniform resource locator), HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), and HTML (hypertext markup language). These specifications provide a standardised structure for storing, accessing and sending data, including multimedia (even sound and video) files. The possibilities of such a structure for electronic journal publishing are remarkable: full‐text retrieval could not only be by keyword but also by following hypertext links across articles — even to nodes in other computer systems. In this article the possibilities of publishing via the Web will be addressed and some hints for setting up and maintaining a multimedia scholarly journal will be provided.

Pieter van Brakel became a Professor of Information Science in 1985 and transferred from the University of Pretoria to the Department of Information Studies at the Rand Afrikaans University in October 1991. His teaching responsibilities there include information technology, indexing, abstracting, thesaurus construction and all aspects of online searching, including the Internet. He is currently involved in a research programme investigating different applications of the World Wide Web to improve scholarly communication. He spoke to us about his experiences of teaching in an information context and also about the changes to which IT teachers must adjust.

The functions or tasks of the typical webmaster appear to be extremely diverse in nature. These can vary from basic web page design to gathering website statistics or even to establishing the web‐based information needs of the employees of a specific organisation. Although a number of mainly electronic documents were written on the functions of the webmaster, not many studies were undertaken to empirically verify these. This article discusses the results from an international survey in which the webmasters or managers of web teams were involved from 100 of the Global 500 list of organisations. An analysis of the information provided by the respondents indicated that one person (the traditional webmaster) can no longer be responsible for all the responsibilities of developing and/or maintaining the information flow within an organisation‘s website. The diversity of tasks that were identified by the respondents were analysed and the results brought together in a number of figures and tables.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are increasingly being used for effective accessibility to spatial data. A GIS comprises much more than the mere storage of data: spatial data of the earth is being manipulated to create new information, perform complex spatial analyses, and generate maps and reports. An automated GIS system consists of an integrated digital database containing information about geographic features (points, lines and areas); the hardware, software and people used in the analysis of the features (geographic coordinate data); and a description of features (attribute data). It also provides the ability to query, manipulate and analyse the data. However, certain problems exist in the way access is gained to geographic data. Currently geographic data sets (e.g. maps) are scattered across South Africa and the world, with no standardised method of accessing them. Data needed by a specific GIS system must be ‘ordered’ or downloaded from a remote site. No centralised index to existing geographic data exists. The results from a specific GIS analysis are not necessarily directly available to others. When downloading and thus duplicating a set of complex data from an external site, with the purpose of further manipulation, the copy gradually becomes less current when compared to the original data set. In this paper it is argued that most of these problems can be addressed effectively by making GIS data and information available via the Internet's World Wide Web. By creating hypertext links between different GIS sites, data sets could be shared between sites: a type of online atlas system with a task‐oriented user interface geared towards map creation and fact extraction could be developed. A number of experimental interfaces between GIS application software and the Web have already been developed: these and other approaches are discussed.

Neither distance learning courses nor utilising information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance these courses are new to sub‐Saharan Africa. “Long‐distance” training by correspondence has been practised here for decades. ICT as basic as e‐mail has the potential to enable the remotely situated student to interactively take part in a particular programme. Additional equipment can simulate the lecture environment by allowing the student to watch a video of a presentation while communicating via telephone. This article is an investigation of the status quo of ICT‐based distance learning in sub‐Saharan Africa. Broad trends were derived from the multitude of sources on the topic, depicting just as many examples of programmes currently being maintained. ICT inroads in Africa are addressed; the problems to acquire and maintain these are discussed, as well as ICT’s potential role in future distance learning programmes. Examples of public‐private partnerships are highlighted. It is emphasised that only through these partnerships will African tertiary institutions succeed in increasing the output of their much needed graduates.