Public Access to Technology

WebJunction Community Associate WebJunction is hiring immediately for a Community Associate, who will act as primary contact for all community-related content, programming, and interactive tools for WebJunction.org. The Community Associate will work directly with the WebJunction Community Manager to synchronize the community building goals of all WebJunction granted programs with those of the larger WebJunction community, and with WebJunction’s Community Partner Program. The major objective is to nurture and grow the WebJunction community and all related communities of interest.

Here are some news stories and analysis on Wireless Washtenaw, our guests for this week. For some ongoing industry coverage, see Muni Wireless, the portal for news and information about citywide wireless broadband projects around the world. Ann Arbor Business Review: Will Wireless Washtenaw Work?

From First Monday v11n9. CIC seminar participants should be prepared to discuss this on Friday. This article presents findings from the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet study and other research that demonstrate the impact of public Internet access in public libraries on the communities and individuals that the libraries serve.

For the September 15, 2006 class we will explore the rhetoric of the "Digital Divide" and efforts to provide access to technology for those who would not have access under private market provisioning. We will focus on public access eforts within the United States this week. Next week, we'll look internationally. Projects have attempted to provide access both to basic computing, and to communication networks.

The Association For Community Networking (AFCN) is an educational nonprofit corporation dedicated to fostering and supporting "Community Networking" -- community-based creation & provision of appropriate technology services of the highest quality with a broad range of uses. AFCN's mission is to improve the visibility, viability and vitality of Community Networking by assisting and connecting people and organizations, building public awareness, identifying best practices, encouraging research, influencing policy, and developing products & services.