WebJunction

There are lots of examples out there. I could point you to a few or possibly share the examples of what we have done, but I am not sure if they would be relevant without knowing the answers to a few questions.

Do you have a particular platform or suite of database technologies that you are using now and/or are required to use? For example, PHP and MySQL.

What features are required, what are optional, and what are nice to haves? For example, do you need to provide e-mail confirmations, have the ability to process payments, etc.?

The first step I usually take when looking for software solutions such as this is look at similar type of institutions - that is where I have often found a solution to meet the need since they are often facing similar challenges. I have found some good examples at other state library agencies that we have used either as the basis or to inform our development efforts. Depending on your situation, that is where I would suggest starting. With more details, I could provide you with some specific suggestions.

Well, I am no database / web application / HTML guru - I know just enough to get someone in over their heads and then say "Wow, that sounds like a really interesting error message - nope, I have never seen that before or heard a server make that noise either", so be forewarned.

I would also say that generally, you probably will be hard pressed to find a "template" per se just floating around on the web. I poked around and most of the examples were not any better or more useful than the information that I found in the resource below.

Here are my recommendations:
1) Get this book - FrontPage 2003: The Missing Manual
by Jessica Mantaro
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: August 01, 2005
Print ISBN-10: 0-596-00950-X
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-59-600950-2
Pages: 434

I skimmed two chapters of it - Ch. 13 on designing forms and Ch. 16 on working with databases and it covers a lot of ground but makes it easy to understand.

1a). If you don't have Front Page 2003, then I would look to TechSoup Stock to get a copy for the $7.00 administrative fee.
Info here - http://www.techsoup.org/stock/Category.asp?catalog_name=TechSoupMain&category_name=Microsoft+MLDP

There is an even newer version of a web development product if you are locked into using a Microsoft software for web development called "Expression Web 1.0". I have no idea what the difference is between the two products, but that might be worth investigating. (I could not help myself - I looked at the MS Web site - Expressions is part of a larger package that looks like it incorporates more powerful featuers for web development than FP - http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/overview.aspx?key=web)

My guess is from these two chapters, you could at least go from a static page listing the classes that the library provides as web links that goes to a form where people could input their information that gets dumped into the Access database without too much problem (remember - see warning up above).

If you wanted to add fancier features, well, that gets a little more complicated, but I think you could get at least a basic form and databse interacting without too much problem from what I read in the book.

Then there are all sorts of additional questions about wait lists, e-mail reminders, calendar, search, etc.

We have one regional system in Texas that uses Evanced and are happy with it. I believe that there was a setup fee for it and their annual fee is approximately $1,500. My understanding is that includes the hosting of the site and the pricing structure is different if you host it yourself depending on what you want to do.

They have lots of examples at their website -
http://www.evancedsolutions.com/customers.html

here is one from the Connecticut State Library-
http://evanced.info/cslib/evanced/eventcalendar.asp

I should have asked that question off the bat, but got caught up in the moment. As Dale points out, there is definitely multiple ways to skin this cat and depending on your priorities and interests, Evanced might make more sense.