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April 2000 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
GATES FUNDING FOR QUEBEC LIBRARIESOn April 17, 2000, Agnès Maltais, Minister of Culture and Communications, announced that Quebec public libraries have received a grant of $8,076,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide Internet access, computers and technical training for libraries serving low-income communities in the province. The grant is a part of the Gates Library Program whose mission is to provide increased access to technology for libraries serving these communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. The grant from the Foundation will provide patrons of 548 libraries throughout Quebec with increased access to computers and the Internet. Separately, Microsoft Canada will donate software with a retail value of $2,977,000 to libraries receiving Foundation grants. "The initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has come at the right moment for public libraries and their patrons," said the Minister of Culture and Communications. "The libraries have already embarked upon a major change in direction a few years ago to incorporate new information and communication technologies in their activities and to adapt to the population's needs." The Quebec program, titled Internet Access in Public Libraries, has connected more than 80 percent of Quebec public libraries. For more
information: CONNECTING SASKATCHEWAN LIBRARIES A SUCCESS STORYThe final report of the Canada-Saskatchewan "Every Library Connected" program has been published and is now available on the LibraryNet website. The project was an amalgamation of the provincial "Every Library Connected by the Year 2000" program with Industry Canada's national CAP program. 284 Saskatchewan public libraries participated in the project, which resulted in almost 500 public access computer workstations being placed in 294 communities. The program has helped improve information, literacy and technological skills in these communities. The advantage mentioned again and again by local librarians is that of nation-wide and world-wide connection. Individuals and families stay in contact through email; examples abound of Canadian or international travelers stopping in a small library to check their e-mail. Home-schooled children use the Internet to do research. Patrons upgrade their skills and find employment through searching the job databases available online. The program has also had positive effects on library automation in the province, as staff who had no previous computer experience began to see the benefits of automating library functions. Many regional libraries automated their interlibrary loan service. Several regions ceased rural bookmobile operations, instead moving to pick-up and delivery locations which also offer a public access Internet work station. Concerns are raised in the report about sustaining the principle of universal access to information promoted through the Every Library Connected program. The two main problems libraries anticipate are finding the funds necessary to maintain and replace aging or outdated computers and software, and the ongoing costs of connecting to the Internet. The biggest concern is what may happen after the CRTC deregulation on June 30, 2000. To read the
full report in PDF format: http://www.schoolnet.ca/ NEW STUDY PUTS INTERNET POPULATION AT 300 MILLION"The Face of The Web," the most comprehensive study ever of global Internet usage, was released by the Angus Reid Group on March 21, 2000. According to its conclusions, over 300 million people are already logged on and as many as 150 million more people plan to do so this year. "The Face of The Web" is the first study to acknowledge that the Internet's reach is wider than imagined and its growth faster than expected. However, it also shows that Internet usage remains highly concentrated in a few countries, shows signs of slowing in several others and that hundreds of millions of citizens have no immediate intention of going online. In fact, four in ten survey respondents (representing about 340 million people worldwide) were aware of the Internet but had no intention of using it in the next 12 months, with the majority citing a lack of interest, knowledge and relevance to their lives. In national terms, the U.S. ranks first on most of the categories measured: greatest estimated home PC ownership, most total Internet users, highest Internet trial, highest Internet knowledge and highest Internet usage. Canada ranks second in many categories including Internet trial (64%), usage (56%), knowledge (54% who say they know a "fair amount" about the Internet) and home PC penetration (tied for second). Canada is considered a "leading edge" country, along with the U.S., Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland and Australia. The study concludes that the main obstacle to continued Internet growth is cost, since many people can't afford the relatively large initial expense of a home computer. "There is a tendency to assume the North American model of web access from a home PC is the only way the Web will continue to develop. The Euro- Asian model of wireless web access on cell phones and palmtops and public access to the Web in cafes and kiosks must play a greater role," says Dr. Angus Reid, Chairman and CEO of the Angus Reid Group. The study is based on a total of 28,374 interviews with Internet users in 30 countries and general consumers in 34 countries. For more
