"I am the Executive Director of the Ramapo Catskill Library System a cooperative system that provides services to 47 independent member public libraries in New York State.

Public libraries are dedicated to protecting intellectual freedom and providing access to all to the record of human creation. Our democracy is founded on the principle of "Government by the people, for the people . . ." which requires an educated electorate. All people must have open and unfettered access to information. We are fortunate in this nation to have this right protected in the Constitution - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Net Neutrality is the First Amendment of the digital realm. Any action that would abridge digital access would disenfranchise the people of the United States. I do not want ISPs to have the power to block websites, slow them down, give some sites an advantage over others, or split the Internet into "fast lanes" for those who can afford to pay and "slow lanes" for those who unable to pay. Public Libraries, schools and not-for-profits depend on open and equitable access to the Internet.

Imagine a world where you pick up the telephone to make a call and get a recording stating "based on your account type your call is the 17th call in line to be connected." Eliminating Net Neutrality or if you prefer "packet equality" would setup just such a system for digital content access.

The Internet is a telecommunication system no different than the telephone system in place today; as such it should be regulated in the same way.

Help us protect innovation and our democratic way of life protect Net Neutrality!"

AND ...For those of you following along, you can go to GOFCCYOURSELF.COM it TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO THE ECFS Proceedings Results Page  - hover over and click on 17-108 - for the comments on the Bill cynically titled as follows-

See 6,831,286 comments in ECFS Proceedings Results

ALSO: Here are some numbers for you:

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554

• Phone: 1-888-225-5322
• TTY: 1-888-835-5322
• Videophone: 1-844-432-2275
• Fax: 1-866-418-0232

Cred: Change.org, battleforthenet.com,fightforthefuture.org, Thank you John Oliver

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Great news for the citizens of Boston. 

Major funding for BPLibrary infrastructure supports the community well through the 21st Century. Boston Librarians
know about the role the Library Commons plays to foster strong community ties in an increasingly polarized America and their user numbers are proof.

“Users are really embracing (library) spaces that have a higher focus on gathering space,” (BPLF Pres.)
Leonard said. “We know many of our branches are the thriving civic heart of the community.

Many of the changes are geared at turning the libraries into community hubs offering programming such as yoga, workshops
and book clubs."

"(Boston) Mayor Martin J. Walsh pointed out the upgrades come as more people than ever are visiting local libraries,
saying: “We’ve seen the number of library users increase both in the district branches and in the main library over the last couple of years. There is a resurgence of people using our local libraries again.”

Here's the link to the full story:

http://bit.ly/2u0DE83

http://bit.ly/2u0ycCl

This has just got to be the coolest piece of art this year and timely - as we enter a perilous time when democratic freedoms are under outright
attack.

"Argentinian conceptual artist Marta
Minujín has just installed The Parthenon of Books in Kassel, Germany as part of
the Documenta 14 art festival. Created from 100,000 banned books, this architectural
replica of the Parthenon in Athens is a work in progress, with the public being asked to continue bringing volumes with them when visiting the exhibition."

"The Parthenon of Books sits on a space where 2,000 books were burned by the Nazis
as part of the so-called Action against the Un-German Spirit. It's a stark reminder that the written word has consistently been used in actions of censorship throughout history."

Article:

http://mymodernmet.com/marta-minujin-parthenon-books-documenta/

http://u-in-u.com/en/documenta/2017/

News from Ontario, Canada: WE SUPPORT PUBLIC LIBRARIES  The people of Canada's most heavily populated province are living up to these words, "Investing in Ontario's public libraries is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives."

"Ontario is investing $3 million through the Improving Library Digital Services fund and will support up to 307 libraries and library organizations across the province. This includes $1 million for rural, remote and First Nation public libraries through Budget Talks."

This is the press release from the office of the Hon. Eleanor McMahon Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport , MPP (Member of the Provincial Parliament) for Burlington (Ontario):  http://bit.ly/2tTA1Of

BurlingtonPL

The initiative will support funding for "access to technology, digital services and training opportunities at public libraries in towns, cities and Indigenous communities across the province."

FrstNtnsPLWeek2017

Ontario is the most populated province in Canada with 38.3% of the country's people mainly gathered along the border with the United States. Canada has only 11.2% of the population of the United States of America but it is clear that Canadians' 'Community Intelligence Factor' is more in tune with their citizen's needs.

Living south of the 49th, we have this year witnessed the erosion of trust in the Media; shortsighted slashes to funding for libraries at the Federal level (see this article in ALA News,23May'17); imprudent stagnation of funding to libraries at State levels and ignorance of the essential role of Information Literacy. We are proud that the people in Ontario gave voice to their needs so that they can take their place as leaders in our world economy and participate in global stewardship.

 The Ministry site also provides a complete list, with live links, to all the libraries in Ontario, check them out there are some fantastic things going on in Ontario and Canada-wide in Your Library.

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