Given the IWB discussions of privacy and social media, the following article about Jennifer Stoddart’s concerns about Google Buzz may be of interest: Privacy czar takes on Google Buzz
Shelve library cuts: Antigonish
Antigonish is calling on more Nova Scotia communities to fight a possible funding cut to libraries and the potential loss of internet access.
New: follow SIM on Twitter!
IWB Conference tomorrow!
After much anticipation the IWB conference is almost here! The IWB committee has been working hard to make this year’s conference the best ever. Below is an abbreviated schedule; please refer to www.iwbconference.ca for more details.
Keynote Address: 21st Century Challenges for Memory Institutions
Dr. Daniel J. Caron, Librarian and Archivist of Canada
Panel Discussion: Privacy in the Digital Age
Student Poster Session
Parallel Session 1: Design Challenges For A New Halifax Central Library
Judith Hare, CEO, Halifax Public Library
Parallel Session 2: Reinventing the Research Library: Reorganizing for Cultural Change, Community Need, and Institutional Impact
Mike Ridley, CIO & University Librarian, University of Guelph
Keynote Address: Webs, Meshes, Forests and Trees: Toward A New Ecology Of Information
Nora Young, host of CBC Radio’s Spark
“Is Internet Access a Fundamental Human Right?”
On Sunday, January 24, 2010, I participated in a stimulating panel discussion on “From Digital Third World to Digital Citizenship: the state of the internet and how Canada measures up“. The panel was organized by Dan Robichaud from the Halifax Regional CAP Association and it was part of Podcamp Halifax 2010
. One of the main questions that we discussed was “Is Internet Access a Fundamental Human Right?”
There is really no debate that Internet access is an important part of modern life. We use the Internet to access government information, look for a job, learn, read news, write blogs, keep in touch with relatives, make purchases, and so on. But unfortunately, access to the Internet is not yet universal. Even in a country as developed as Canada, we are still debating on (1) how to connect as many people as possible to the Internet and (2) whether or not a government should guarantee a minimal Internet connection to its citizens. To address these issues, some European countries, such as Estonia, Finland and France have declared the Internet a human right. The question is should Canada follow these European countries and also legally declare that Internet access is a human right?
You can find my thoughts on this issue at http://anatoliygruzd.com/home/?p=87
~Anatoliy Gruzd