information: "MISSING" WINS IWAY AWARDLiveWires Design of Vancouver has won a Community Service IWAY award from CANARIE, Canada's advanced Internet development organization, for "Missing," an educational kit about Internet safety for children. Three years in planning and development, the kit is composed of a video, teacher's guide and computer game. It includes discussions about responsible Internet use, the law and how to avoid predators on the Net. After playing the interactive game, children learn to recognize and question situations involving potential predators and are encouraged to peer counsel one another on the issue. "It's the first example anywhere in the world of a product that deals with the issue of sexual exploitation on the Internet," LiveWires president Drew Ann Wake said. LiveWires consulted with the B.C. Ministry of Education, educators, law-enforcement agencies, parent teacher organizations, family counselors and others in developing and producing the kit. Missing's production was sponsored by Telus, IBM Canada, National Crime Prevention Centre, the Mounted Police Foundation and the B.C. Ministry of Education. Distribution to schools and libraries across Canada was made possible by grants from Industry Canada, Symantec Corp., and the Canadian Association of Internet Service Providers. For more
information: CANADIAN POETRY ARCHIVEThe Canadian Poetry Archive features selected poems from over 100 early English- and French-language Canadian poets. Digitized from public domain anthologies found in the National Library of Canada's rich literature collection, the poems represent some of Canada's most notable poetry from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Biographies of some of the more prominent poets in the database have also been provided. Each biography includes photographs, biographical text, a selective bibliography, a link to the poet's poems in the Archive, and a link to search the poet's name in the National Library of Canada's online catalogue. The Archive database is searchable by poet, title, keywords and date. Author, title and date indexes can also be browsed. Visit the
Poetry Archive at: FATHOM : A NEW INTERNET LEARNING CONSORTIUMFathom is a new international consortium of leading universities and cultural institutions formed to launch the premier site for knowledge and education on the web. Fathom will present the best public content and courses of universities, libraries, and museums on a wide variety of professional, cultural, and academic subjects. Much of Fathom's content has never been available outside of the participating institutions. The founding partners who will make their resources available through Fathom are Columbia University, the London School of Economics, Cambridge University Press, the British Library, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, and the New York Public Library. Central to Fathom will be a wealth of free content usually only available on university campuses and at leading museums and libraries. This content will include multimedia lectures, seminars, databases, publications, and performances. Fathom will include a comprehensive directory of related online courses offered by universities and cultural institutions, plus textbooks and other academic titles, specialized periodicals, individual articles and other publications, CD-ROMs, academic travel, and learning resources. Users will access online courses through Fathom, with tuition fees, accreditation, and admission policies set at the discretion of the offering university or cultural institution. For more
information: LIBRARY COMPUTER CONNECTION AT THE MALLIn most branches of the Prince William Public Library System (VA), a library card will earn a two-week checkout on the latest paperback novel. In the Manassas Mall branch, however, there are no books. Instead, a library card earns access to the Internet or the county's electronic online catalogue. Twenty-five computer workstations are available, and computer training classes for children and adults are offered. The Library Connection @ Manassas Mall is the inaugural project of the Prince William Public Library System Foundation, a nonprofit organization which solicits and accepts contributions from businesses and individuals. As the mall program operates without any county funding, community assistance is vital to its success. The Library System Foundation estimates the cost of operations over five years at $500,000, of which $100,000 for the first year has been raised. Funding for the additional years is being sought through nonprofit foundations and corporate foundations. Many contributions from local companies made the program possible. One of the most important was Manassas Mall's donation of 2500 square feet of mall space to the library. Other firms donated broadband access services, educational software, or monetary contributions. As all of the computer equipment is leased, the program has implemented a PC sponsorship program. Individuals and small businesses can sponsor a PC by paying the monthly lease fee. In exchange for their generosity, the library displays the sponsor's name on the machine. For more
information: CHICAGO LIBRARIES E-MAILING NEW CHAPTERS TO PATRONSThe La Grange Park and Lyons public libraries in Chicago have recently launched a program in which patrons can sign up to have several chapters of new novels e-mailed directly to them. The libraries are two of the first to link with the Chapter-A-Day Internet site. They began offering the free service in March, and the La Grange Park library has had about 50 people sign up. The Lyons library doesn't have a count yet, but is seeing a rise in requests for the featured titles. "The idea is to get the people who wouldn't make it to the library," said Denise Ard, executive director of the Lyons Public Library. About 30 libraries across the U.S. have signed up so far, according to Suzanne Beecher, founder of the Chapter-A-Day service. The company gets permission from publishers to send about three chapters of new titles, she said. For more
