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January 1999 LibraryNet Monthly ALL ONTARIO PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO BE CONNECTEDOntario residents will soon be able to access the Internet and other on-line information through their local public libraries thanks to an agreement between Industry Canada and Ontario's Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, under the terms of the Community Access Program (CAP). On January 23, John Manley, Minister of Industry, and Ontario Minister Isabel Bassett announced a partnership agreement to establish 463 new community Internet access sites, in addition to the more than 600 sites already available throughout Ontario's public libraries. More than 60 per cent of Ontario public libraries currently provide public access to the Internet; this new funding will enable the remaining 40 per cent to get on-line. The agreement also provides telecommunications infrastructure funding for the provincial library initiative Network 2000, a partnership of public and private sector sponsors committed to creating widespread public access to the information highway and developing innovative access to Ontario's library resources by the year 2000. It will build the technological capabilities of Ontario's 1,000 public libraries through electronic links, convert select library collections into electronic formats, increase public access to the Internet and develop new programs to better serve library patrons. For more
information: CALL FOR NOMINATIONSLibraryNet will soon be preparing our third annual "Best Practices" Report on Innovative Internet use in Canadian public libraries. The report is written to provide trail-blazing libraries with recognition for their efforts, and to inspire other Canadian libraries to create their own Internet applications. If you know of a library (yours or another) using the Internet in fresh ways to assist patrons and/or staff, send Diane Bays <bays.diane@ic.gc.ca> an email with details of the project and its URL. Look for this year's Best Practices report at LibraryNet's booth at the CLA Conference in Toronto, June 16 to 20. Past editions are available on the LibraryNet website. For more
information: U.S. CONNECTIVITY REACHES NEW HEIGHTSThirty-five percent more PCs are connected to the Internet now than eight months ago, according to Ziff-Davis research reported in the Dec. 10 Internet Daily, bringing the online total to 30% of all households, or 61% of households that have PCs. But what's really interesting is ZD analyst Miran Chun's projection: "If the growth rate continues, Internet penetration could approach 75 percent of PC households in the first half of 1999." For more
information: NOVA SCOTIA LIBRARIES PROVIDE DATABASE ACCESSThe Nova Scotia Consortium libraries are now providing access to four Gale databases: General Reference Centre, Health Reference Centre, CPI.Q, and Books in Print. This full text, reference, and bibliographical information consolidates the NcompasS concept of providing information services in an easy to access "one place to look" location. The Consortium group, coordinated by the Nova Scotia Provincial Library, includes all regional libraries in the province, a community college campus and a hospital library. For more
information: PENNSYLVANIA LIBRARIES GO ONLINEPennsylvania libraries will soon begin offering free at-home access to back issues of thousands of magazines, newspapers, news photographs, and an electronic encyclopedia via the Internet. The new state-financed program called Library "POWER" -- Pennsylvania Online World of Electronic Resources -- is expected to be fully available in June 1999. However, access at about 2,000 of the state's 4,500 public and school libraries will begin as soon as this month. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge approved $1.25 million in funding for the database access last spring, allowing the libraries to buy a year of flat-rate service from a small group of vendors who plan to cap their prices for the next five years. According to Gary D. Wolfe, library commissioner in the state Department of Education, it would have cost an estimated $12 million for the libraries to purchase this service individually. "The trend we're going to see is more and more of these databases being available and sold as a state contract. It certainly does bring the cost down," Wolfe said. CYBERCAFES SPRINGING UP WORLDWIDEMuch of the success of the Internet as an information economy and as a new medium depends on affordable, near-universal access to the Net in countries across the globe. In emerging economies, numerous projects have been launched in this regard incorporating public Internet kiosks, cybercafés, community access centres, and multimedia communication booths. From the Internik cybercafé in Argentina to the Internet Link Club in Andheri, Internet café-based access centres have been springing up across the world. According to two of the leading Internet café resources online, there are about 2,000 cybercafés in 110 countries. Many of the cybercafés in Asia tend to be in hotels and vacation resorts. In Europe, the cafés are often targeted to students who want to do more surfing than they are allowed at their university, according to Britain's "Internet Magazine." In many emerging economies like Zimbabwe and Kenya, cybercafés are often the local people's only means of accessing the Internet. Australia's National Office for the Information Economy is providing $11.5 million in grants for projects such as Internet access in South Australian libraries and a cybercafé in New South Wales. And in some Latin American countries, cybercafés are becoming a key part of the tourism and Web industries. --Madanmohan Rao <madanr@planetasia.com> For more
information: NEWS FROM EUROPETelematics for Libraries, the European Union clearinghouse for library networking projects, produces a news page updated daily with items of interest to the world of library connectivity. Recent news bulletins included these:
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