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July 2001 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. CANARIE REPORT ON MULTIMEDIA CONTENTThe federal government should be prepared to invest heavily in the creation of content for the Internet if it wants Canadians to embrace the emerging technology, a new report by CANARIE, the government's think-tank on Internet development, concludes. "Filling the Pipe: Stimulating Canada's Broadband Content Industry through R&D" claims that the future of media will be in "a high-bandwidth environment where innovation and interactivity prevail." If there is ever to be sufficient Canadian content on the web, the report says, high-speed Internet must be more accessible and affordable. Just as importantly, consumers should have access to interactive content at any time of day or night. According to the report, the lack of Canadian content is opening the door to foreign content providers. It recommends governments offer funding and investment incentives for interactive content development on high-speed Internet and wireless systems. The report, prepared by consulting firm Delvinia, is based on the minutes of five roundtable meetings in different Canadian cities. To read the
full text of the report in PDF format: 2. WEB AWARENESS PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEDOn July 5, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) and the Media Awareness Network (Mnet) announced a partnership that will produce and deliver a Web Awareness program to all public libraries in Canada. Building upon the research and work underway by Media Awareness Network, including their recent study on Canadian children's use of the Internet, "Young Canadians in a Wired World," the six-month pilot program will provide Internet training to public libraries across Canada. The Media Awareness Canada program for libraries will help the staff of public libraries to make parents and children more aware of the issues involved in Internet use by young children. Such issues include the difference between being informed and being sold to, the ability to distinguish online fact from online fiction, and protection from offensive and illegal content such as luring. The ultimate focus of the program is to give parents the tools they need to increase their understanding of the Internet and to engage in a dialogue with their children on the use of it. Partners across the country have provided financial support for the program, including LibraryNet and the National Library of Canada. Libraries
interested in taking part in the Web Awareness Canada training program
should contact: For more
information: 3. CONNECT ONTARIOOn July 11, the Ontario government announced that it will invest more than $5.3 million to establish "connected communities" across the province. This funding marks the first phase of the Connect Ontario and GeoSmart initiatives, created to help Ontario's smaller communities become magnets for information technology, business and jobs. Infrastructure projects in Oxford, Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent will each receive up to $1 million from Connect Ontario and $500,000 from GeoSmart, for a total investment of $4.5 million. Sixteen other projects will receive a total of $785,000 from Connect Ontario to develop business plans. Connect Ontario will develop a network of connected "smart" communities across Ontario through partnerships with government, communities and the private sector. GeoSmart is an initiative to make geospatial information and services more accessible to communities that need them to make decisions regarding roads, transit routes and community planning. For more
information: 4. KUH-KE-NAH NETWORK OF SMART FIRST NATIONS LAUNCHEDOn July 6, the Kuh-ke-nah Network (K-Net) of Smart First Nations was officially launched. Six northern Ontario First Nations - accessible only by water in the summer and ice in the winter - are building an electronic road to Canada and the world and are using this resource to stimulate and manage change in their communities. Smart services will be deployed over a broadband network to bridge the barriers of distance and isolation, to improve community well-being, enhance learning opportunities, and support skills and knowledge acquisition. These services will include Community Information Technology Centres in each of the participating First Nations; the K-Net Portal, a high speed, interactive gateway to community information and services; a major tele-health demonstration initiative; and the Keewaytinook On-line Secondary School. Six Northwestern Ontario communities are partners in the project: Deer Lake First Nation, Fort Severn First Nation, Keewaywin First Nation, North Spirit Lake First Nation, McDowell Lake First Nation, and Poplar Hill First Nation. "Kuh-ke-nah" is the Oji-Cree word for "everybody". The network will receive over $4.5 million in matching funds from Industry Canada over three years. This is the fifth official launch of the 12 Smart Communities Demonstration Projects. The Smart Communities program is part of the federal government's Connecting Canadians initiative, which aims to make Canada the most connected nation in the world. For more
information: 5. NEW CAP SITES IN ONTARIO AND NOVA SCOTIAOn May 29, 11 new public Internet access sites were launched in the Muskoka region of Ontario. Industry Canada's Community Access Program (CAP) contributed $220,000 towards these sites, three of which are located in public libraries (Bayville, Huntsville, and Port Carling). On June 26, the Central Ontario Community Access Program was launched in the Peterborough region. CAP contributed $773,000 to help establish 43 public Internet access sites, seven of which are in public libraries. On July 4, a public Internet access site was launched at the Clark's Harbour Library in Clark's Harbour, Nova Scotia. CAP contributed $10,000 towards this site. CAP is part of the Government of Canada's Connecting Canadians strategy, which is helping to keep Canada among the world's leaders in Internet access and applications. The program establishes public Internet access sites in remote, rural and urban communities nation-wide. Over 3,100 access centres have been created in Ontario alone since the launch of the program in 1995. For more
