![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/libbrarry.jpg\")
An extremely interesting
\n article in the New York Times examines the changing role of public libraries,
\n specifically their development into public Internet portals and access
\n points for digital information.<\/p>\n
\nFor the library, supplying patrons with
\n access to the Internet and the Web
\n has
\n become
\n central to its mission, an updating of its long tradition
\n of providing information free to the public.<\/p>\nThe transition has come quickly. In 1996, 28 percent of all libraries
\n had PC’s for public access to the Internet. Now, 95 percent of libraries
\n offer
\n Internet access. The Gates foundation accelerated the trend. There are
\n now more than 120,000 Internet-connected PC’s for public use in municipal
\n libraries nationwide. Since 1998, the foundation has installed or paid
\n for more than 47,000 PC’s. <\/p>\nAnd Internet-connected computers are clearly bringing more people into
\n libraries. A year after computers are put in libraries that do not have
\n them, visits rise 30 percent on the average and attendance typically
\n remains higher.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThis inarguably important sea change in the role of libraries has
\n both positive and negative ramifications. On the positive side, libraries
\n as portals to the digital world offer access and platforms to people
\n without computers or internet access in their homes – in some cases
\n to people who may not even have homes. They allow any member of our society the opportunity to participate in the digital revolution, to
\n communicate with family and friends wherever they may be, to make their
\n voices heard in online discussions and debates, to learn and teach
\n and share their knowledge and experiences, to access public services,
\n buy and sell, complain and comment. Computers in libraries can
\n open new worlds and ways of looking at them to people who would otherwise
\n not have that opportunity.<\/p>\nOn the negative side, this anonymous access can also be a powerful
\n tool for those who wish to disrupt or destroy the social fabric, from
\n pornographers to terrorists, flamers to rumor-mongers. They can be
\n used to perpetrate a gamut of cyber-crimes, identify theft, slander
\n and foment
\n hatred. Cases have come to light of public terminals being used
\n to hide Trojan horses and keystroke recorders, to capture personal
\n information and facilitate access to private and personal digital information,
\n to entice and ensnare innocents and children for nefarious ends.<\/p>\nIt seems to the Dowbrigade that the overriding question is how to
\n facilitate the former while protecting the legitimate interests of
\n society from the latter, while avoiding the evolution of a "big brother"
\n mentality on the part of the forces of public order. How this can be
\n done is one of the most important conundrums facing our emerging digital
\n society today.<\/p>\nfrom the New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An extremely interesting article in the New York Times examines the changing role of public libraries, specifically their development into public Internet portals and access points for digital information. For the library, supplying patrons with access to the Internet and … Continue reading