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March 1999 LibraryNet Monthly GATES LIBRARY INITIATIVE DISTRIBUTES GRANT APPLICATIONSOn February 17, the Gates Library Initiative announced that Canadian grant application guidelines had been distributed to the provincial and territorial agencies working with public libraries across Canada. The deadline for the provincial and territorial library agencies to submit a proposal is April 12, 1999. The Gates Library Initiative will then work with the provinces and territories to develop an application and implementation schedule for individual libraries in Canada that are eligible to apply for a grant. Of the 3,300 libraries in Canada, it is expected that approximately half will be eligible for grants from the Gates Library Initiative. "Library directors across Canada are excited by the opportunity that the partnership with the Gates Library Initiative provides to ensure that all people, regardless of income, have access to the incredible knowledge found through access to computers and the Internet," said Harry T. Holman, Chair of the Provincial & Territorial Library Directors Council. The Gates Library Initiative launched their Canadian partnership in October of 1998, and since then has been working with Statistics Canada and the provinces and territories to compile data on Canadian library eligibility. Poverty is the determining factor in the Gates Library Initiative's grant making. A planning committee of Canadian library leaders determined that an individual library will be eligible to apply for a grant if the library building serves an area of greater than 17.6% poverty. This figure is based on the Poverty Profile 1996 report issued by the National Council of Welfare in spring 1998. In addition, libraries must also show technical readiness, commitment to sustainability over time, and commitment to establishing programs for reaching people who do not otherwise have access to computers and the Internet. Through its Canadian grant program, the Gates Library Initiative will provide grants to all eligible public library buildings serving low-income communities to purchase computer and networking equipment and to install telecommunications services for Internet access. Gates Library Initiative grants also provide training and technical support to provincial and territorial library staff in network administration, computer and Internet applications, and computer systems management. For more
information: MORE COMPUTERS IN CANADIAN HOUSEHOLDSA recent study found that 58 per cent of households have at least one personal computer, compared with 54 per cent in 1997. A. C. Nielsen Canada, a market research firm, released its fifth annual Home PC and Entertainment Study, based on a survey of about 7,000 households in Canada. Of those households, 57 per cent use their PC for Internet access, found to be the third most popular application behind word processing and playing games. Canada also rates at number five in the Computer Industry Almanac's listing of the top 15 countries in Internet usage. The survey suggests an overall online population of 147-million Internet users. The U.S.A. is number one with 76.5-million users, Japan has 9.75-million, the U.K. hosts 8.1-million, Germany has 7.14-million, and Canada numbers close to 6.5-million onliners. Canada is sixth on the almanac's list of top 15 countries in Internet usage by percentage of population, at 23 per cent. (Percentages were calculated using weekly Internet users.) Finland is first at 31.4 per cent, Norway is at 31.2 per cent, Sweden is at 29 per cent, the U.S.A. is at 28 per cent, and Australia ranks fifth at 24 per cent. The report goes on to predict that "There will be about 320-million Internet users worldwide at year-end 2000 and over 720-million users by year-end 2005." For the full
Computer Industry Almanac survey: THE FRANCOMMUNAUTÉS VIRTUELLES PROGRAMOn March 19, the Francommunautés virtuelles program was announced. This initiative is designed to increase Francophone mulitimedia application tools, services and French content on the Information Highway, connect more Francophone groups and promote Internet use among them. In 1998-99, as part of the program's pilot phase, contributions were made to 32 projects across Canada. These include an online directory of resources for Francophone women, a site that maps and profiles Francophone communities, an infomobile that promotes information technology skills in Francophone communities, educational sites on Francophone history in Canada, and an economic forum for Francophone business people. Associations, businesses and regional, provincial and national organizations are working in various partnerships to carry out these projects. No libraries applied for the program's 1998-99 pilot phase. The call for proposals for the second competition will be available by April. For more
