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LIBERTYNET: Philadelphia's largest online source of local information

by Angela Napili
Community Connector Staff

Part of LibertyNet's mission is "to be the leading online publisher of information about the Philadelphia region by providing a voice for the community." This mission has been accomplished indeed: LibertyNet logs half a million hits per day, and is home to almost 700 non-profit and commercial websites. LibertyNet draws participation from so many segments of the Philadelphia scene, its nearly one thousand members include political campaign committees, ethnic organizations, a Christian music radio station, and even an amateur astronomers club. Their presence on the site makes LibertyNet a rich and eclectic showcase for Philadelphia's diverse communities.

How did LibertyNet achieve its critical mass? LibertyNet was formed in 1993, with a formidable set of founding partners: the University City Science Center, the Ben Franklin Technology Center, Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, and WHYY TV-12 and 91 FM. LibertyNet's membership drive began with consortia and groups, like the Cultural Alliance and the Chamber of Commerce, with whom LibertyNet ended up having large membership overlaps. According to Associate Director Laura Weinbaum, some of LibertyNet's very first members required "considerable convincing." But before long LibertyNet grew "incredibly quickly," because of the community's huge demand for a voice. Low-cost internet access, internet training, technical support, and website design turned out to be an easy sell.

About the Community
With a population of 1.5 million, Philadelphia, PA is the nation's fifth-largest city. The metropolitan area has a population of almost 5 million. Philadelphia is a commercial, banking, insurance, oil-refining, and transportation center, and one of the world's largest freshwater ports. The city also has over 30 universities and institutions of higher learning. (Sources: The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, Third Edition; 1998 World Almanac).

Accessibility
A large part of LibertyNet's mission is "to bridge the gap between underserved groups and technology by supporting neighborhood Internet access centers." LibertyNet has helped to establish Community Internet Access Centers in Philadelphia's Empowerment Zone, and has brought free Internet access and training to residents of other lower income areas. Innovations in these programs included a "Truck with a Tale," which delivered internet access, on wheels, throughout neighborhoods in the Empowerment Zone. Some teens at the Internet Access Centers became so interested in the internet that they learned how to design web pages. This resulted in the Internet Mentoring Program for Teens, which paired teen web designers with nonprofits who wanted web pages.

Funding
LibertyNet's annual budget is approximately $600,000-$750,000, according to Weinbaum. There are 9 permanent full-time staff, and one VISTA volunteer. LibertyNet gets its funds from a couple dozen sponsors, partners, and grants. Its current "Site Sponsors," whose flashy advertisements pepper the site, are Radio Station B101-FM ("The Most Mariah! The Most Elton!"), NBC-10 WCAU, Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania, and PECO Energy. These advertisements were added reluctantly. Weinbaum says: "It's an incredibly difficult field to fundraise in. Miserable. We added sponsors -- the ads on our site -- because we felt we had no choice."

LibertyNet also raises funds by charging small membership and service fees for nonprofits, and much larger fees for businesses. For example, businesses are charged $100/hourly for internet consulting, and $75/hourly for web development. If a nonprofit or business already has a website of its own, it can pay for the privileges of being listed in the Member Directory, being accessible from LibertyNet's search engine, and being allowed to "advertise" events in LibertyNet's central calendar.

LibertyNet's 500,000-strong hit rate no doubt makes these organizations' payments worth it. Finally, LibertyNet appeals to its users: the home page has a link called "Support LibertyNet." An individual can contribute money to become a "Friend."

When asked what advice she would give to other community networks worried about economic sustainability, Weinbaum suggests: "Get a long-term commitment, in writing, from a significant funder -- government, a university, a foundation, a large nonprofit. This should happen before the community network even starts. Have a few services you do well, and that you can charge top dollar for. And don't fall into the typical nonprofit trap of not marketing because you're a nonprofit!"

