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April 2001 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS TAKES POSITION ON CONNECTIVITY"Connecting The Americas" is one of the Final Declarations of the Summit of the Americas which were released on April 22. It states that the attending nations share the goal of "providing all citizens of the Americas with the opportunity to develop the tools to access and share knowledge that will allow them to fully seize opportunities to strengthen democracy, create prosperity and realize their human potential." The digital divide is also an area of concern, with the Declaration stating that nations must move towards "full integration into the knowledge society, particularly in developing countries, smaller economies, and among rural and disadvantaged groups." Canada's contribution to meeting these goals will take the form of an Institute for Connectivity, building on the success and experience of the Connecting Canadians strategy and Canada's international development programs. The Institute will support new programs designed to connect the hemisphere and enhance the ability of its citizens to participate in an increasingly knowledge-based society. Located in the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa (IDRC), the Institute will be guided by an international advisory board made up of representatives from governments, non-governmental organizations, business sectors and academic communities. This fiscal year, Canada will provide a contribution of $20 million to the Institute. The Institute will also seek funding contributions and partnerships from other governments, foundations, multilateral and regional institutions. For more
information: 2. ONTARIO LIBRARIES GET ONE MILLION TO UPGRADE INTERNET ACCESSOn April 20, Ontario Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Tim Hudak announced that the provincial government will provide another $1 million for public libraries to install high-speed Internet access. "More and more people are logging on to the Internet at our public libraries, and they need to have high speed access to meet their demands today and tomorrow," Hudak said. The Library Connectivity Program was first announced in 1999 and has provided $1 million each year since then to hundreds of community libraries across Ontario. The Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) administers the funding with guidance from a Steering Committee composed of public library community, Ontario Library Service-North, SOLS and Ministry representatives. Libraries that do not have at least 56K access are given top priority. For more
information: 3. "IT WEEK" COMING IN MAYCanada's first IT Week is a tribute to everyone making information and communication technologies more accessible, appealing and exciting. It will be launched May 4-13, 2001, and will be jointly promoted by Industry Canada and the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC). IT Week will showcase and recognize community, industry, education and government achievements; help forge and celebrate partnerships; and highlight the benefits and importance of developing the critical skills Canadians need to succeed. For more
information: 4. MEDIA AWARENESS NETWORK WINS CANARIE IWAY AWARDOttawa-based Media Awareness Network (MNet) was a winner in the Community Service Award category. MNet was chosen for its work on the Web Awareness Canada program, designed to raise public awareness of Internet issues and to provide guidance to children and young people in the sound use of this dynamic medium. "This recognition from the IT sector gives added impetus and energy to the importance of public education in the field of Internet literacy," said Jan D'Arcy, Co-Director, Media Awareness Network. "And, based on the findings of a just-completed survey of Canadian students, teaching young Canadians to use the Internet safely, wisely, and responsibly is critically important." The CANARIE IWAY ("Information Highway") Awards honour individuals, groups and organizations that have contributed to the advancement of broadband technology and innovation. This year's winners were announced at a ceremony held in Vancouver on April 23. Maureen Cubberley, Chair of CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) received an honourable mention in the Public Leadership category. For more
information: 5. RECORDS FROM BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DU QUÉBEC ADDED TO AMICUSOn April 9, National Librarian Roch Carrier announced that the National Library of Canada has received over 450 000 electronic bibliographic records, representing the catalogue of the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec (BNQ). Information about the BNQ's collection will now be available to libraries across the country and the world through the National Library of Canada's AMICUS system. "We thank the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec for its major contribution to the resource sharing network of 21,000 libraries across Canada," said Mr. Carrier. The National Library of Canada builds and maintains the AMICUS system, a national union catalogue which contains the records of items held in over 500 Canadian libraries. For more
information: 6. THE INTERNET GUIDE STILL AVAILABLE FOR FREEThe Internet Guide, or TIG, is a self-paced Web course on basic Internet skills produced by the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. The instructors, Gwen Harris and Sandra Wood, have been the principal Internet instructors in the FIS Continuing Education Program since 1994. Intended for librarians eager to become online adepts, TIG provides step-by-step instruction in using browsers, doing research on the Net, e-mailing, participating in chat and discussion groups, downloading software, and much more. LibraryNet has renewed its contract with the Faculty of Information Studies, giving public libraries across Canada free access to TIG until the end of November. Full TIG access is now available to all Canadian public library staff, public library trustees, and school librarians. To register