information: FILTERING STILL AN ISSUEIt is clear that issues surrounding Internet access in libraries are not going to disappear any time soon. Last month, for example, the Toronto Sun charged that school children were routinely using the public access terminals in a Toronto Public Library branch to view pornography. In response to concerns expressed by some of its patrons, the Burlington Public library recently sought a legal opinion on the practice of filtering -- using software designed to block out Internet sites with objectionable content. (The Ontario Library Association contributed one-third of the costs, and copies of the opinion are available from OLA for $20 plus GST and shipping.) Ron Kanter, of the Toronto law firm Morris Rose Ledgett, based his opinion primarily on the Criminal Code and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, although whether public libraries are governed by the Charter has yet to be tested in court. Libraries should display "due diligence" (posted warnings, privacy screens, or filtered terminals) in order to avoid the possibility of a charge of distribution of obscene materials under the Criminal Code. On the other hand, the Charter provides for freedom of expression, so that Kanter feels libraries are obliged to provide some unfiltered Internet access. If only one public access terminal is available in a library, filtering it would, in Kanter's opinion, probably contravene the Charter. In the U.S., only 14% of public libraries with public Internet access use filters to block access to pornography, and 3% offer completely open access. The vast majority of American public libraries employ an acceptable use policy to govern Internet use. This stems partly from the Loudoun case, which held that the library in question violated the public's First Amendment rights by blocking access to certain Internet sites. For more
information: PUBLIC ACCESS "TOOLBOX" FOR LIBRARIESIn a timely move, the Ontario Library and Information Technology Association (OLITA) is planning to create a "toolbox" on their web site which will assist libraries in formulating their strategy for public Internet access. The toolbox will consist of resources in three areas: acceptable use policies; examples of how Ontario libraries currently handle the use of the Internet on public stations; and some electronic tools for providing Internet access (freely available software utilities for assisting in the management of Internet stations). If you have
any examples of, or pointers to, acceptable use policies from public,
college, or school libraries in Ontario, please send them to: For more
information: BC LIBRARIES BENEFIT FROM NTSEvery library in British Columbia recently received one free copy of Corel's WordPerfect Suite 7, thanks to Corel and SchoolNet's Network to Savings Program (NTS). The Nelson Municipal Library says: "We will use this gift to enhance our public word processor...By extending this program to us, you have expanded your reach to include that portion of the population who does not attend school and is still engaged in lifelong learning, as well as to those students who are engaged in home study." NTS is a program that brings together computer firms and producers of educational products and services to offer Canadian schools and libraries significant discounts on computer equipment, software and educational products and services. Some products and services on the Network are even available free. Corel, for example, is offering one complimentary copy of software to Canadian schools and libraries. Software products being offered include WordPerfect, CorelDRAW, and WebMaster Suite. For more
information: WOMEN'S HEALTH MATTERS NETWORK PROJECTThe Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) at the University of Toronto is partnering with Women's College Hospital, the Centre for Research in Women's Health, and Infinet Communications to develop the Women's Health Matters Network (WHMN). WHMN is a project to develop a web site focusing on women's health content from a Canadian perspective, designed according to research conducted at FIS on women's health information seeking behaviour. The WHMN site is scheduled to be launched in January 2000. For more
information: LEARNWARE AND PUBLIC ACCESS APPLICATIONS PROGRAMThe new SchoolNet Multimedia and Public Access Applications Program, announced March 25, 1999, is the latest component of the government's Connecting Canadians agenda. It will provide up to $20 million to match the contributions of partners who produce commercial on-line learnware and applications to improve public access to the Information Highway. One half of these funds will be directed to enhancing product development by small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). Product development by the Program is intended to provide Canadians with new avenues for learning accessible from their homes, libraries, schools and Community Access Program (CAP) centres. According to Andrew Bjerring, President and CEO of CANARIE Inc. (Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry, and Education), "This initiative will not only increase the production of Canadian on-line learnware, it will also improve access to the Internet for Canadians and extend the reach of value-added Canadian content and applications." Investment in joint funds by Industry Canada will be contingent upon the partners providing support to the Connecting Canadians agenda. This can be made through cash donations or cost reductions on equipment or services to improve Internet access for schools, libraries, communities and volunteer organizations up to March 31, 2001. For more
