from @ALALibrary tweet

Information about issues we will be advocating for are available in two briefing documents - Appropriation Brief and the Broadband Brief.

Advocacy really DOES makes a difference! Here's the link to the ALA Page.

from @ACLU

This excerpt is from a draft document - Net Neutrality - An Intellectual Freedom Issue being developed by the Net Neutrality Working Group under the auspices of the American Library Association (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC). I am honored to be a member of this Working Group. I will keep tracking this issue and let you know when and how best to help us protect net neutrality.

"Net neutrality is the First Amendment of the digital realm. It guarantees the right to distribute and receive ideas without limitations via the Internet. It ensures that Internet providers make their services available to the public without discrimination. Without the protection of net neutrality, tiered access limits diversity, blocks ideas and opinions. Additionally, it creates an internet in which only the companies who can afford to pay more for prioritized access can get their content through to consumers.

A democracy requires an informed citizenry with access to information from many points of view and the opportunity exchange ideas with others through civic engagement. Publicly supported institutions such as libraries, universities, and K-12 schools provide equal access to the members of their communities. If a portion of library users have limited or lesser access, their rights to participate in democracy are diminished; and the foundation of the nation’s democracy is undermined."

Yesterday, 21 November 2017, the American Library Association (ALA) released a statement about the FCC proposed order to end net neutrality:

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/11/ala-strenuously-opposes-fcc-proposed-order-net-neutrality

Here is a link to an article from the November 21st Guardian - America is about to kill the open internet - and towns like this will pay the price

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/21/republicans-are-about-to-kill-the-open-internet-net-neutrality-winlock-washington?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=253487&subid=24880355&CMP=GT_US_collection

and another link to the November 21 New York Times - F.C.C. Plans Net Neutrality Repeal in a Victory for Telecoms

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/technology/fcc-net-neutrality.html?emc=edit_th_20171122&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=4754748

This is an interesting article from the November 21 Washington Examiner - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange warns Trump that full net neutrality repeal could inhibit tweets

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-warns-trump-that-full-net-neutrality-repeal-could-inhibit-tweets/article/2641445

and finally this insightful link to a November 21 ABC News article - FCC looks to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fcc-repeal-obama-era-net-neutrality-rules/story?id=51309157

We urge you to inform yourself as much as you can about all the factors in this issue. Our future as a vibrant, open democracy with unfettered access to information is at stake.

battleforthenet.com

from: @demandprogress

WAKE UP.

from: Battle for the Net

Join the movement to STOP FCC enabling the destruction of net neutrality by giving big cable companies control over what we see and do online. This proposed legislation will reverse hard-won and current provisions and allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees.

On July 12th, the Internet will come together to stop the 'FCC Net Neutrality Reversers'.

The Ramapo Catskill Library System, just north of New York City @goRCLS has registered - you can add your voices at this link: CLICK HERE TO SAVE NET NEUTRALITY.   RCLS has informed Fight for the Future and Battle for the Net about the extent of RCLS Library System fiber optics linked network and its connection to the statewide library organization, the services it provides over the net and the interdependence of the libraries and their users.

The American Library Association (ALA) condemns in the strongest possible language the FCC vote to undermine net neutrality protections and vows to defend open internet. READ THE ALA Press Release HERE.

The repercussions of this proposed REVERSAL of the original concept of an OPEN internet will be seen by future generations as the day we lost ' our internet'. Don't let this happen.

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FCC Net Neutrality Live Stream: Watch Commission Vote Net Neutrality Repeal

On May 18, 2017 the FCC voted 2 to 1 to start the process of eliminating net neutrality rules and the classification of home and mobile Internet service providers (ISPs) as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.

Net neutrality is the equivalent of the First Amendment for the Internet.

Net neutrality is a phrase that is often misunderstood and elicits widely divergent reactions. Without net neutrality ISPs could establish a system of paid prioritization for the processing of data conveyed via the Internet. This approach would discriminate against libraries, schools, not for profits, and small and medium sized businesses which are unable to pay for "priority access." It would also hurt individuals who would be unable to pay the premium for this enhanced access.

Net neutrality is NOT another term for bandwidth. Bandwidth refers to the "volume of information per unit of time that a transmission medium (like an Internet connection) can handle. An Internet connection with a larger bandwidth can move a set amount of data (say, a video file) much faster than an Internet connection with a lower bandwidth." Bandwidth can be compared to plumbing, just as the size of a pipe determines the volume of water that can flow through it in a given time; the greater the bandwidth the more data can be processed. Maintaining net neutrality does not affect an ISPs ability to charge different rates for increased bandwidth. If you have a 75mbps account you will and currently do pay more than someone who has 25mbps account. Bandwidth refers to the "rate of data transfer," while net neutrality refers to the equality of all data transferred, that is, data is processed in the order it is sent.