information: U.S. NONPROFITS CAN COLLECT DONATIONS ONLINEHelping.org is the arm of the AOL Foundation aimed at helping individuals to donate to charities and to find volunteer opportunities online. Now, Helping.org in collaboration with Guidestar has made it simple for American nonprofit organizations to take online donations by linking directly from their web site to a donation page hosted by Helping.org. This is especially useful for those organizations which do not have online donations capability of their own. Once you've done this, visitors to your Web site will be able to donate easily and quickly to your organization. To take advantage of this free service, nonprofit organizations must have a certain status, specifically, 501(c)(3) status, with the IRS and must also be registered with the Guidestar database. There is no fee for using Helping.org's service, and all donations, less the 2-3% processing fee charged by all credit card companies, are passed along to the nonprofit organization. The AOL Foundation donates all costs associated with processing the donations. For more
information: EXPERT PANEL ON SKILLS MAKES ITS REPORTThe independent Expert Panel on Skills, established by the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST), released its report "Stepping Up: Skills and Opportunities in the Knowledge Economy" on March 21. The report emphasizes that an adequate supply of skills is only one of several interrelated and essential ingredients which are necessary for growth and wealth creation in the knowledge-based economy. It concludes that Canada's standard of living is at risk without a more entrepreneurial culture and a determination to create more opportunities for Canadians to put their skills to work in Canada. The panel found no evidence of a massive "brain drain," according to Jacquelyn Thayer Scott, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University College of Cape Breton and Chair of the panel, although "we are concerned about the loss of high-performing, highly-skilled 'stars' in some fields." The Panel calls for improving the functioning of Canada's labour markets; leveraging our R&D capacity to create new opportunities for enterprise and employment; strengthening cradle-to-pension learning systems; and improving the efficiency of school-to-work-to-school transitions. The report also urges completion of the national telecommunications infrastructure and outlines new structures for decision and action. The Expert Panel on Skills was established in September 1998 to provide independent advice on critical skills in a number of industry sectors where opportunities for economic growth and job creation are especially high, including information and telecommunications technologies. The full
report is available on-line at: For more
information: INTERNET REPLACING TRADITIONAL MEDIA SOONER THAN EXPECTEDAccording to a new study by the Round Table Group, the Internet is displacing traditional media much sooner than expected. The Chicago-based group, a consortium of 3,000 university professors, found in a phone survey that the Net has replaced libraries, newspapers, and television as the top source of key information for young adults. In the survey of 1,014 households, nearly 70% of Americans aged 18 to 24 live in households that use the Net to gather important information, compared to a nationwide average of just 46%. Fully 84 per cent of those young Net users say their households are more likely to use the Net to retrieve information than to go to the library. 59% say that their household currently receives "more useful information" from the Internet than from newspapers, and 53% say they received more from the Net than from television. 47% of that age group say that someone in their household would probably be interested in taking an educational course over the Internet for work or for other purposes. For more
information: SWEDISH IT COMMISSIONThe Swedish government has recently published their proposals and plans for Information Technology. The proposals have been delivered to the Swedish parliamentary body, the Riksdagen, which will vote on the final decisions. The Swedish Commission on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was appointed by the Swedish government to advise the government on IT, stimulate the use of IT in Sweden, identify the problems and possibilities inherent in IT, and analyze IT development in other countries. The Commission consists of eight information technology experts in such fields as education, private industry, and research and is led by the Minister of Industry. One of the Commission's study groups, the Observatory for IT Infrastructure, has the assignment of creating suggestions for making broadband digital infrastructure available at an acceptable cost to all households, businesses and governmental agencies including schools and libraries. The Observatory's vision is for everyone in Sweden to have, within five years, access to a dedicated Internet connection of at least 5 MB costing no more than a bus pass. The study group's implementation suggestions for this goal have also been presented to the Swedish government. For more
