Development and Maintenance of the Electronic Reference Library

The Electronic Reference Library (ERL) is a hypertext electronic publication produced by Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) that contains Iowa DOT standard contract documents. The project's goal is to produce a CD-ROM that contains all of the information necessary for designers, inspectors and contractors working on transportation projects. This paper describes the progression of the ERL from concept to current production status. A new ERL is released every six months, and response has been favorable. Factors responsible for the success of this project include focus group sessions, the development of a rapid prototype, minimization of ongoing maintenance and the development of a good procedure manual. Implementing and maintaining the ERL has been a challenging experience. New procedures, such as scripts to automate the preparation of HTML files and error checking, have been implemented to improve work efficiency and quality. Possibilities for future improvements are discussed.