Everything you do on the Internet involves packets. For example, every Web page that you receive comes as a series of packets, and every e-mail you send leaves as a series of packets. Net neutrality ensures packet equality, that is, all packets are treated equally and transmitted in the order that they were sent. Eliminating net neutrality will create an environment where the packets generated by companies or individuals who pay more will receive preferential transmission.

Imagine if you picked up the telephone to make a call and after dialing the number you heard the following message, "Your call is being processed and based on your account type it is estimated that your call is the 23rd call in line to be connected." This is what it would be like if net neutrality was eliminated.

The Chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai, served as Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc., between February 2001 and April 2003. Verizon is one of the telecoms that have lobbied for the elimination of net neutrality. Mr. Pai has made many statements recently that net neutrality under the Title II order has diminished broadband investment and stifled innovation. However, the Internet Association (IA) recently released a document titled Preliminary Net Neutrality Investment Findings, which challenges Mr. Pai’s claims. The IA is "the only trade association that exclusively represents leading global internet companies on matters of public policy. The association’s mission is to foster innovation, promote economic growth, and empower people through the free and open internet."

You can read the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - WC Docket No. 17-108 by downloading a PDF copy.

You can comment on the Proposed Rulemaking by using the Standard Filing Form, which allows you to upload a file with your comments, or you can use the Express Comment Form, which allows you leave a brief comment. In either case you must insert the correct Docket number 17-108 in the first field - Proceeding(s).

As of Sunday, May 21 there were over 1.6 million comments.

Please take the time to let the FCC know that net neutrality is essential for open access to the Internet. Net neutrality is the equivalent of the First Amendment for the Internet.

Here are some additional articles about the importance of net neutrality:

A May 18th article from Ars Technica, a publication founded in 1998 devoted to technology that caters to “alpha geeks” technologists and IT professionals.

The May 17th posting District Dispatch from the ALA Washington Office.
A March 29th posting to District Dispatch.

If you prefer to have your information delivered with a bit of satire here are three links to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:

1. his original net neutrality segment from June 1, 2014
2. his follow-up piece in response to the recent Proposed Rulemaking from May 7, 1017
3. his web only segment from May 14, 2017

Related articles

Cable companies have a friendly FCC Chairman and consumers should be worried

The American Federal Government funding of libraries is 0.00006 % of the total Federal Budget.

Libraries are the bearers of, the repositories for, the collective knowledge of a culture.

Libraries are at the core of a healthy democracy.

This WH will eliminate federal funding for libraries.

Connect the dots.

Margaret H. Willison's article (@MrsFridayNext), What Donald Trump Doesn't Understand About Libraries - His proposed budget would eliminate all federal funding for the Institute of Museums and Library Services, in cosmopolitan.com/politics ends with this:

"I wish I could say that Trump is attacking libraries because he knows that the information literacy we exist to create is exactly the skill our electorate needs to shut down his lying, cheating, hate-mongering administration. I wish I had confidence that he thought that hard, or strategically, about any of the terrible policies he’s spent the first 50 days of his presidency advancing. But I don’t."

"Take a look at this map — built by a librarian, naturally — and you will see how the Institute of Museums and Library Services’ grants have benefited communities all over the country, red state and blue alike." (map credit: Anna E. Kijas,@anna_kijas)

The percentage of federal funding for libraries is so infinitesimal within the total federal budget, it doesn't show up on a pie chart.

What is going on in the minds of men who take these actions? I refer you to the beginning of this post. Draw your own conclusions.

 (Bar Chart maker Source: here)

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Library Advocates head for Washington DC tomorrow #NLLD

Librarians, parents and teachers, "Get the latest teaching activities (for Web Literacy), tips, and news in your inbox every month. Sign up for the Mozilla Learning Newsletter"...here: https://mzl.la/2mXAhew

Mozilla devotes a great proportion of it's collective intelligence to keeping the Web open, secure and true to its original intent. Its position outlined in 'Web Literacy 2.0' is worth a read: http://bit.ly/29zXspt "This paper captures the evolution of the Mozilla Web Literacy Map to reach and meet the growing number of diverse audiences using the web. The paper represents the thinking, research findings, and next iteration of the Web Literacy Map that embraces 21st Century Skills (21C Skills) as key to leadership development."