information: ALBERTA LIBRARIES APPEAL CRTC DECISIONThe Alberta Library Trustees Association (ALTA) and the Library Association of Alberta (LAA) have launched an appeal of the CRTC's ruling 99-16, Telephone Service to High-Cost Serving Areas. The associations feel that the ruling did not address the problems which libraries located in high cost service areas face in providing Internet access. These issues include the cost, speed, and reliability of data lines. The associations object to the fact that the ruling did not define Internet access speed under the description of basic telecommunications service. The quality and reliability of phone lines in rural and northern communities was not addressed either. Useful access to the Internet, particularly to the online databases and union catalogues required by many libraries, demands at least moderate speed and reliability of connection. One example illustrates the telecommunications obstacles faced by rural or remote libraries. The Bodo branch of the Parkland Regional Library recently received a CAP site computer for public access to the Internet. Unfortunately, the Library is not in actuality able to provide such access, as its local phone lines are so slow that the connection is repeatedly timed out. The associations also bring up further issues, such as charging libraries business rates and extended flat rate calling charges. For more
information: To read the full text of the original decision: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/Decisions/1999/DT99-16.htm AMERICAN E-RATE FUNDING EXTENDED FOR THIRD YEAROn April 13, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced funding of $2.25 billion for the third year of their E-rate program. The E-rate is a needs-based discount for telecommunications and Internet services provided to American public libraries and public and private schools under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The discounts are funded through fees imposed on telecommunications companies. Last year, more than half of U.S. public libraries received discounted services under the program. John Carlo Bertot, co-author of the 1998 National Survey of Public Library Outlet Connectivity: Final Report, estimates that 92.9% of all American public libraries now have at least basic access to the Internet. This is an increase of 9.3 percent over 1998, due largely to the E-rate. Bertot's analysis shows that those still in greatest need of Internet access are libraries in high-poverty and/or rural areas, which are given priority in this year's E-rate funding. "Libraries have always used the latest technology to make information accessible to their communities," said ALA President Sarah Ann Long. "The E-rate is helping even the smallest library to continue this service into the 21st century." For more
information: NEW DIGITAL DIVIDE STUDYA report released March 15 by the Children's Partnership, entitled "Online Content for Low-Income and Underserved Americans: The Digital Divide's New Frontier," analyzed the availability, quality and appeal of Internet content for low-income Americans and those with limited literacy levels. It concluded that most information needed by low-income and other underserved populations either doesn't exist online or is extremely difficult to find. The report is the result of a year-long study involving interviews with low-income users, community leaders, and literacy experts, as well as an analysis of web sites aimed at this audience. That analysis showed that of 1,000 websites, only 6 percent contained the type of local information low-income users said they wanted (for example, local housing and jobs information). The report also points to several sites that could serve as models to address these problems. The Children's Partnership is an American policy and strategy organization that studies the needs of U.S. children and youth, particularly the underserved. For more
information, or to read the full report: CLINTON ANNOUNCES INITIATIVES TO CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDEOn April 4, U.S. President Clinton announced a "National Call to Action" to bridge the digital divide. Clinton proposed two major goals: 1) Giving students better access to "twenty-first century learning tools" by connecting every classroom to the Internet, improving access to multimedia computers and expanding technology literacy opportunities to teachers; and 2) Connecting every household to the Internet, expanding community technology center programs and improving technology training opportunities for adults. In his Fiscal Year 2001 budget request, President Clinton also proposed the creation of a new $50 million program to increase the number of low-income families that have access to the Internet in their homes. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) would administer the proposed "Connecting American Families" program. For more