Collaboration
As is to be expected for such a large community network, LibertyNet has many partners. One of its most recent partnerships, announced in August 1998, is with College Central Network, Inc. The two organizations will promote the Greater Philadelphia Career Network, a consortium of Philadelphia region colleges and universities who share the same online repository for posting resumes and job opportunities. They will also offer online information sessions and personalized recruitment. All this is free for students and alumni of GPCN schools. The Philadelphia site will join the job posting and resume referral sites of four other U.S. consortia, making a total of 65 schools sharing their information and career expertise online.

Content
The LibertyNet website is an elegant, well-organized, and extremely rich information source. Finding information on the site is easy because the very first page features a search engine. The first page also features "Announcements" which are changed daily, making the site look different every time you see it. These announcements call the user's attention to events she may not have considered seeking out, adding an element of serendipity to some users' visits.

For such a massive site, good organization is crucial or else the site would be rendered useless. The site map divides the pages into eleven general content areas (e.g. Education, Counties & Neighborhoods) , which are further divided into 57 more specific content areas in all (e.g., Adult Education, South Jersey). When a user clicks to a general content area, she doesn't get a huge list right away. Instead, a couple "Highlights" show up, which recommend the best sites inside. Then the user can choose a highlight, or else click to a more specific content area. This process presents the user with information without having to click too far down. At the same time, it prevents the user from getting many long pages, which take time to download and often have much unwanted information.

The website also has a nice level of interactivity. This is especially true for LibertyNet members, who can add and update calendar events themselves, and who can themselves post their volunteer needs in "Volunteer Philadelphia." But the site also uses interactivity to encourage users to get involved in the community. For example, "Volunteer Philadelphia" is among the prominent "Features" on the site's front page. Users can click boxes on a form saying when, where, and how they want to volunteer. Their responses can then be matched to appropriate volunteer opportunities.

According to Weinbaum, LibertyNet wants to increase the interactivity level on the site, in order to build "communities of interest." For example, they are considering the option of moderated discussions in each of the content area categories.

One person who uses LibertyNet all the time is Loretta, an Information Desk staffer at the Philadelphia Visitors Center. She says she likes LibertyNet because "If you type in a specific topic, 99 out of 100 times you'll find something about it!" Again, LibertyNet's huge and eclectic membership gives the site this sense of comprehensiveness.

Loretta also praises the LibertyNet calendar, which users can view months in advance. Sometimes patrons call the Visitors Center and say, "Can you tell me what's happening on this day?" It would be cumbersome to read out all 50 or 60 events the patron might attend. Instead, if the patron mentions web access, Loretta refers him to the LibertyNet calendar. There, the patron can browse events on his own. If he wants more information about an event, instead of calling Loretta back he can usually just click on the event listing. The link will lead to the web page of the member who posted the event, and the patron can usually get more information there. This saves Loretta time. It also gets the patron more customized information because he has shopped for it himself, as opposed to Loretta shopping for him.

In summary, Loretta says, "I've gone into a lot of websites, but LibertyNet's information is arranged nicely, it's well-organized, and you know, I can't think of any way it could be improved!!"

I'd have to admit that as much as I tried, I could not find much to complain about either. The flashy pop radio advertisements do seem out of place in a non-profit setting. The many logos of the commercial sponsors are sometimes bigger than the "LibertyNet" sign itself. Plus, businesses pay to list their calendar events, adding a commercial tinge even to the logo-free calendar. However, I think that these economic concessions to commercialism are very much worth it. The business presence doesn't interfere with nonprofits' ability to present information, and indeed might make the website even better by providing a more comprehensive information source (in the calendar, for example).

Another minor flaw might be that the listings and information are reported by the members themselves, and there is no mechanism for checking their accuracy, usefulness, or quality. LibertyNet has to have a disclaimer: "All information under these menus is provided by LibertyNet as is. LibertyNet is not responsible for the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information provided by other organizations." Might this make the website more unreliable? Even if it did, I think that the cost of editing and checking all that information would be prohibitive. LibertyNet shouldn't be in that business, anyway, if what they are trying to do is provide an uncensored, uninhibited voice for the community.