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June 2002 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS FOR SASKATCHEWAN LIBRARIESOn May 16, the federal government and the government of Saskatchewan announced that $4.4 million in funding from the Canada-Saskatchewan Infrastructure Program (CSIP) will go to install high speed Internet access to 162 public libraries across the province. Administered by the Saskatchewan Library Trustees Association (SLTA), the funding will complete phase two of Saskatchewan's CommunityNet initiative. "The Saskatchewan Library Trustees Association is delighted that the federal and provincial governments have supported our proposal to extend high speed Internet access to 162 public libraries in Saskatchewan. High speed access is essential to the effective delivery of library programs and services in the 21st century," said Isabelle Butters, President of SLTA. The province's $71 million CommunityNet initiative will extend high speed Internet to more than 1,500 educational institutions, health care facilities, government offices, and First Nations schools in 366 communities. The CSIP funds municipal infrastructure projects that enhance the quality of our environment, support long-term economic growth, and/or enhance community infrastructure. For more
information: 2. LIBRARYNET TOURISM REPORT NOW AVAILABLEBetween October 2001 and March 2002, the Windsor Public Library appointed a LibraryNet Tourism Research Team to conduct a groundbreaking, province-wide study of the relationship between tourism and the public libraries of Ontario. The report was intended to determine what public libraries are already doing to support tourists and the tourism industry, and to discover what else libraries could be doing to welcome tourists to and within Ontario. The most significant finding was that public libraries, through their programs, facilities, and services, are already actively supporting tourism in Ontario, and that libraries are seeing growth in this area. 62% of all responding libraries believed that tourist traffic had increased in the last two years. However, further investigation is needed to assess Ontario public library programs and services from the tourist perspective, to initiate and improve library programs and services in high demand by tourists (such as genealogical searches), and to develop a system for maintaining statistics and other information on tourism in the library environment. A separate section of the survey was dedicated to obtaining opinions and ideas about a proposed "Ontario Tourist Card," intended to be a tracking device for tourist traffic within the provincial libraries, and possibly connected with tourist attractions, events, or businesses. The tourist card would be distributed at border crossings and tourist centers, but not necessarily through libraries. The project was funded by Industry Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Recreation, and Culture. To read the
full text of the report: 3. CHANGES TO SCHOOL LIBRARIES NEEDEDThe recent Summit on School Libraries (May 2002) in Toronto underscored the fact that school libraries in Canada are in a state of crisis. There is a growing concern over the severe erosion of funding of school libraries in Canada. National Librarian, Roch Carrier stated that he "was flabbergasted by the miserable state of our school libraries". Two separate Canadian surveys have found that funding and professional staffing in school libraries are suffering from declines. As well, several American studies noted that as staffing time and the size of a collection are increased in school libraries, standardized test scores go up. In response to this crisis, the Canadian Coalition for School Libraries has called on provincial education ministers to assign a full-time teacher-librarian to each school, establish a minimum materials acquisition budget and conduct province-wide studies on the link between school library budgets and standardized student test scores. The Canadian Coalition for School Libraries, formed in March 2002, currently consists of representatives of the Canadian School Library Association, the Association of Canadian Publishers, People for Education, the Canadian Association of Children''s Librarians, as well as writers, academics and parents. Roch Carrier, National Librarian of Canada is the honorary chair. For more
information on the Canadian School Library Coalition: To read the
surveys: 4. A CARD FOR EVERY CHILD CAMPAIGN WRAPS UPThe Windsor Public Library (WPL) recently wrapped up its Card for Every Child Campaign. This program ensures that every child in a Windsor school has a library card. WPL ended their campaign with the announcement of winners of their city-wide school reading contest. Children, their families and staff from each school were asked to take part in the Card for Every Child Book Reading Contest as a part of the campaign. Windsor Public Library CEO, Steve Salmons stated that "the campaign and the reading contest have been a resounding success!". The WPL has seen an increase in circulation of Juvenile materials of forty to fifty percent overall. For more
information: 5. DOES OTTAWA NEED TO SPEED UP BROADBAND ACCESS?The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, a national technology trade association, is attacking the federal government's policy on broadband access. The federal government had proposed to ensure that broadband access was made available to all Canadian homes and businesses by 2004, but in the last budget those plans were scaled back considerably. Instead, the government has promised only to make broadband "widely available" by 2005. "Unfortunately, the federal government's commitment to this [broadband] goal appears to have faltered," Larry Boisvert, president and CEO of Telesat Canada, a CATA member, said at the Smart City Summit in Ottawa on April 23. According to CATA, 4700 of 6000 communities in Canada (22 per cent of the population) do not have high-speed Internet access available in their area. Mr. Boisvert said that includes "just about anywhere a half-hour drive from a major downtown. That's a lot of places and a lot of people." CATA member companies (such as Telesat, Alcatel, BCE, Cisco, and Ericsson) plan to lobby the government to help extend broadband to all Canadians. For the full
text of Mr. Boisvert's speech: For more