with the Internet Guide: 7. CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY BENEFITS FROM URBAN CAPUrban CAP funding has allowed the Calgary Public Library (CPL) to provide 16 branches with a total of 298 public Internet access terminals. All terminals have been equipped with multilingual browsers; Chinese and Spanish versions are currently available, and more languages are to come. The service is a natural extension of the multilingual book collections available at many of the branches for ESL patrons. With funding provided by the Calgary Community Lottery Board, the library also purchased equipment to provide 8 adaptive technology terminals. To be installed about 2 months from now, these high-end workstations for visually- and mobility-impaired patrons will include Braille readers, shelf-height adjustability, and extra-large monitors. The CPL is consulting with CNIB on their installation. The CPL offers a wide variety of training for patrons, including workshops on the Internet, Powerpoint, Word, and other popular software packages. The library also offers computer training targeted at seniors, and seminars for parents on how to evaluate website content for their children. Grant Kaiser, Manager, Communications & Development, said, "Electronic access to the library is becoming the fastest growing service, and patrons have come to expect it." For more
information: 8. QUEBEC PARTICIPANT NEEDED FOR PUBLIC ACCESS INTERNET RESEARCHDr. Ann Curry, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies, is currently looking for a Quebec participant for her research in to the use of public Internet access terminals in Canadian public libraries. The eligible public library must offer unfiltered public Internet access by means of a proxy server. This study builds on earlier research supervised by Dr. Curry, which attempted to discover what patrons at the Burnaby (BC) Public Library were looking at on the Internet (see the April 1999 issue of LibraryNet Monthly). A more in-depth report on Internet use at the BPL was also published as part of this second study (see the December 2000 issue of LNM). In total, transactional log analysis (TLA) of data will be gathered from the web server logs of first ten, and later twenty-five, libraries across Canada to provide objective data regarding the types of Internet sites which are accessed from public terminals. To read the
earlier studies: For more
information: 9. ONTARIO LIBRARIES RECEIVE FIRST CAPPER AWARDSFrom March 2 to the 4th, the first Ontario Public Internet Access Conference was held in Sudbury. The conference was designed to allow CAP site administrators and organizers to network, share best practices and develop strategies for continuing to enhance public access in the future. The Community Access Program (CAP) is a Government of Canada initiative, administered by Industry Canada, that aims to provide Canadians with affordable public access to the Internet and the skills they need to use it effectively. The first CAPPER awards were also presented, to recognize community achievements in realizing CAP goals and objectives. Awards were given out in 9 categories, 4 of which were presented to communities in which the public library plays a vital role in administering the CAP program:
For more
information: To hear Noel
Thomas' keynote address: 10. WATERLOO LIBRARIES & SCHOOLS TO BUILD SELF-MANAGED NETWORKThe Waterloo Region Education and Public Network (WREPNET) is a partnership of public organizations in the communities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, formed to establish a high- speed Wide Area Network linking the member organizations. Founding WREPNET partners include the Kitchener Public Library, Waterloo Public Library, Cambridge Public Library, and local school boards. WREPNET will enhance data communications between the sites of participating organizations through a Wide Area Network (WAN) to be created between sites specified by each WREPNET partner. Over 18 months, a total of 217 sites will be connected to WREPNET. WREPNET is self-managed, in that participating organizations will acquire their own network hardware and pay rent on optical fibre installed for their exclusive use. (An outside management solution would involve contracting for fibre and hardware services from a vendor and paying for the bandwidth used.) WREPNET will act as a secure communications backbone for partner sites, dramatically speed up data communications between sites on the network, and enable the use of new and emerging network applications. It will also make possible different solutions for affordable high speed Internet access and other technology innovations. For more
information: 11. PUBLIC ACCESS INTERNET TRADE SHOW AT OAKVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARYOn Saturday, March 24th, Oakville Public Library's Central Branch hosted the "Spin the Web" Internet exhibit. The first event of its kind in Oakville, it showcased the latest in computers, computer education, connectivity and e-commerce. Over 400 people attended the four-hour event. Displays, presentations and special offers from exhibitors helped visitors make the most of the Internet. Exhibitors included the Media Awareness Network, Sheridan College, the Centre for Skills Development and Training, Information Oakville, AskUs OPL Reference Service, Halton Catholic School Board Adult Learning Centre, and local computer retailers and ISPs. Funding for the event came from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. For more
information: 12. LATEST STATSCAN DATA ON INTERNET USECycle 14 of the General Social Survey, conducted during 2000, estimated that 13 million Canadians, or 53% of those aged 15 and over, used the Internet at home, at work or at some other location in the 12 months prior to the survey. This was three times the 1994 rate of 18%. Although 11.6 million people aged 15 and older were not using the Internet in 2000, about 27% of them expressed interest in doing so. The GSS found that people who use the Internet tend to be younger, and to have higher incomes and more education than those who don't. Men use the Internet more than women. In addition, francophones were less likely to use the Internet than anglophones, while people living in rural Canada were less likely than urban dwellers to go on-line. About three-quarters of the population felt that access to the Internet should be universal. However, people differed on who should be responsible for removing the barriers. Of those who had an opinion, about 45% felt the responsibility belonged to individuals themselves, while 42% felt that the federal government should remove the barriers. About 37% indicated that private industry such as Internet service providers should be responsible. Just under one-quarter (23%) said they didn't know who should be responsible for eliminating barriers. For more
