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May 1999 LibraryNet Monthly INTERNET MILESTONE : 50% OF CANADIANS CONNECTEDAn article in the May 1, 1999 Globe and Mail reported on a recent survey by International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd., a computer consulting company in Toronto. According to their recent survey, exactly 50 per cent of all Canadian households include at least one person with regular access to the Internet at home, work, school or another location, a large increase from another IDC survey conducted in January 1998, which found that 37 per cent of Canadian households had access. Michael O'Neil, general manager for IDC Canada, said that the United States is the only other country to have surpassed the 50% mark. The IDC survey also revealed that Canadian women are gaining fast in Internet use. They now comprise 45 per cent of all Internet users, up from less than 42 per cent a year ago. The survey was conducted during a two-week period in mid-April and was based on data collected through random telephone calls with 2,000 Canadian adults. For the complete
article, search for International Data Corp at: LIVE FROM ATLANTIC CANADAConnecting Canadians has just published "Live from Atlantic Canada... The Information Highway," a booklet of Community Access Program success stories from across Atlantic Canada which illustrate the power of the Internet. Here are some highlights from the experiences of the three libraries which are featured in the booklet. "During the first year of operation, we counted 550 different people using the sites," says Bertin Nadeau, director of the Bibliothèque Publique Mgr. Plourde - Mgr. Plourde Public Library in St. François, New Brunswick. (The population of Saint-François and surrounding areas is 1500.) The Centre's computers are now tied up 60 per cent of the time. "When we put on a course for seniors the first year, 15 people took it, and half of them went out and bought computers for their homes," Nadeau says. More than 250 people have taken courses at the centre to date. In Torbay, Newfoundland, there have been constant line-ups for Internet use since the opening of the CAP site in August 1997. "It was overwhelming," says Cathy Marsh, chairperson of the Torbay Local Library Board. "The town manager would arrive at 8:30 in the morning to open the town hall, and people would be there already, waiting to get into the library which doesn't open until 10:30." A spin-off for the library has been that while people are there with their children, waiting to use a computer, they browse through the books. Book withdrawals have more than doubled since the CAP site opened, and the provincial transportation department even had to install a crosswalk due to the increased traffic outside the library. Tracey Jones is manager of the Halifax North Memorial Public Library, in the north end of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where a CAP site with four Internet-connected computers is located. It averages a thousand bookings a month, and its clients are primarily low-income people, including a lot of kids who otherwise might not have a chance to "surf the Net." People see the program as a way to make technology accessible, in particular to inner-city kids. "Halifax schools are starting to get computers now," says Jones, "but the inner-city schools are still not up-to-scratch." For the full
stories, see: NEW LIBRARY PLANNING WEB SITE
The University
of British Columbia's School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
(SLAIS) is hosting a new web site of interest to architects, librarians,
and design consultants on the School's server. The site provides links to
web-based resources useful to anyone involved in planning or renovating
a library, including lists of suppliers for library automation systems,
case studies of lighting projects, descriptions of award-winning and famous
library buildings, recommendations for ensuring handicapped accessibility,
company web sites for various library security systems, standards and codes
for building and safety, and advice on enhancing the architect/librarian
working relationship. New resources will be added to the site on a regular
basis.
The web site
was developed by Linda Levar (MLIS 1999) with SLAIS professor Dr. Ann
Curry. The site was showcased at the April 1999 British Columbia Library
Association Annual Conference. Visit the
site at: Data from
the Household Internet Use Survey of October 1998, which surveyed 38,030
households in all 10 provinces, was recently released by Statistics Canada.
This is a follow-up to the same survey conducted in October 1997, which
was the first to collect detailed data on how Canadian households use
computer communications. Canadians'
use of the Internet as a means of communication has been steadily increasing,
whether at home or in the workplace, school or library. In 1998, 36% of
all households included at least one member using computer communications
from one location or another in a typical month, up from 29% the year
before. The increases were strongest in Alberta, where 45% of all households
used computers for communication in 1998, followed by British Columbia,
where the proportion was 42%. Quebec had the lowest proportion (26%) of
any province. However, this represented a significant increase from only
20% a year earlier. Communication
by computer still occurs primarily from the workplace, followed by homes
and schools. While use in libraries represents a small percentage of the
total, it is significantly higher than the average in provinces with high
rates of library connectivity and public access, such as Nova Scotia and
British Columbia. For more
information: Thanks to
funding from the Industry Canada Youth Employment Program, the British
Columbia Library Association's (BCLA) fund-raising venture, Biblio-tique,
is now being developed online. Customers can browse, view photographs
of items available for sale, and even place orders via the new Biblio-tique
web site. (Previously, Biblio-tique had a physical presence only when
it was set up for library conferences and other publishing and literacy
events.) BCLA believes
that the Biblio-tique web site will boost sales potential for their fundraising
activities by providing enhanced exposure for BCLA merchandise and giving
members a new place to shop. Visit Biblio-tique
in progress at: The CLA is
sponsoring workshops on e-commerce for Governments, Libraries, Archives,
and Museums (GLAMS) given by Lesley Ellen Harris, a copyright and new
media lawyer who specializes in legal and e-commerce issues in publishing,
computers and the Internet. Two have already been held, in Toronto and
Ottawa, and others across the country are planned. The half-day