information: 6. CAP NEWSLETTER LAUNCHEDThe Community Access Program now has its own national newsletter. CAP Weekly will be published online every week, filled with CAP information and news from the national and regional scenes. To read the
Weekly: 7. PUBLIC LIBRARY WEBSITE RESEARCHElectric Library Canada recently conducted some informal research on public library websites. The company sponsored dinner discussions with members of the profession in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto. Two key observations surfaced from these discussions. The first was that public libraries must take an active public relations and marketing role to bring Canadians up to speed with how valuable their local libraries are. The second was that if most Canadians are unaware of the resources available, what would their experience be if they did venture forth to their local library's website to find some information? How well do public library websites inform their patrons about what research products they offer? How easy is it for patrons to find the information they're looking for? The discussions revealed little consensus on the most effective public library website design and content for promoting research options to Canadians. Many libraries are taking steps to address this challenge, however, approaches vary considerably from one library to the next, and few libraries work with each other to compare approaches and find solutions. Inconsistencies and a lack of standards in website design affect the experience Canadians have when consulting their local library homepages for information. Ease of navigation will help make public library websites more "sticky," i.e. keep patrons coming back. Most public libraries have not developed a marketing program for their online services. Public relations and advertising strategies are of paramount importance in order to gain recognition and appreciation from Canadians, governments, and the media. Electric Library Canada will deliver a presentation of this research at future conferences, or sponsor conference seminars on library website design and content standards. For more
information: 8. QUEBECOIS TEENS AND THE INTERNETThe results of a survey of 500 Québécois youth during the school year 1999-2000 were released on June 20. "Les jeunes et Internet" constitutes the Canadian portion of a research study of seven countries currently being conducted by researchers at the universities of Sherbrooke and Montreal. Among the findings: most teens are convinced that all knowledge is already available online, and they don't question the credibility or reliability of this information. However, they tend to be very skeptical of e- commerce and online shopping. The survey also found gender-based differences in Internet usage and attitudes. Girls "chat" more, are less likely to believe that the net improves communication between people, and remain more attached to books. Boys are more optimistic about the possibility that the Internet can improve communication, and their most popular online activity was playing video games. The international survey results will appear this fall, and will compare the responses of kids from Quebec to those of children in six European countries. For more
details, or to read the full report in PDF format: For more
information: 9. RIVER JOHN LIBRARY SUCCESS STORYRiver John is a small rural community of 1200 people along the shore of the Northumberland Strait in Nova Scotia. In 1986, the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library opened the 500 square foot River John Branch Library. In 1996, to enable the branch to access the online Regional Library catalogue, a high speed Internet line was installed. Along with the catalogue connection, the Regional Library wanted to offer public access to the Internet. A local CAP Committee was formed and a partnership established with the Regional Library. Three public access computers were installed, and volunteers signed up to ensure access beyond the fifteen hours per week the Library was open. The CAP site was a runaway success, with at least 3000 one-hour Internet bookings per year. Basic Internet training and specialized courses in word processing and other software applications were offered. Over fifteen local businesses were trained in web site development, and several businesses went on to establish their own sites and sell online. A River John community website was created; all local businesses, agencies, and events are included and are updated by volunteers. In 1998, designs were commissioned for a new 3000 square foot "River John Library and Innovation Centre," to include a modern public library, a multi-purpose community training area, a community board room, and a community office. The Friends of the River John Library non-profit group was formed to build the new Centre. The Friends began construction in the fall of 2000, with HRD Canada, the Municipality of the County of Pictou, and Industry Canada (through CAP) providing some capital and labour funds. The fundraising goal was $50,000 over three years. In six months, the Friends have raised $60,000 and have revised their goal to $90,000. The River John Library and Innovation Centre was officially opened on June 16. It features the latest in public library information services; children's, youth, and adult programming; expanded community access to technology and training in special applications and e-commerce; office space for summer residents who require a remote office environment with complete technology; and display space for local business to promote goods and services. The Library and Innovation Centre has already partnered with the Pictou Regional Development Commission to offer small business counseling through the centre (i.e. training in Strategis resources). Discussions are ongoing the possibility of offering local and online banking services with the Canadian Bankers Association. For more
