Early History of YarraNet

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Project History and Goals
Preliminary Research
Representation to Government
Infrastructure and Systems
Conclusion
Acknowledgements

Project History and Goals

YarraNet is the product of a Year of the Family project, which received funding in 1993 for initial research, and was subsequently funded for planning and implementation in February 1995. Funded by the Department of Employment, Education and Training, it was designed to provide a testbed for the Education Network Australia (EdNA), a federal government initiative.

YarraNet provides:

Support for flexible delivery of education and training
Access to community information including:

the Yarra-Melbourne Community Information Database and
listings of locally available adult education and vocational training programs

A vehicle for community projects such as employment training schemes
A platform for Yarra community groups to display information about their services
Administrative support for community organisations

The services were augmented by a gradual roll-out of electronic mail services, using (initially) generic accounts and later personal accounts. News feeds were negotiated with the State Library of Victoria (VICNET), who act as the intermediary between YarraNet and the Telstra backbone. By mid-1996, users had full Internet services, and with the introduction of SNA connectivity, remote access to library catalogues.

Preliminary Research

Preparation for the service involved extensive research into the information needs of the community, which has been undertaken in association with a number of local community organisations, residents of the city, the Centre for International Research on Communications and Information Technology (CIRCIT), the Directorate of School Education, the Open Learning Technology Corporation (OLTC), TAFE, Yarra-Melbourne Regional Library Corporation and the State Libraries and the Victorian Association of Community Information Centres.

Representation to Government

At Federal Government level, YarraNet reported (via the Open Learning Technology Corporation) to the National Open Learning Policy Unit - a division of DEET. The preparation of an outcomes report and independent evaluation were submitted, summarising the findings of the pilot phase.

YarraNet is also included in the State Government's "Portfolio of Applications Trials" - a report on four projects commisioned by the Department of Business and Employment and the Office of Communications and Multimedia to inform the Government on the development of multi-media and communications policy.

At local government level, YarraNet's main involvement is with the Yarra-Melbourne Regional Library Corporation, where senior staff have assisted in the identification of needs and forward planning to ensure ongoing viability of the service. The Public Relations office of the City has also been involved in preliminary discussions concerning City of Yarra's contribution to the content of the service.

Infrastructure and Systems

The infrastructure of the service is composed of a Pentium server located at Richmond Library, operating under Windows NT. This is linked by PSTN connections to 12 Local Access Points housed in community venues located around the city. The server is also linked via ISDN to the State Library of Victoria, which is a regional node for Internet.

Communications for the system is handled by a rack of sixteen modems (7 28.8k and 9 33.6k), a Digiboard multi-port serial card and Eicon WAN services for NT hardware. Network security will be provided through Windows NT's security provisions and through the configuration of the routing hardware.

Each local access point has a 486DX terminal, 28.8Kb modem and laser printer. NT compliant software is installed onto the NT Workstation operating system, enabling the LAP machine to be used for Internet access, or as a general-purpose work site for members of the community. The selection of access sites has been made on the basis of geographical distribution and according to community need - a number of the sites offer special service for people from Non-English speaking backgrounds and people with disabilities.

Conclusion

YarraNet is designed to provide a low-cost, easily maintained community information network serving the residents of the City of Yarra. It is an extension of existing services, such as the community information database, the flexible delivery programs of local TAFE colleges, the City of Yarra newsletter, community projects such as the Internet Cultural History project and SkillsNet internet training. It is not intended to become a full-blown ISP, nor does it seek to compete with larger volume commercial services. It will have a local focus, concentrating on content specific to Yarra and the immediate area, and will be directed by the input of the local community.

Acknowledgements

YarraNet thanks the following organisations for their assistance:

The Open Learning Technology Corporation (now education.au Limited)
The Department of Employment, Education and Training
The Central Metropolitan Regional Council of Adult, Community and Further Education
The State Library of Victoria
The Yarra-Melbourne Regional Library Corporation