workshops highlight numerous examples of what GLAMS are doing in e-commerce,
such as booking meeting rooms, selling stamps, paying utility bills online,
etc. They also include advice on how to assess and establish your organization's
digital goals, and develop an e-commerce and online strategy consistent
with offline organizational objectives. For more
information, or to register online: New Brunswickers
now have Internet access at all their public libraries, thanks to partnership
efforts by the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick. Twenty-eight
community Internet access sites in public libraries will be added to the
more than 180 sites already available throughout the province due to an
agreement between Industry Canada, Connect NB Branché and the provincial
department of Municipalities and Housing, under Industry Canada's Community
Access Program (CAP). The $151,272
investment in the initiative is shared equally by the federal and provincial
governments. Through Industry Canada, each of the public libraries will
receive funds for the purchase of computer hardware and software to make
the access possible. Municipal partners provide the required furniture
and cover the monthly telecommunications costs while the New Brunswick
Library Service (department of Municipalities and Housing) contributes
the technical support, training and administration. For more
information: The Thunder
Bay Public Library has dramatically expanded public access to the Internet
at all of its branches. Through a partnership with Human Resources Development
Canada (HRDC), existing public Internet access at two branches was increased,
and public access terminals were made available for the first time at
two other branches. Increased
Internet access means increased access to HRDC websites such as the Job
Bank, Electronic Labour Exchange, and the local HRDC home page, assisting
patrons with job search and employment information needs. For more
information: Alberta Library
Week (May 3-8) was marked by the announcement of a partnership between
Industry Canada's Community Access Program (CAP), Alberta Community Development,
and Western Economic Diversification to provide more Albertans with Internet
access at their public libraries through CAP. As well,
the Alberta Public Library Electronic Network (APLEN), a new initiative
electronically linking 243 public libraries in the province for the first
time, was celebrated at a cake-cutting ceremony in Edmonton on May 5.
Industry Canada, Western Economic Diversification, and Alberta Community
Development have teamed up to provide more than $10 million in funding
for the program. Private sector sponsors include Logicorp, Seanix, Lexmark,
Microsoft Canada and BCT.Telus. For more
information: A story in
the April 15, 1999, edition of Library Journal reported that the San Francisco
Public Library is being used by a group of homeless Internet users. One
homeless man called "Dingle" was quoted as estimating that 30%
of local library Internet users are homeless. A San Francisco
TV news report also profiled homeless persons' use of the Internet at
the library and found that many used it to access information about local
social services, read news, or store personal information by e-mailing
it to their own accounts. Although
exact statistics are not available, Barbara Clubb, Chief Librarian at
the Ottawa Public Library, believes that Canadian urban libraries are
experiencing similar levels of Internet usage by the homeless. The United
Kingdom's Electronic Library (UKEL) is now being developed by Project
EARL, a consortium of UK public libraries and associated organizations
. UKEL will act as a national gateway to the New Public Library, providing
electronic content and services relevant to the needs of public library
users. It will make innovative use of networking tools, and exploit and
widen access to the unique resources of public libraries. Phase one
(to last six months), a pilot project building on EARL's achievements
so far, will develop a focused, managed Internet resource guide, an electronic
enquiry service, and guides to resources in public libraries. EARL welcomes
input and feedback from all sectors of the library profession. For more
information: The U.S.
Commerce Department has decided to suspend a controversial fee attached
to the use of a new government information search site. The new search
engine had been created to allow users to search the almost four million
web pages run by the government and its agencies from a single interface.
When it was unveiled on May 17, the site drew quick criticism from both
lawmakers and public interest advocates, who said charging the public
a fee of US$30 a month or US$15 a day to find documents they paid to create
was inappropriate. Most of the documents are available for free on the
government web sites where they they reside. The service
will remain free until at least June 1 while the Commerce Department reviews
the policy issues at stake. For more
information: The Southern
Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is now offering its first library
course on the Internet. LIBR200, Introduction to Library Services, will
be available on the Web as of July 1, 1999. This course is the prerequisite
for all others in both the Library and Information Technology and Library
Operations Assistant programs. SAIT offers
a two-year program leading to a Diploma in Library and Information Technology.
Additional courses will be available online in the fall of 1999. For more
information: The Canadian
Online Product Awards for Best New Online Products for the Canadian consumer
and institutional markets were announced at the end of March. A panel
of 38 industry experts and users of online products evaluated 60 entries
to determine this year's winners. Best New
Consumer Online Products: Best New
Institutional Online Products: The awards
were sponsored by Information Highways Magazine, "Canada's Magazine
About Online Information," and complete details of the results appeared
in the April/May 1999 issue. For more
information: Netspeed
'99 Netspeed
is an annual library technology conference which provides an opportunity
to explore technology issues as the millennium approaches and to network
with colleagues from all types of libraries. This year's
keynote speaker will be Paul Hoffert, Director of the CulTech Collaborative
Research Centre at York University and author of The Bagel Effect, which
offers a new model for predicting future trends in the ways technology
will affect our world. For more
information or to register: If
you have information you would like featured in the next issue of LibraryNet
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