information or to view the new building via webcam: 10. ALBERTA HISTORY GOES DIGITALLast month, it was announced that the Archives Society of Alberta will receive a $1.2 million Centennial Legacies Grant from the province to place their catalogue of archival holdings online. Descriptions of archived letters, diaries, photographs and other items will be prepared over the next three years and put into an electronic catalogue made available to researchers around the world over the Internet. The funds awarded by the provincial government will be added to an anticipated federal Canadian Archival Information Network (CAIN) grant. The complete funding will allow for developing a search engine to help researchers quickly find what they are seeking, a pilot project using online multi-level descriptions, a limited number of digitization projects, and supplying a limited number of computers to ASA member institutions. The Centennial Legacies Program was established to celebrate Alberta's upcoming centennial anniversary in 2005. For more
information: 11. BC POST-SECONDARY LIBRARIES OFFERING E-BOOK COLLECTIONOn June 30, the BC Electronic Library Network (ELN) announced the purchase of a core collection of business-related electronic books from netLibrary, made possible by special funding in the amount of $40,000 from the province's Ministry of Advanced Education (MAE). Through this agreement, more than 30 participating post-secondary libraries throughout BC and the Yukon can now offer students and faculty access to e-books on business-related subjects that are accessible at any time from any internet-connected computer, on campus or off. The shared collection of approximately 580 e-books is a broad mix of theoretical, practical, applied and general interest titles across all business subject areas: accounting, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, economics and global economy, finance and banking. netLibrary e-books can be accessed anywhere, anytime through a web browser, or can be downloaded for off-line viewing. Users can perform full-text searches across hundreds of books or within a specific book to speed research and reference projects. Added benefits include an embedded dictionary in each book, as well as hyperlinks from both the table of contents and index. netLibrary is a leading provider of e-books and internet-based content management services. For further
information: 12. CANADIANS THIRD IN WORLD WIDE INTERNET USAGEA survey of 36 countries found that 60 per cent of Canadians polled said they use the Internet, compared to 57 per cent in the US. Canada's rate was exceeded only by Norway (63 per cent) and Denmark (62 per cent). The study also found that 18 per cent of Internet users in Canada have shopped online in the past month. In terms of the types of goods and services bought on line, Canadian Internet shoppers are most likely to buy books (at a rate of 24 per cent). Leger Marketing and Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive conducted the e-commerce study. For more
information: 13. NEW DIGITAL DIVIDE REPORTSThe U.S. Marino Institute has just released its report on the digital divide, "From Access to Outcomes: Raising the Aspirations for Technology Initiatives in Low-Income Communities." Their report makes the case that technology must not be seen as an end in itself. Although most initiatives aimed at closing the digital divide have focused on expanding access to new technologies, the report concludes that providing access alone is rarely as effective as it is well-meaning. The report finds that initiatives in and by low-income communities are far better at producing meaningful change when people apply technology with tangible economic, educational, and social end results in mind. No matter how impressive the technology or how well-intended the motives, technology initiatives imposed on a community by outsiders are often ineffective. As a result, those who hope to promote the use of technology in low-income communities should devote a great deal of time to identifying and then cultivating relationships with key local leaders and organizations. Investments in technology must go far beyond funding for hardware, software, and wires. For most projects, no more than one-third of the funding should go to technology itself, leaving more than two- thirds for developing programs that help people and organizations understand and apply the technology. "From Access to Outcomes" offers case studies to illustrate how a new focus on outcomes - along with smart, large-scale investments to help achieve them - could help turn disparate digital divide efforts into a powerful movement capable of producing widespread social change. The Morino Institute is an American non-profit group that works to strengthen organizations serving the children of low-income communities. The report
is available online at: Detailed data collected monthly by comScore sheds light on the behaviour of a broad sample of Internet users and reveals how users' online activity falls along demographic divisions. By sorting the 5000 most-visited sites by education levels of the users, comScore found that the top sites visited by the highly educated tend to be relevant to work and careers. The top sites visited by people without a college education are aimed at entertainment and connecting with friends. The gap implies that the Internet alone will not be the bridge to close the economic divide, and may in fact exacerbate it. The Internet may economically benefit mainly those who are already experienced in seeking, filtering and analyzing information before they get online. The Internet marketing research firm comScore automatically collects complete Internet usage data -- both sites surfed and online buying -- from 1.5 million Web-connected PCs each month. These are split among home, work, university and international users. All participants are volunteers who allow their behavior to be recorded in return for comScore accelerating download speed. ComScore guarantees their anonymity. For more
information: 14. THE WORLD'S ONLINE POPULATIONFour hundred and twenty million people around the world have Internet access, according to the Global Internet Trends report from Nielsen/NetRatings, which measured Internet use in 27 countries around the world during the first quarter of 2001. The United States and Canada still account for the largest proportion of the world's Internet access, with 41 percent of the global audience located in these countries. Europe, the Middle East and Africa make up 27 percent of the world's Internet population, followed by Asia Pacific (20 percent) and Latin America (4 percent). Statistics for individual countries can also be found online at the Internet.com "Cyberatlas". For more
