Revamped online directory to launch in Feb.

The online version of Penn's directory will become a bit more like thefacebook.com this semester.

Starting in early February, students, faculty and staff will have the option to list multiple phone numbers and addresses, nicknames, office hours and even their picture on an opt-in basis.

The Penn community will be able to select what information in their directory listings will be viewed by the public and what information will only be able to be accessed in a PennKey-authenticated view.

According to the University's chief privacy officer, Lauren Steinfeld, the new online directory will make communication easier and make students more aware of decisions regarding their privacy.

"Nationally, you see a heightened awareness," she said. "This will get people accustomed to this set of choices."

The coming system will be one of the most comprehensive online college directories in the country.

Cornell University has implemented a very similar service but gives no option to display a picture. Cornell officials cited privacy issues as the reason.

Conversely, Georgetown University's online directory offers no student information to the public except to confirm that the student is, in fact, affiliated with the school. Even with the use of a Georgetown NetID, users are only able to obtain a student's e-mail address.

"This is to protect [students] ... from e-mail spam and other solicitations," according to Laura Cavender, Georgetown's director of media relations.

James Johnson, the information technology director for Penn's Information Systems and Computing, said that the committee in charge of designing Penn's new directory followed the rules set by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 in determining the extent of student control over information displayed on the Web site.

The committee worked to reach a balance between convenience and safety, according to Johnson and Steinfeld.

"We don't say that you can never get the data, and we don't say that you can always get the data. It depends on who you are ... and what information the person wanted [to make] available," Steinfeld said.

The new online directory will also allow for the immediate removal of a listing, if a user so chooses, which is not possible with the current system, according to Johnson.

"There was this latency between the student record system and the directory," which was a main concern voiced by students, Johnson said.

Engineering Sophomore William Breedlove.-- a self-proclaimed "Facebook-aholic" -- said that he did not know much about the new online directory, but thinks "it probably won't be as cool as thefacebook.com."

Breedlove, who said he didn't see any problems with privacy issues, is unsure if he will update his directory listing when it's available.

"I might," he said, "because it would be a more useful way to stay in touch with faculty and TAs than [thefacebook.com], but it won't be something I rush to do."

College sophomore Amber Birtcher echoed Breedlove when said that the new online directory was "a good idea" but that she might only update her listing if she's "bored sometime."

Birtcher said that she does not think she will use the directory a lot because she does not "know how many people will bother with it since [thefacebook.com] has already established itself."

A three-day "preview period," beginning Jan. 31, will allow users to update their listings and visualize how their information will be represented in the actual online directory before listings are made available to the public.

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