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December 2001 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. NEWFOUNDLAND LIBRARIES WELCOME STRANDED TRAVELLERSNewfoundland public libraries are used to strangers looking for Internet services. Tourists from all over the globe drop in, primarily to access email, read newspapers from their home towns, or check stock prices and bank accounts. However, on September 11, some 6500 unexpected guests arrived - airplane passengers whose flights had been grounded at Gander Airport because of the terrorist attack in New York. Libraries in Gander, Glenwood, Gambo, and Norris Arm welcomed a steady stream of stranded passengers wanting to use the Internet to contact family and friends. OPACs were quickly converted into Internet workstations, staff gave up their own computers, and libraries stayed open late into the night. In addition, staff members worked as shelter volunteers, ran an airport-library shuttle service, provided food, and brought passengers home for showers. More than 2000 people from Ireland, Belgium, France, Kenya, Uganda, New Zealand and the United States made use of library facilities. Many were surprised by the availability of free Internet access and asked if it was provided especially for them. When told that it was always free for library patrons, they were amazed. For more
information: 2. LIBRARY CREATES "SEARCH AND WIN" CONTESTThe Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library recently held an online "Search and Win" contest for kids in grades 9 to 12. The contest was designed to teach online research skills, promote the library website to youth, and emphasize the importance of having a library card. From November 26 to December 1, kids could register at the library and choose a topic they wanted to research. Next, they were e-mailed a question, which they had until December 17 to answer using tips from the "Research Made Easy" library web pages. If they e-mailed in the correct answer, their names were entered into a draw for a portable CD player, Roots gear, or backpack. All kids who entered received a reward for participating - movie passes or pizza tickets. Becky Bowman, a student hired through the LibraryNet program, designed and created the "Search and Win" web pages. The library plans to hold another contest in the new year. The prizes were donated by the Adopt-a-Library Literacy Program, an RCMP/Scholastic Canada initiative. For more
information: 3. GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE ON UNDERFUNDED LIBRARIESOn November 22, Margaret Wente's column in the Globe and Mail was on the topic of underfunded school libraries. The column quotes publishers, teachers, and school librarians who complain that library materials are outdated and worn, while budget resources are increasingly allocated for technology. Wente says that "across Canada, teacher-librarians are a vanishing breed. Their acquisition budgets have nearly vanished, too. Public libraries have cut back on hours and staff..." Wente mentions a growing body of research which she says indicates that "the better the school library, the better the reading performance of the kids -regardless of income." She also quotes an unnamed teacher claiming that students rarely use school computers for research. Instead, games, chatting, and email take up school computer time. Wente concludes, "books, not computers, create the common ground for literacy and love of reading." For the full
text of the column, see: http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/printarticle/gam/ 4. UNIVERSITIES WANT TO EXPAND SCHOLARLY E-JOURNAL ACCESSOn November 21, representatives from Canadian universities met in Ottawa to discuss the expansion of the Canadian National Site Licensing Project (CNSLP). The CNSLP is a $50-million digital library, now in the second year of a three-year pilot phase, which provides desktop access to electronic versions of scholarly journals and databases, primarily in the fields of science, engineering, health, and environmental science. Currently, more than 750 journals are available on-line to university professors and students at 64 universities across Canada. The CNSLP offers a collaborative model for licensing, on a national scale, electronic versions of scholarly publications. By pooling resources, the CNSLP can work on behalf of Canadian universities to negotiate favourable agreements with scholarly publishers throughout the world. It also helps university libraries maximize their acquisition budgets and meet the information needs of researchers and students. The CNSLP is governed by a national Steering Committee representing university libraries, administrators, researchers, and academic associations. For more