information: On the other hand, the April 29 edition of Ipsos-Reid's quarterly Canadian Interactive Reid report found that 48 percent of all online Canadian adults connecting from home now use digital subscriber line (DSL) services or cable modems. That means high-speed Internet access technologies in Canadian households have doubled since 2000. The report also notes that U.S. broadband access is pegged at just about 21 percent of all at-home users. "The acceptance of broadband in Canada and the U.S. couldn't be more different," said Chris Ferneyhough, vice-president of technology research at Ipsos-Reid. "The difference is due to a myriad of factors, including lower access prices in Canada, a less fragmented industry relative to the U.S.A., our regulatory framework, better and more reliable access, and extremely positive responses from consumers to marketing campaigns." Ipsos-Reid said 63 percent of Canadians have some form of Internet access at home, compared to 55 percent of Americans. 75 percent of all Canadian adults have Internet connections when sources such as workplaces and public-access services are included, compared to about 69 percent by the same measure in the U.S. For more
information: 6. AMERICAN TOWNS TIRED OF WAITING FOR BROADBANDSome American communities are taking broadband services into their own hands rather than waiting for commercial providers. An article in the New York Times on April 25 recounts the efforts of Cumberland, Maryland to keep pace with the Internet age. Businesses and residents in Cumberland's area of western Maryland are so scattered that upgrading the telephone system to offer high-speed DSL service is prohibitively expensive. Now, after years of waiting for the local phone company to offer high-speed Internet service, the local government intends to take on the job. The foundation is already in place. In 1996, the first links in Allconet were established, a wireless network that includes local libraries, schools, and nonprofit organizations such as the YMCA. Allconet currently serves more than 85 public buildings, and there are plans to extend it to serve homes and businesses. The article also recaps the legal battles over the city of Bristol, Virginia's attempts to provide its residents with wireless broadband service. When telecommunications companies protested, the Virginia legislature passed a law that effectively forbids municipalities to provide Internet services. Bristol sued the legislature and convinced a federal district court that it should be free to offer the services. However, the state of Virginia is appealing and the matter is still before the courts. For more
information about Allconet: For more
information on the legal issues: 7. HALIFAX LIBRARY WINS ALA AWARDThe Halifax Regional Library (HRL) has won an American Library Association Best of Show award for its e-branch promotional materials. ALA gives out its Best of Show Awards annually in recognition of the best pieces of public relations materials produced by libraries in the past year. Materials are judged on the quality of content (uniqueness of approach, audience appeal, and presentation of information in a clear, understandable and informative way) and by format (attractive appearance, appropriateness of design to the subject matter, and uniqueness of format). This year's competition received entries from 350 libraries across North America in twelve different categories. A HRL representative will accept the award at a ceremony to be held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 16, 2002. For more
information: 8. CANADA RANKED NUMBER ONE IN E-GOVERNMENT; UK LAGS IN IMPLEMENTATIONOn April 24, the Accenture report "e-Government Leadership: Realising the Vision" was released, placing Canada in first place among 23 countries for its leadership in e-government for the second year in a row. The report highlights a number of the government's most innovative online services, including e-filing of tax returns, online application for employment insurance, the consumer gateway, and the gateway for visitors from outside Canada. The third annual survey looked at online government offerings in 23 countries, ranking them according to how well citizens are able to access a wide variety of government services online. The full
report is available online in PDF format at: The UK's National Audit Office (NAO) published "Government on the Web II," a survey of progress in implementing e-government in the UK over the last two years, on April 25. The report stresses that for the most benefit from the resources employed, the government needs to move beyond simply promoting e-government towards an emphasis on the implementation of service delivery. The UK Online site represents progress towards a central government portal, but usage has been lower than expected. However, the site was redesigned in late January 2002. Important issues still to be addressed include developing a methodology for establishing the financial costs and benefits of online services, and collecting data on website usage in order to learn what works and doesn't work for citizens using online government services. The UK has set a target of 2005 for all government services to be available online. For the full
text of the report in PDF format: 9. NEW PUBLIC AND ACADEMIC LIBRARY PORTALS IN DEVELOPMENTThe Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) plans to build a Web-based, public access computing portal for public libraries with a three-year, US$9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The portal will be designed to serve the needs of public libraries in training staff and patrons, managing hardware and software, implementing advanced applications, and delivering digital library services. Through it, librarians will be able to share the resources and information necessary to provide ongoing public access computing. The portal will host a range of services and tools, such as online tutorials, training modules, web casting, message boards and expert assistance. Content will be concentrated in the areas of continuing education, technical support, purchasing, capacity building, and community building. Other partners in the project include the Colorado State Library and the Benton Foundation. For more
