Menu system for public access terminals

[Esterhazy, Jonathan]

We are planning to create a menu system for our public access terminals   
that will give patrons access to key Library resources. These resources   
would include:

 - our catalogue, accessed via telnet and the web.

 - our periodical and citation indexes; accessed
  via DOS or Windows apps. Most of these reside on
  a Novell server, some are installed on individual
  workstations.

 - a few other local apps, may be different on
  each workstation

 - the internet, via Netscape


The two options we are considering are:

 - developing a web-based menu system.

 - developing a custom menu program in Visual Basic.


I know that many of you have already set up menu systems similar to the   
one that we are planning. What are the pros and cons of each approach?   
What kind of system did your library set up, and why? Are there any   
pitfalls we should prepare ourselves for?

BTW -- I did read through the archives -- no need to revisit all the   
Netscape kiosk-mode and filtering issues.


Thanks for your help,
Jonathan Esterhazy


 -------------------------------------
Jonathan Esterhazy, UML WWW Developer
jester at bldgdafoe.lan1.umanitoba.ca