information: CIVIL LIBERTIES AWARD GOES TO LIBRARIANSThe ninth annual EFF Pioneer Awards ceremony took place on April 6th as part of the "Computers, Freedom and Privacy" conference held that week in Toronto. One of the civil liberties awards was given to "Librarians Everywhere," in recognition of the difficult and often overlooked battles that many librarians have fought to protect free expression on the Internet. Librarian and author Karen Schnieder accepted the award on behalf of and as representative of librarians around the world fighting for the public's right to free expression in cyberspace. Librarians have also been on the front-line working to prevent censorship of the Internet in libraries, and protect the privacy of check- out records and equity of access to all information contained in the library. Many librarians show admirable bravery as they stand up for intellectual freedom and democracy although their jobs may be on the line. The EFF Pioneer Awards have been awarded since 1991 to individuals and groups who have made significant and influential contributions to the development of computer-mediated communications or to the empowerment of individuals in using computers and the Internet. Founded in 1990, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is a leading global nonprofit organization which actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the information society. For more
information: YOUTH CREATING BC HERITAGE WEB SITESBritish Columbia history is going digital. Industry Canada and the BC Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture's Heritage Trust have teamed up with the BC Ministry of Education and the British Columbia Museums Association to hire young British Columbians to create web sites about the province's history. The BC Heritage Websites Program is modelled on Canada's Digital Collections, an Industry Canada program that gives young people on-the-job training on the information highway while putting Canadian educational content on the Internet. The BC Heritage Websites Program supports libraries, archives, historical societies and other repositories of BC's history in digitizing cultural and heritage resources for the World Wide Web, and in improving access to their collections and research. The closing date for fall applications is August 14, 2000. For more
information: INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PROJECT COMPETITIONThe City of Rome has launched the Global Junior Challenge, a world-wide award for the best information technology projects in the field of education. The award is open to companies, institutions, organizations and individual citizens that have developed projects aimed at children and young adults. Entries will be exhibited and the winning projects announced at an international conference "Youth into the Digital Age" held in December 2000 in Rome. All participating projects will also be listed in a web database and in a final publication which will be widely distributed. For more
information or to submit a project: CANLEARN INSIDERLaunched in February 2000, the CanLearn Insider brings education news and commentary to the Canadian learning community. Published every two months, The CanLearn Insider is researched and written by the Node Learning Technologies Network with the support of CanLearn Interactive and Human Resources Development Canada. Content focuses on education and technology, particularly the Internet. To read the
Insider: NEW INFORMATION LITERACY E-JOURNALSIMILE (Studies in Media & Information Literacy) is a new refereed e-journal to be published quarterly by the University of Toronto Press starting in the winter of 2001, with issues appearing at the beginning of February, May, August, and November. SIMILE will focus on topics connected with media literacy instruction in school, public, and academic libraries, as well as on the role that teachers, librarians, and information professionals at all levels can play in bringing about a better understanding of the forces that shape traditional and new media production. Although the primary audience is public, school, and academic librarians, as well as elementary and high school teachers, SIMILE will also be of interest to corporate information workers responsible for tracking mass media trends. Articles should thus suggest innovative ways to impart the importance of media awareness and literacy to students and the general public. Contributions are welcomed from throughout the world. Articles dealing with media issues outside of North America are particularly encouraged. All manuscripts will be subject to a double-blind peer review process. In keeping with the cross-disciplinary nature of the subject matter to be covered, there are 26 Editorial Board members from a variety of fields, including education, library science, English, media studies, and history. There is broad geographic representation on the Editorial Board, which includes scholars from the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Wales. The editorial staff of SIMILE and the University of Toronto Press are committed to upholding high academic standards in this publication. For more
information or submission requirements: CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTACM HyperText
2000 ACM Digital
Libraries 2000 HyperText 2000 is the eleventh ACM conference on hypertext and hypermedia. The conference will provide a forum where delegates can present, exchange and discuss original ideas and exciting experiences relating to hypermedia and the use of hypermedia concepts and technologies in special domains (e.g., authoring, publishing, human-computer interaction, digital libraries, education, etc.). The ACM Digital Libraries conference is a major international forum on digital libraries, with a comprehensive program for the presentation of new results from the diverse fields that study and develop digital libraries. The conference draws from a community with a wide range of interests, encompassing aspects of system design, implementation experience, evaluation, collection design, intellectual property issues, social issues, and governmental policy issues.
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