information: 15. UN RANKS COUNTRIES ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND ITAccording to The Human Development Report 2001, released on July 10 by the United Nations Development Program, Norway is the most developed country in the world, closely followed by Australia and Canada. Sweden and Belgium ranked next, just ahead of the United States. The annual report ranks 174 countries on a scale based on four criteria: life expectancy, adult literacy, school enrollment, and economic prosperity as measured by per capita GDP. The theme for this year's report was the impact of technology on human development, and it included comments not only on high- tech topics like the Internet and telecommunications, but also on new technology in other fields like health and agriculture. Technology levels the playing field and allows developing countries to compete with more established nations, the report said, citing Costa Rica's development of what is now the world's fastest-growing technological economy. However, the report said that many of the most important technology advances bypass the world's poor because of inadequate public funding. The report discusses ways to bring technology to poor people in developing nations, and pushes for development of low-cost computers with wireless Internet access. It also calls for greater international funding for R&D and different pricing between rich and poor countries for high-tech products. Canada had placed first in the U.N.'s Human Development rankings for the past three years, and the nation's slip was heavily analyzed in media across the country. Critics emphasize that the annual report is no more than a rough measure of human development, and was never intended to label any nation as the "best in the world." UN officials also point out that there is usually little to choose from among the top 10 or so countries on the overall index. The full
report is available in PDF format here: 16. INTERNET IS VALUED FOR INFORMATION RATHER THAN COMMERCE"Toward a Framework for Internet Accountability," a research study commissioned by the American Markle Foundation, was released on July 10. The study found that people value the Internet more for the information they can find than for the commerce they can conduct. 45 percent said their dominant image of the Internet was that of a "library," as opposed to 17 percent who compared it to a "shopping mall" or "banking and investment office." On the other hand, 70 percent of people surveyed believe that "you have to question most things you read on the Internet." Although the public has an overwhelmingly favorable view of the medium, about half of the public also views the Internet as a "source of worry" due to an array of concerns, ranging from on-line pornography and violence, to privacy violations, to unresponsive providers. One of the most frequently mentioned shortcomings of the Internet was the lack of a real person or place to go to when a user encounters problems. Opinions were divided over whether the Internet can be regulated and over the role of government, as well as whether legal rights will be protected online. 54 percent of the public believes it does not enjoy the same rights and protections online than it has in the offline world. 70 percent of the public advocate a strong role for nonprofit organizations in governing the Internet along with government and business; the study concluded that the public is seeking "a pluralistic model of Internet governance." The Markle Foundation works to realize the potential of emerging communications media and information technology to improve people's lives. In 1998, the Foundation committed $100 million (half of its endowment) over 3 to 5 years to Internet-related projects. To read
the entire report in PDF format: 17. GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE NET WORKSHOPIn this Web-based workshop, students will learn to effectively and efficiently use the Internet for genealogical research or to assist others in doing genealogical research. The focus is on the best Internet resources to use. The workshop involves individually paced work with the instructor and other students via e-mail and online meetings by appointment. Some basic genealogical research and Internet knowledge is assumed. Participants should know how to use Netscape or Internet Explorer 4.5 or higher. Register at any time to work at your own pace over the summer and/or fall of 2001. The workshop tuition is $100 US per person. The instructor is Diane K. Kovacs, author of the book Genealogical Research on the Internet, forthcoming from Neal-Schuman. For more
information or to register: 18. CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTSTelepower
2001: e-Vision Your Future This annual conference focuses on how information technology can be used by rural leaders for e- commerce, e-government, tele-medicine, workforce training, business recruitment, and education. This year's conference includes success stories of local communities who have secured high-speed broadband access at reasonable cost, of local businesses who have used IT to grow national customers, and of rural manufacturers who are using technology for supply chain management. For more
information or to register: FM 1 New
Definitions: Value, Community, Space The impact on society of the technologies of digitization has transcended the limits of any single discipline. It is universal and ubiquitous, affecting everything. But how does this digitization affect our basic concepts about society? This conference will bring together the world's leading thinkers and doers in various fields - from anthropology to law, economics to information technology - to ask: What, if anything, is new about the way we redefine our understanding of these concepts? The conference is jointly organized by First Monday, the peer reviewed journal of the Internet, and the International Institute of Infonomics. For more
information or to register: 19. USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCESLeonard
Frank Photography Collection New
Digital Divide Clearinghouse If
you have information you would like featured in the next issue of LibraryNet
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