information: The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has also begun a new portal initiative. The goal of the Scholars Portal Project is to develop a tool which will enable a user to initiate a single search across a range of diverse and distributed websites, library catalogs, licensed electronic resources, public domain materials, and other resources. This suite of web-based services will connect the higher education community as directly as possible with high quality information resources. Initially, the portal will offer cross-domain searching of Internet content in a range of subject fields from multiple institutions, with aggregated and integrated search results. Other features are envisioned in later stages, such as integration of searching within local environments, links to digital reference services for immediate consultation with reference librarians, and transfer of orders to document delivery outlets. The University of Southern California, University of California-San Diego, Dartmouth College, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Iowa State University, and the University of Utah are partners in the initial release of the Scholars Portal. The number of participating libraries will be expanded over the course of the 3-year undertaking. For more
information: 10. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF PUBLIC LIBRARIESA detailed study of the economic impact of public libraries is available on the website of the Florida Division of Library and Information Services. "Economic benefits and impacts from public libraries in the state of Florida" was written by members of the Florida State University Information Use Management and Policy Institute, including Dr. Charles R. McClure. The study was intended to describe the economic impacts and benefits of Florida public libraries, as well as the return on investment (ROI) from public libraries. There was overwhelming agreement among patrons, librarians, and others that public libraries provide numerous economic benefits to the community. The most commonly cited economic benefits were: access to financial information; availability of computing technology, especially the Internet; job and career resources; business resources, particularly for small businesses; books and other formats available without cost; educational support on every level; children's programs and services; and enhancement of other public services (government and social programs). Participants also stated many times that the presence of a new library, or the redevelopment of an existing one, had a favourable impact on its immediate community. Data collection included a literature review, focus groups, a financial analysis of Florida public libraries, a statewide sample survey of public library patrons, a survey of library directors and branch managers, librarian service logs, and group interviews. The next step is a proposed study to measure the economic impacts of Florida public libraries in a quantitative manner. The full
text of the report is available in PDF format at: 11. SURVEY OF PUBLIC ACCESS INTERNET USERSThe Austin (Texas) Free-Net has published "Who Uses Community Technology Centers?", a survey of local public access computer users, on its website. While the survey sample was small and self-selected, the results may be of interest to Canadian public librarians. Unsurprisingly, the survey found that email continues to be one of the main draws for public computer users. When asked what they used the computers for, 68% of respondents mentioned email. Many of the users' comments mentioned keeping in touch with family and friends as one way computer use has affected their lives. The survey also asked users for basic demographic data, including age, gender, income, and race/nationality. The data was gathered from one-page surveys in English and Spanish, which were distributed to 21 libraries and 2 community sites throughout Austin in June 2001. 987 completed forms were returned to Austin Free-Net. For more
information or to read the survey results in PDF format: 12. TWO U.S. REPORTS ON CHILDREN AND THE INTERNET RELEASEDA new report from the U.S. National Research Council examines approaches to protecting children and teens from Internet pornography and other inappropriate online material. "Youth, Pornography, and the Internet" stresses the importance of educational approaches as "an essential element of protecting children from inappropriate material on the Internet - and one largely ignored in the present debate." The report states that "the most important step adults can take to help children steer clear of potentially harmful online content is to supervise and be involved in their use of the Internet." It also recommends that children should be educated in Internet safety much as they are taught about their physical safety. The committee added that further research on this issue would help to address it more effectively in the future, since the scientific basis for understanding the impact on children of viewing sexually explicit materials is sparse. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. The study was undertaken at the request of the U.S. Congress. The full
text of the report is available online at: The Free Expression Policy Project (FEPP) also recently released a report arguing that media literacy education is far preferable to ratings, filters, indecency laws, and other efforts to censor information available to the young. "Media Literacy: An Alternative To Censorship" is a detailed survey of media literacy education and its history in the U.S. and internationally. The report's public policy recommendations include federal guidelines for media literacy education, backed up with adequate teacher training and funding (which should not include contributions from for-profit media corporations), and the integration of media literacy education into all subject curricula. The FEPP was founded to stimulate debate among U.S. policymakers about the value of free expression and to provide useful resources and empirical research for anti-censorship advocacy. The full
text of the report is available online at: 13. CNIB LIBRARY LAUNCHES NEW WEB CATALOGUEThe CNIB Library for the Blind's collection of over 60,000 titles, as well as thousands more from other libraries around the world, is now accessible through a new web-based interface, VisuCAT by Web. Teachers, library for the blind staff members, and the blind or visually impaired can now easily search the CNIB Library's catalogue online for braille books, talking books, descriptive videos, electronic books and resources, and other alternate-format materials. CNIB Library clients may also use VisuCAT to place holds and renew items online. VisuCAT also allows users to search the collections of international libraries such as the National Library for the Blind in the United Kingdom, the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, and the National Library of Canada - either separately, or all at once. To search
