Once upon a time... when the fantasy is real.

Friday has been frantic as usual; and during your commute home, you daydream about a much-anticipated weekend of camping and exploration in Cumberland Falls State Park.

A few hours later, you and your family are on your way. You pull into a rest stop along the road. You hardly notice the computer inside the front door until you hear, "Pssst... Pssst... over here. Let me tell you something about Kentucky."

No, you're not hearing things. You've just had your first encounter with the multimedia kiosk. And while this may seem a little far-fetched now, this technology will be commonplace in the 21st century.

High-Tech Tour Guide

This multimedia kiosk combines the best features of videotape, slide shows, brochures, and personal interaction to create a user-friendly and interactive information system. The screen acts as your guide through the program, giving you prompts that enable you to access specific information or just browse through the various items.

The screen reads, "Touch me to start the program." Instantly, a video of the governor appears on the screen, and he welcomes you to the state. Then a main menu appears offering access to information on topics such as travel information, hotels and motels, campgrounds, outdoor recreation, history and tradition, state parks and regional attractions, and more.

The main menu dissolves to a state map with each state park shown as a small green button. Identifying your destination, you see a colorful brochure, a 30-second video, a slide show, and a detailed map. Press "print," and a copy of the map is in your hand in seconds.

People want access to information. They don't want to pay for it, and they want it fast. In the park and recreation field, our customers want information in a variety of forms--maps, brochures, schedules, travel materials, and more. So how do we provide the public with more and better information while dealing with staff cuts and reduced funding?

In part, the answer lies in making better use of our resources. And this is what multimedia kiosks are all about. They offer the information our customers want in a way that is accessible and interesting.

Some innovative state government agencies--such as the one in Kentucky--already are using interactive, multimedia kiosks for public information. Some of these systems, in locations ranging from park headquarters to remote, interstate highway visitors centers, offer daily information updates, geographical information system (GIS) mapping capability, intelligent route finding, on-line weather and road conditions, and recreational activity planning. The system developed for the Commonwealth of Kentucky is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world, integrating full-motion video, audio, photographic-quality images, and database text into a system which anyone--adults and children alike--can use (see Figure 1). It contains detailed information on 120 campgrounds, 35 state parks, three national parks, six state hiking trails, nine major canoe trails, 115 campgrounds, 100 marinas, 700 hotels, 100 bed and breakfast inns, 375 summer festivals, 50 craft shows, 13 summer theaters, 14 historical sites, and 85 hospitals. Although the system is designed to retrieve the most detailed information with only two touches of the screen, it would take more than four hours to explore the entire system. And yet, a user can access precisely the information he or she needs within minutes.

Data collected from five installations in Kentucky roadside rest areas for a period of 109 days indicate that more than 35,487 individuals have used the system. This represents an average of 65 users per day per kiosk. As show in Table 1, during that 109-day evaluation period, 12,775 people wanted information about outdoor recreation, and 10,646 wanted information about monthly recreational opportunities such as festivals and craft shows. Another system, Info/California (not related to parks and recreation but more to government services), during a period of 15 months had a total of 162,585 users or an average of 32 users per day per kiosk. These statistics show a trend toward acceptance of interactive multimedia kiosks, which someday could be as common--and as widely accepted--as automatic teller machines. [TABULAR DATA 1 OMITTED]

The two most significant factors determining use and public acceptance of a public information system are not the glitz and glamour of multimedia programs, but rather the content of the system, and the user-friendliness, interactivity, and intelligence of the user interface, which is what the public sees.

The content is the meat of the system and links to the multimedia component of the system. The multimedia component of the system enhances the user experience through "info-tainment" and allows the use of video, audio, animation, and graphics, none of which were possible on a personal computer two years ago. The design of the user interface is extremely important, because it can reduce computer intimidation for those who never have used a computer before and increase the willingness of customers to use the kiosk. With modern touchscreen technology (touch a button on the screen with your finger), a system should be able to get the user from the most basic part of the system (the main menu) to the most detailed (item of interest) in less than three touches of the screen.

Today's Prototype: Tomorrow's Standard

Hennepin County Parks has gone to great lengths to refine the content and user interface of a prototype system currently being developed for the district. The system includes detailed information for each park in the district (such as maps, trails, campground layouts, activities, and photos), plus information about the County Parks Board of Commissioners, seasonal activities, and natural resource management. Figure 2 shows a layout of the "main menu" of the Hennepin County Parks system, and Figure 3 shows a layout from the module for Baker Park.

A future enhancement to a system such as the one for Hennepin County Parks would be to link a multimedia, resource management system to the public information system. This networked enhancement, called Parkview, would allow authorized users not only to access and change information on the public information kiosks instantly but also access daily administrative information as well. This multimedia, resource management information system could include scanned topographic maps linked to GIS data, a park maintenance database, on-line activity scheduling information, an on-line campground reservation system, recreation user data, and natural resource data. Imagine a public information system in which a visitor could examine a campground layout, see photographs of individual campsites, makes reservations for a particular campsite, and pay for it--all from a public kiosk. And this same kiosk would link into the resource management section of the system and generate all the appropriate statistics, the daily reservation sheets, payment sheets, and percent of sites filled per day needed by the campground manager.

Computer hardware and software have evolved to the point where imagination is the only limit to what can be designed and used successfully. Interactive multimedia public information systems rapidly are being accepted as a viable means to disseminate information. Within the next few years, they will be everywhere: in department stores, grocery stores, and visitor centers. They even will be integrated into the average household, where consumers will be able to sit in the comfort of their living room and select and watch a videotape of a particular national park unit, make campground reservations, and plan a trip.

Park and recreation staff will have more time to develop new programs, systems, and procedures to maximize the customer's enjoyment of and access to facilities and activities.

Stories that begin "Once upon a time" almost always have happy endings. And this story is no different. By implementing multimedia kiosks, park and recreation facilities utilize technology and machines to increase the human touch that makes our profession so special and important while improving our customers' access to the information they need quickly and easily.

On your way home, you realize this was the best camping trip your family ever took. Thanks to the multimedia kiosk--your high-tech tour guide--you found new hiking trails and a campground that was clean and uncrowded. You smile to yourself. When you go back to the office tomorrow, you'll have a newfound respect for the computer on your desk. It can take you places you've never dreamed of before.