information: 13. LIVE ONLINE REFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCOPublic libraries in the Bay Area of California have banded together to provide live online reference through the "Q and A Café." About 80 reference librarians from 25 libraries in the greater San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas are linked together to staff this new chat-based reference service. The service offers experienced reference librarians on duty during the hours of 3-9 pm PST, Monday to Friday. It is intended for local library patrons only; as of July 1, a library card number will be needed to access the service. For more
information: 14. CONTINUED GROWTH IN EUROPEAN INTERNET USEInternet use in Europe has soared in the past nine months, according to a report released in late March by the British-based Internet research company Jupiter MMXI. Growth in usage was highest in Germany, with a 226% increase from June of last year to February of this year. France was close behind with a 225% increase during the same period. Overall, Germans spend the most time online (more than 13 hours a month), followed by Spaniards and Norwegians at nine hours each and Italians at eight hours. United Kingdom users now spend an average of more than six hours online per month, an increase of 94%. This data is supported by a recent release from the UK National Statistics bureau. The number of Britons accessing the Internet is now above the 50 percent mark, while more than a third now have access to cyberspace from home, according to data from the January 2001 Omnibus Survey. 51 percent of the adult population (equivalent to 23 million people) said that they had used the Internet, up from 45 percent in October 2000. That figure breaks down into 57 percent of men and 45 percent of women. 35 percent of all households now have Internet access at home, nearly four times the number two years earlier. The UK Labour government pledged to create universal access to the Internet by 2005, and has launched a number of policies aimed at encouraging Britons to connect to the web. For more
information: 15. LATIN AMERICAN INTERNET USE PROJECTED TO GROW RAPIDLYThe number of Internet users in Latin American countries is expected to reach 44 million by 2003, from just under 15 million last year, according to "latino@merica on.line," a recent study conducted by consulting firm Accenture and Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano. That would translate into the highest rate of Internet access growth of any region in the world over the next three years. The study cited an increase in free Internet access, financed computer sales and aggressive promotion spending by Internet businesses as factors boosting Internet use in the region. Current low computer and Internet penetration is attributed to low per-capita income and poor distribution of wealth in Latin American countries. For more
information: 16. COFFMAN ARTICLE FEATURED IN COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIESThe current issue of Computers in Libraries (the theme is "Serving Patrons Who Don't Come into the Library") includes an article by Steve Coffman entitled "Distance Education and Virtual Reference," discussing how distance education prompted the need for distance librarianship and speculating about future trends. Another article reports an academic library's experiences in introducing a chat-based virtual reference service. To read the
full text of these articles: 17. MIT TO OFFER COURSE MATERIALS OVER WEBOn April 4, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced plans to make nearly all its course materials available over the Internet for free. The $100 million project aims to make lecture notes, course outlines, reading lists and assignments from MIT's 2,000 courses accessible to everyone within a decade. Visitors to the site will not earn college credit. The plan, known as OpenCourseWare, counters a trend toward the "privatization of knowledge," said professor Steven Lerman, chairman of the MIT faculty. Many other universities offer course materials on the Internet, but the information is often available only to students, and no other school has proposed offering all of its course materials online. The project is voluntary, and some professors may choose not to participate. By the end of a two-year pilot period, however, it is expected that materials for more than 500 courses will be available on the MIT OpenCourseWare site. For more
information: 18. ONLINE BRITANNICA NO LONGER FREEOn March 13, Brittanica.com announced that it will soon stop providing information on its website for free, and reinstate a subscription fee for its online content. The news comes less than 18 months after Britannica.com launched its free service in October 1999. A surge of 10 million visitors forced the free site to temporarily shut down when it first went online, but that popularity apparently did not translate into monetary success. The company also plans to heavily market other subscription services, such as BritannicaSchool.com (scheduled to launch in June), which will offer study guides and interactive curriculum materials for teachers. Britannica was the first encyclopedia on the Internet when it launched its original paid subscription service in 1994. For more
information: 19. USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCESThe
Canadian Seniors Policies and Programs Database Aboriginal
Canada Portal CAP
Community Resources 20. CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTSecond Annual
Institute on 21st Century Librarianship Stanford University, in cooperation with its partner the California State Library, is conducting the Second Annual Institute on 21st Century Librarianship, a professional development opportunity for emerging library leaders. The Institute will be an intense, week-long program on the future of libraries, the impact of digital technologies on libraries, and the innovative ways to successfully lead libraries into the future. The Institute is designed for participants to work closely with visionary leaders in library and information technology arenas, to experience in-depth opportunities in cutting edge library related areas, and to learn from others in the program who will form a network of colleagues. Enrollment is via a competitive application process, with applications due by March 30, 2001. For more
information or to apply: If
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