Abstract
This paper discusses the role of the public library in ensuring access to the broadband communication that is so critical in today’s knowledge-based society. It examines the culture of information in 2010, and then asks what it means if individuals are online or not. The paper also explores current issues surrounding telecommunications and policy, and finally seeks to understand the role of the library in this highly technological, perpetually connected world.
Highlights
Recognition of this potential for intensifying digital divide is recognized in the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan (NBP) released in March 2010.18 The NBP states six national broadband goals, the third of which is “Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose.”[19]. Research conducted for the recommendations in the NBP was comprehensive in scope including voices from industry, public interest, academia, and municipal and state government
What will be the fallout from the library not being able to provide Internet services the patrons desire and require? Will there be a growing skills difference between people who adopt emerging technologies and incorporate them into their daily lives and those who maintain the technological status quo? What will the social impact be of remaining off line either completely or only marginally? Can the library be the bridge between those on the edge, those in the middle, and those at the end? With a strong and well articulated vision for the future, the library can be the link that provides the community with sustainable broadband
The recent national focus on universal broadband access has provided an opportunity to rectify a lapse in effective information policy
Summary
This paper discusses the role of the public library in ensuring access to the broadband communication that is so critical in today’s knowledge-based society. Individual and agency Internet access and adoption require investment beyond infrastructure; they depend on having both culturally relevant content and the information literacy skills necessary to benefit from it Though it may have taken an economic crisis to bring broadband discussions into the living room, the result is causing renewed interest in a long-standing issue. No As more and more resources critical to basic life tasks are accessible only online, those individuals that face challenges to going online will likely be socially and economically disadvantaged when compared to their online counterparts Recognition of this potential for intensifying digital divide is recognized in the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan (NBP) released in March 2010.18 The NBP states six national broadband goals, the third of which is “Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose.”[19] Research conducted for the recommendations in the NBP was comprehensive in scope including voices from industry, public interest, academia, and municipal and state government. What is important is that an individual can go online via a robust, high-speed connection that meets that individual’s needs at that moment
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