VisuCAT: 14. NEW CANADIAN HERITAGE INFORMATION NETWORK WEBSITEOn May 1, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) launched its newly enriched and redesigned website. Now, access to CHIN's online resources is available without a user name and password, and the addition of a site-wide search engine makes it easier to find these resources. The new Creating and Managing Digital Content area includes information on digitization, website development, and planning and implementation. The Intellectual Property section discusses rights management, as well as licensing issues and guidelines. The Collections Management section provides software reviews and cataloguing procedures. CHIN, an agency within the Department of Canadian Heritage, has been helping Canadian museums utilize emerging information technologies since 1972. To view the
CHIN website: 15. GUIDE FOR CREATING A SMART COMMUNITY PUBLISHEDThe Smart Communities Program has just published its "Guide for Creating a Smart Community" online. The Guide sets out practical approaches to building a "smart community" in sequential steps, although users are encouraged to adapt the suggested approaches for the unique characteristics of each community. It includes sections on determining community and infrastructure needs, preparing a budget, finding funding, finalizing the business plan, community governance, and project management monitoring and evaluation. The Guide will be updated in the future to reflect accumulated experience and best practices. The Smart Communities Program is a three-year federal program created and administered by Industry Canada to help establish world-class "Smart Communities" across the country. For more
information or to read the full text of the Guide: 16. VIRTUAL MANAGEMENT FOR VIRTUAL REFERENCE SERVICES"Delivering Digital Reference" by Alice K. Kawakami appeared in the April 15, 2002 issue of Library Journal. The article is a brief overview of how to manage virtual reference, defined here as reference services delivered through real-time chat and/or collaborative browsing. Much of the current literature on virtual reference services concentrates solely on its technical aspects; this article, in contrast, discusses the details of how to manage it. Issues covered include staffing and training, time management, marketing the service, and getting feedback. To read the
full text of the article: 17. HOW AMERICANS SEEK HEALTH INFO ONLINEOn May 1, a new Harris Poll on the behaviour of Americans who use the Internet to research questions about health and medicine was released. 110 million adults (roughly 80% of connected Americans) search the web for health information at least sometimes, up from 97 million just a year ago. On average, they search for health information three times a month. Just over half of users prefer to use search engines when looking for health information. About one quarter go directly to a health information site, and 12% start at a general website (such as Yahoo) that includes a section on health issues. Adults who surf the Internet for health information tend to be younger, better educated and more affluent than adults in the general population, according to the survey. Harris Interactive also claims that data from their other surveys shows that users are increasingly turning to the websites of established academic, governmental, and medical or pharmaceutical organizations, rather than general e-health sites. The survey included 707 adults who were interviewed by telephone during March 2002. Begun in 1963, the Harris Poll is one of the longest running series of surveys measuring public opinion on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, health care, foreign affairs, and science and technology. For more
information: 18. ONLINE LIBRARY COURSES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSINThe Continuing Education department of the University of Wisconsin's School of Library and Information Studies is offering two online courses this summer. Decision-making
for Digitization Virtual Collection
Development For more
information or to register: 19. CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTSHigher Education
Digitisation Service Conference 2002: Developing the Digital Collection The HEDS Conference is for anyone interested in digitization or working on a digital library project. It addresses the main issues involved in developing digital content for collections, with the aim of imparting advice that will help projects be more productive and cost effective. Topics to be explored include: strategic planning and integration of digital collections; automated metadata and XML creation from printed materials; strategies and practical steps for building the Digital Library; and working in co-operation to develop content and services. For more
information or to register: European
Conference on Digital Libraries ECDL has become the major European forum on digital libraries and associated technical, practical, and social issues. The focus of ECDL 2002 is on underlying principles, methods, systems and tools to build and make available effective digital libraries to end users. Integration of methods, services, systems and interoperability across different data structures, metadata and components are key issues for the conference. For more
information or to register: Virtual Reference
Desk Conference 2002: "Charting the Course for Reference: Toward a Preferred
Future" The VRD Conference is a leading professional conference dedicated to the rapidly changing field of reference systems, standards and practice. The theme of this year's conference emphasizes planning and direction founded upon practical experience, research or trend analyses. Presenters and participants will examine issues, identify practices, and propose organizational and technological systems, standards, and practices that advance the state of reference librarianship in a digital environment. For more
information or to register: 20. USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCESOCLC
Institute Distance Learning Accessibility
Workshop LibraryHQ.com Searching
the Internet Effectively GCF
Global Learning TenLinks.com:
Ultimate Directories for Technology Professionals If
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