information: CONNECTING CANADIANS DAY IN GRANDE PRAIRIELibrarians staffing the Regional Library display at the Connecting Canadians Day event on March 19, 1999, in Grande Prairie, Alberta, were pleased to tell Industry Canada Minister John Manley about the challenges of connecting Alberta libraries to the Information Highway. They are currently participating in a province-wide partnership between the Alberta Library and Industry Canada that will result in all Alberta libraries being connected to the Internet. Geography and weather have been providing some interesting challenges for the teams who are working to complete the installation of computers and Internet connections in libraries across the province. Dedicated librarians even rented a 4 X 4 to get to Zama to complete the installation there. In his presentation at the conference Minister Manley reiterated the federal government's goal to make Canada "the most connected nation in the world by the year 2000". The city of Grande Prairie itself has several Internet success stories, including an online daily newspaper, the CyberCity initiative and a Canadian Tire store that uses information technology to train technicians through real-time interactive Internet broadcasts. For more
information: NOVA SCOTIA COMMUNITIES GET ONLINEOn February 25, 1999, John Manley, Minister of Industry, and Russell MacLellan, Premier of Nova Scotia, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement under the Community Access Program (CAP) that will help continue the process of connecting Nova Scotian communities, including neighbourhoods of Halifax, to the Information Highway by March 31, 2001. Under this federal-provincial agreement, the Government of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia will invest $4 million each over three years, for a total investment of $8 million. The signing of this Memorandum of Agreement will result in the addition of 130 new community access sites in Nova Scotia over the next two years, which will more than double the current number of sites in the province. For more
information: NOVA SCOTIA'S INTERNET HANDBOOK GETS EXPANDEDIn March 1998, the Nova Scotia Provincial Library developed the Internet Handbook. Broken into two corresponding modules, the Handbook provided training materials and resource materials that any librarian, or for that matter, patron, could use to help them become more familiar with the Internet. Because of its success, it was decided that the Handbook should be expanded to include databases accessible across Nova Scotia. The Provincial Library is now proud to announce the creation of a third module. Divided into two sections, the new module once again provides librarians with more information and assistance in area of computer technology. The first section contains information on how to use the new Web NcompasS provincial catalogue. The second section provides training and resource information on the InfoTrac Searchbank database, which is available from any public library access terminal in Nova Scotia. The module has now been distributed to 75 libraries across the province. Two trainers were also sent out across the province to provide support to just under one hundred staff and roughly 30 branch libraries. For more
information: RURAL RESOURCES PARTNERSHIP WITH HRDCThe Rural Resources Partnership (RRP) is a one year pilot program to enhance access to the pension and employment programs of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) in Oxford County, Ontario. Staff and high school co-op students provide information on HRDC programs and services in the 17 community branches of the Oxford County Library, using printed and Internet resources. Partners in the RRP are the Oxford County Library and Human Resources Development Canada, in cooperation with Thames Valley District School Board and the Southwest Centre for Community Programs Development Inc. In addition to increasing access to government services in rural areas, the program will build community capacity through local linkages and significantly enhance the employability of the co-op student participants. The Oxford County Library envisions its community branches becoming one-stop sources of information on services and programs for all levels of government. To that end, OCL and HRDC are marketing the Rural Resources Partnership concept to other governments and other federal government departments. For more
information: CAP WEB SITES ANALYZEDThe Information Highways Applications Branch of Industry Canada recently commissioned a report on Community Access Program web sites from C.J. Howse and Associates. The survey of a limited number of CAP-affiliated sites was undertaken to provide Industry Canada with a clearer sense of how to assist the web site building process across the country. The sites were reviewed for CAP information, other information (for example community, business, or tourist information), and information finding features. Libraries were identified as strong contributors to the wealth of useful community information available on two of the sites. The complete survey is now available on the LibraryNet website at: http://www.schoolnet.ca/e/about/web/ ONTARIO COMMUNITY NETWORKS CONFERENCEThe Using Broadband Community Networks in Ontario 1999 Conference will be held in Kitchener, Ontario April 29-30. The conference is being presented by the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Communitech Association and will highlight and promote Ontario's strengths in the development and implementation of networking technology. Session topics include electronic commerce, library applications, building partnerships among networks, distance education and new broadband network services and products. For more
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