 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||
|
|  |
   
|
|||
|
October 1999 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
LACK OF FRENCH-LANGUAGE INTERNET CONTENT ADDRESSEDThe Commissioner of Official Languages recently released a special study entitled "The Government of Canada and French on the Internet", aimed at identifying areas in which the federal government should apply its efforts to improve French content and services on the Internet. The report highlights certain initiatives to stimulate the availability of content which are a step in the right direction. These include Industry Canada's Multimedia Fund, which supports the development, production and marketing of Canadian multimedia works in both official languages; the National Library of Canada's Access AMICUS service, which makes it possible to do research in both official languages in millions of bibliographical records; the Digital Collections Program; and the Francommunautés virtuelles program, designed to expand the range of content and services in French on the Internet. The report recommends that the government:
For the complete
text of the study: DISTINCTION '99 AWARDS RECOGNIZE LIBRARIESThe Government Technology Exhibition (GTEC) was held October 18 to 21 in Ottawa, Ontario. GTEC is an annual event for government personnel which spotlights technologies, techniques and new ideas at the forefront of public sector renewal. Distinction Awards were presented to innovative public service projects which successfully use information technology to improve the way government does business. The County of Oxford Integrated Network/Rural Resources Partnership won a Distinction Award for Investing Strategically in IM and IT under Category B, Building Partnerships and Alliances, for its broadband community network that connects over 50 sites. County of Oxford Integrated Network (COIN) enables delivery of quality government services to rural citizens and sustainability of rural communities and libraries through the Rural Resources Partnership (RRP). The Windsor Public Library won a Gold Medal in the "Innovative Service Delivery in the Municipalities" awards category for the Windsor Essex Regional Library network project that implemented a state-of-the-art library automation system shared by its partners, the City of Windsor, Greater Essex County District School Board and Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, and available over the Internet. "We're absolutely thrilled that this innovative project has been recognized at a national level by the leaders in the information industry" said Library Chief Executive Officer, Steve Salmons. Industry Canada was recognized in two categories. SchoolNet won gold in the Committee's Choice Category, and Campus Worklink won gold for Serving Canadians Better Through IM/IT Innovations, Category 1: Improving Service Delivery to Services and Businesses. For more
information: WEB AWARENESS LAUNCHThe official launch of the Web Awareness Ontario campaign was held at Nepean City Hall on October 18. Designed to help teachers, parents and librarians guide young people to be safe and savvy users of the Internet, the campaign was developed by the Media Awareness Network (MNet) in cooperation with the public library and education sector, including LibraryNet, the National Library of Canada, the Canadian Library Association, and the Ontario Library Association. Roch Carrier, newly-appointed National Librarian of Canada, hosted the event which featured a panel discussion about how young people use the Internet, and hands-on demonstrations of the interactive resource materials produced by MNet. As the electronic gateway to information for their communities, public libraries have a vested interest in Internet issues raised by the Web Awareness Ontario campaign. Every day librarians face the challenge of helping young clients distinguish what is reliable and trustworthy information from what is not as well as ensuring that their young clients' privacy and safety is protected. In conjunction with the Web Awareness campaign, MNet has developed an Internet site which provides parents, teachers and librarians with practical information and hands-on activities to help give kids the "cyber smarts" they need to make wise and safe online decisions. For more
information: SPEECH FROM THE THRONEIn the Speech from the Throne to open the Second Session of the Thirty-Sixth Parliament of Canada, the government announced its intentions to continue improving Canada's infrastructure for the new economy. It stated its commitment to make it easier for Canadians to finance lifelong learning and to provide them with a single window for Canada-wide information about labour markets, skills requirements and training opportunities. By 2004, the aim is to make Canada's government the most connected to its citizens. "It is essential to better connect Canadians to each other, to schools and libraries, to governments and to the marketplace - so they can build on each other's ideas and share information." The Government will bring Canadian culture into the digital age, linking 1,000 institutions across the country to form a virtual museum of Canada. It will put collections from the National Archives, National Library and other key institutions on-line. Other goals include making Canada a centre of excellence for electronic commerce, enhancing SchoolNet, and continuing efforts to put government and communities on-line. For the complete
