[Libs-Or] ALA submits comments to FCC on national broadband plan, barriers to adoption

[Diedre Conkling]

ALA submits comments to FCC on national broadband plan, barriers to
adoption<http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4077>
December 02, 2009 ( 2
Comments<http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&view=js&name=js&ver=ZZ4KpTfy1bY.en.&am=!Iec9iPCj39i5BXHC0fouchWZ4j6Ac6ALRGPWMyUetjzrDA#comments>)

Contact: Jenni Terry <jterry at alawash.org>
Press Officer
ALA Washington Office

<jterry at alawash.org>

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) today submitted
comments<http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ALA-NBP-Public-Notice-16-12_2_09.pdf>to
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding broadband adoption
as
part of the National Broadband Plan (NBP).

As the FCC develops the NBP, the Commission is looking at societal cost of
having a large group of people who do not use the Internet as well as the
barriers that prevent people from using it.

The ALA’s comments highlight the unique position of the public library as an
institution whose mission is to serve the information needs of the
community. The implicit goal of the NBP is not to have the infrastructure in
place to provide access to the Internet, but rather to ensure that every
individual can benefit from the resources made available by that
infrastructure.

The ALA asserts that access to broadband alone does not constitute adoption.
The association comments state that three factors must be present to ensure
adoption: ease of use, individual comfort with technology, and an ability to
find, utilize, and, increasingly, create relevant content.

“Public libraries offer formal, no-fee technology training and point-of-need
assistance to anyone who comes into the library,” said Marijke Visser,
information technology policy analyst for ALA’s Office for Technology Policy
(OITP).
“As more critical resources, such as job applications and government
services, are available primarily online, the societal cost of not being
able to access these resources increases dramatically. We encourage the FCC
to consider the support and teaching libraries provide. It is critical that
the FCC includes libraries in the National Broadband Plan in order to ensure
that libraries have high-capacity broadband necessary to provide these
services.”

http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4077


-- 
Diedre Conkling
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR  97365
Work phone & fax:  541-265-3066
Work email:  diedre at beachbooks.org
Home email:  diedre08 at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/libs-or/attachments/20091202/eff57d17/attachment.html>