information: 5. BC REPORT ON DIGITAL DIVIDEOn November 22, the British Columbia Premier's Technology Council released its first quarterly report, identifying strategies to bridge the digital divide in the province. While the report claims that BC is the most connected province in Canada, with more than six out of ten of its citizens having access to the Internet, there are still barriers that keep many British Columbians from participating in the knowledge-based economy. The council's report details a range of options for ways the private and public sectors can work together to expand Internet access. These include expanding access to high-capacity broadband lines and exploring how electronic initiatives such as e-health, e-learning and e-procurement may make government more efficient. The Council has formed four task groups: one to identify the existing digital divide in the province and suggest ways to bridge it; one to identify government services that can be effectively delivered electronically; one to develop policies to ensure the growth of the technology industry in BC; and one to promote BC as a globally recognized technology centre. The next step is to solicit input on the report from BC communities. Over the next three months, the Council will request written submissions from interested groups and individuals, and hold some regional public hearings as well as meetings with selected organizations. The full
text of the report is available in PDF format at: 6. US POLICY REPORT ON BROADBAND ACCESSThe U.S. Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB), which advises the U.S. federal government on policy issues relating to computing and communications, released a new report on broadband Internet access December 18. "Broadband: Bringing Home the Bits" addresses the technical, economic, and policy challenges involved in expanding residential access to broadband. In contrast to the more interventionist policies recommended by Canadian study groups, the CTSB suggests that the U.S. government should merely monitor developments rather than pursue policies that "could inhibit the market." However, the report does recognize that government may need to step in to improve service in some regions where broadband availability is lacking and private competition is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future. This report is the latest in a series including "The Internet's Coming of Age," "The Unpredictable Certainty," and "Realizing the Information Future," all available on the CSTB website. For more
information: The full
text of the report is available online at: 7. SASKATCHEWAN LIBRARIES BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE WITH TRAININGSaskatchewan public libraries and the provincial government are working hand in hand on a program designed to bridge the digital divide and assist Saskatchewan citizens in expanding their computer and information skills. The Saskatoon Public Library, the Pahkisimon Nuye?áh Library System, the Southeast Regional Library, and the Palliser Regional Library, together with Saskatchewan Economic and Cooperative Development and the Provincial Library, launched the Digital Training Project (DTP) on September 1, 2001. Under the DTP umbrella are three pilot programs specifically designed for Aboriginal and low-income people who are less likely to use formal environments for continued education, or who face economic barriers in making use of technology. The Saskatoon Public Library is developing three interactive training CD-ROMS to teach computer basics and the use of the Internet. The first module will be ready in early 2002, and all three will be made available to libraries and other community agencies province wide. The Palliser and Southeast Regional Libraries are partnering to offer "The Internet Pilot's License" in Moose Jaw and 15 other communities. They have hired two trainers to travel rural Saskatchewan, delivering courses via portable computer labs. One of the goals is to evaluate the program's strengths and weaknesses for future potential expansion. The Pahkisimon Nuye?áh Library System is offering courses in Cree and Dene on topics important to their patrons: increasing the ability of families in the North to communicate with their children away at school; teaching marketable employment skills; and raising awareness of community health issues. They are also preparing Cree and Dene translations of the computer training CD-ROMS. So far, the Digital Training Project has proved extremely popular; attendance at training sessions has, in some cases, been double or triple the expected turnout. For more
information: 8. STATSCAN PUBLISHES IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF INTERNET USEThe Winter 2001 issue of Statistics Canada's Canadian Social Trends highlights the revolutionary changes the information highway has made in Canadian's lives. Entitled "Internet Use on the Cusp of the 21st Century," it features lead articles on youth (15 to 24) on the Net, senior web surfers, and addressed whether or not the stereotype of Internet users tending to be socially isolated is factually true. Canadian Social Trends is a quarterly publication which distills raw data from the 2000 General Social Survey (GSS) and more than 50 other national surveys into detailed articles about social, economic, and demographic changes affecting the lives of Canadians. The full
text of the Winter 2001 issue is available in PDF format at: 9. USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCESAssociation
de la presse francophone The
Canadian West: Anticipation, Contact, Accommodation Championing
E-Learning Directory
of Internet Access Policies of Canadian Libraries in the Public Sector If
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