text of the speech: U.S. GOVERNMENT TO FUND COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTERSOMB Watch, an American nonprofit research and advocacy group, has announced its support for U.S. President Clinton and Vice President Gore in their efforts to secure funding in support of Community Technology Centers (CTCs) to help close the digital divide. Congress is currently considering $65 million for the Community Technology Centers Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, for the fiscal year 2000. According to Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, research demonstrates that CTCs provide "great bang for the buck. They reach the hardest to serve, they provide job skills, and they lead to job requests." OMB Watch, is working with a coalition of national organizations, including the American Library Association and Libraries for the Future, to encourage Congress to provide increased federal support for CTCs. For more
information: NEW ONLINE JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR KNOWLEDGETechKnowLogia, International Journal of Technologies for the Advancement of Knowledge and Learning provides policy makers, strategists, practitioners, and technologists at the local, national, and global levels with a strategic forum to "explore the vital role of different information technologies (print, audio, visual, and digital) in the development of human and knowledge capital." Articles
in the first issue include: Subscriptions are free, but readers must register to gain access to articles. Readers will be notified by email when new issues are published. For more
information: NEW VISION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIESWhat if public libraries were run like Amazon.com? They would drop local catalogues and allow patrons to select anything from the 40 million items in OCLC's WorldCat. They would stock only the most commonly requested titles and rely on other libraries, wholesalers, and publishers to supply the rest. They would use the Internet, electronic delivery, and low-cost shipping to bring the library to their patrons rather than requiring patrons to come to them. Steve Coffman of the Los Angeles Public Library stirred up much discussion with his recent article, "Building Earth's Largest Library", which argued that public libraries should do just that in order to serve their patrons better. The Manitoba Library Consortium hosted a one-hour presentation and discussion of these issues with Steve Coffman in a teleconference on Thursday October 28, live from Indianapolis. Mr. Coffman was also a featured speaker at Netspeed '99 where he discussed the same issues. For more
information on the teleconference: For the full
text of Coffman's article: HIGH SPEED ACCESS FOR ONTARIO PUBLIC LIBRARIESOn October 15, Ontario Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation Helen Johns announced a $1-million grant aimed at improving Internet services in public libraries across Ontario. "Public libraries need high-speed Internet access to meet the needs of their community," said Johns. The Ministry will partner with the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) to administer the program. SOLS will determine individual library needs by surveying public libraries on their existing Internet connectivity contracts and costs, telecommunications carrier and community network membership. A steering committee made up of ministry, SOLS, Ontario Library Service - North, and public library representatives will oversee all aspects of this program. Ontario public libraries will be receiving the SOLS survey and more details on the program shortly. For further
information: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES ONLINELibraryNet
has gathered a selection of Canadian libraries' acceptable use policies
for public Internet access on our website at: ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA MOVES TO CYBERSPACEThe venerable Encyclopaedia Britannica is about to post the entire contents of its 32-volume set on the Internet for free. The 231-year-old company hopes to shift its business model from hard copy sales to an online advertising basis, capitalizing on its reputation for accuracy in an online environment with less-than-rigorous standards for information content. "We want to become the most trusted source of information, learning and knowledge in the online environment," says Jorge Cauz, senior VP for marketing. The company will continue to sell both print and CD-ROM versions, but expects that the primary purchasers will be public libraries and higher education institutions. For more
information: E-COMMERCE FOR CANADIAN BUSINESS"Beyond the Website: Putting E-Commerce to Work for Canadian Firms" is a new Industry Canada publication aimed at showing Canadian businesses how to harness the Internet's full potential. "In the 21st century, the Internet is going to be as important a business tool as the cash register and telephone have been during the 20th century. Find out how electronic commerce is reinventing how business is done." For the full
text: NEW OPL WEB SITEThe Ottawa Public Library recently launched a revamped Web site and new Web catalogue. With the new catalogue, users will find it easy to search the OPL's holdings, request items or check their accounts from home, office or their nearest branch. Visit the
redesigned site at: If
you have information you would like featured in the next issue of LibraryNet
Monthly,
|
|||||
|
||||||||
