Poster by: Helen Thompson and Andrew Macleod, Centre for eCommerce and Communications, University of Ballarat, Victoria.

Many organisations face similar challenges when seeking to provide efficient and effective access to content which is ‘locked up’ in books, reports and other information resources. In 2004, the Victoria Law Foundation decided to make the Rural Law Handbook, an extensive 400 page paper-based publication providing practical, plain-language information covering more than 75 areas of law, available online. Within its mandate of making law accessible, the Foundation called for proposals to support it in ensuring target audiences including Victorian framers, rural information and support services and people living and working in rural communities, would have greater access to the Law Handbook. Delivered services would also need to support the Foundation in supporting a large, geographically dispersed and mainly voluntary team of contributors, in easily maintaining the currency of the Law Handbook content. After conducting extensive research and exhaustive trials of opensource and commercial systems the University of Ballarat was able to recommend an innovative approach to
publishing the Rural Law Handbook Online.

The recommended approach would facilitate the collaborative editing and publication of large documents and books. A recognised XML format would be utilised for storing book content in format that could publish to the web just as easily as hardcopy. In addition new technologies would be developed to provide a user-friendly and intuitive method for content editing. The learning and technologies generated through the very successfully Rural Law Online project (www.rurallaw.org.au) have since been transferred and extended through a variety of
projects.

Through the presentation of case studies, in the community and education sectors, this poster will illustrate the technology appropriation model which has emerged. It will also explore evidence of benefits which are being generated for participating organisations and the often disadvantage individuals they seek to support.