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"Internet a flowing well of local information"
June 3, 2000
Mary Kingsbury and Ian Barton
The Internet is a great source of information about things close to home as well s those n far off places.
Oxford County residents can acquire information on local services and programs for children and families from a recently developed online database called Services 4 Children (http://www.services4children.org)
The Inventory is an extensive listing of services that has been complied by the Board of Health through Healthy Babies/Healthy Children funding. The online version grew from a partnership between Oxford County Library (OCL) and the Board of Health to utilize the technology available through COIN to promote the accessibility of the Inventory and to simplify the process of updating the listings.
OCL is eager to work with other organizations to develop programs/ideas that benefit both local communities and the larger community of Oxford County. Mary Kingsbury, Children's Services Coordinator, and Ian Barton, programmer, teamed up to design the online version.
While a "hard copy" of the Inventory is available at all library branches, schools, agencies/organizations listed in the Inventory, the online version is current and easy to use.
Select from a menu of service/program types or type in a key word such as skating, counselling or nutrition and a simple but effective search engine instantly provides a listing of services and programs with reference to that word. Each program occupies a page with contact information, website links, program description, schedule, admission criteria and accessibility information.
A log tallies what people have searched for. If the computer being used has e-mail capabilities, a user can provide feedback directly to the site's designers.
If you do not have access to a computer with Internet connections, use public access computers available at each branch of the Oxford County Library, and at the Tillsonburg and Woodstock Public Libraries.
The online version is easily updated so it can be as current as the information provided by the organizations. It is planned that the hard copy will be updated annually and that the updates will be generated from the up-to-date web version.
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