In a press release sent out yesterday the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) announced a resolution adopted on January 24th by the American Library Association (ALA) Council. The resolution prepared by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) - Resolution on Access to Accurate Information - addresses the "problems of fake news, personalized news-feeds, web search algorithms and the delay of Freedom of Information Act requests." 

The Resolution outlines the role of librarians and library workers in helping to raise awareness of these issues and "supports the critical role of librarians and library works in all types of libraries in teaching information literacy skills that enable users to locate information and evaluate its accuracy."

No words can politely express how we feel about this story.

Perhaps the lawyers for Michigan's Gov. Rick Snyder and Gov. Snyder himself really are hoping that there will be no one who is even able to read this article:

http://bit.ly/2fG2nHd

ScrnDrbCred: fox2detroit
 

In a Giant Step forward for all Men and Women this #WomensEqualityDay, @NASA has announced that “(they) are celebrating this opportunity to extend access to our extensive portfolio of scientific and technical publications,” NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman says in a press release. “Through open access and innovation we invite the global community to join us in exploring Earth, air, and space.”

Research funded by NASA from 2016 onward will be available on line to the public through PubMed Central at PubSpace NASA. The only exclusions will be for "patents, publications that contain material governed by personal privacy, export control, proprietary restrictions, or national security law or regulations."

May the #STEM support prosper!

ScreenGrabCred: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc

Save

American Libraries Mag

Turns out that librarians and libraries are doing a great job at keeping up with competition from both obvious - box store book stores - and obscure sources - multi national uber-corporations.

In this book review in @amlibraries American Libraries Magazine: "The Purpose-Based Library Finding your path to survival, success, and growth" by John J. Huber and Steven V. Potter, you will read...

"Bill Gates’s quote should have you, as a member of the library profession, doing backflips. Librarians are specifically trained to gather, manage, and use information. If we take Gates’s words at face value, libraries should be the most competitive organizations on the planet."

Turns out that libraries are doing a great job in this regard.

...and that, my library friends and colleagues, should make you all feel very good about your work today!

Here's a sample of the ideas celebrated by Huber and Potter:

"To successfully compete, libraries must embrace the words of Bill Gates. 'Libraries must gather, use, and manage information in a way that large for-profit companies cannot.' So the question is: What competitive advantages do libraries have that these organizations do not? Let us count the ways:

• Libraries have more locations across the country than any other organization.
• Libraries have a personal presence in every community in the country.
• Library staff interact with their customers face-to-face.
• Library staff are trained and skilled to gather, archive, and manage information.
• Library staff are well educated and motivated to make a difference.
• And most important, libraries and their staff have a powerful, game-changing common purpose.

To go beyond survival, to succeed and grow, libraries must embrace and leverage these competitive advantages."

from: ALA Store

You may purchase the book at this link.

‎Learn more about the issues involving challenges to collections for your library users in the GLBT community and how to safeguard your GLBT materials during ALA's GLBT Book Month this June.

All info and details about speakers, outcomes and details for payment in this article.‎

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/webinar-intellectual-freedom-for-all

Register by 11:59am, 14 June. 

ScrnGrbCreds: ala.com

The Ottawa Public Library in partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) make a documentary: The Human Library.
Video in this link.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/human-library-stories-trailer-1.3166914

All your (electronically) recorded information is up for grabs, making you (and your information) accessible to organizations you’ve never even heard of (and never will!).

Companies and governments realise that your electronic devices - mobile devices, lap tops, home appliances with links to the internet and even implanted biometric devices are "powerful data collection tools." 

Are you a victim or a willing participant in sharing of information about your life?

Have a look at this short, clearly written article to learn more about things you probably don't want to know about but must ...3 Ways Technology Can Be Used To Limit Your Privacy & Freedoms, By Rick Delgado on 5^th March, 2015 - on the makeuseof site

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79% of consumers are concerned

about the idea of their personal data

being collected through smart devices

Here are some detailed findings from 2015 U.S. Internet of Things Privacy Index:

“…research found that 79% of consumers are concerned about the idea of their personal data being collected through smart devices, while 69% believed they should own any such data being collected.

More than 1 in 4 (27%) mentioned concerns about the security or privacy of the data collected as a reason why they did not currently own a smart device.

When asked how concerned they were about specific privacy and security issues that smart devices connected to the internet can lead to, consumers showed strong concerns over the use and control of their personal data

• with the highest concern being personal information collected and used in ways they were unaware (87%)
• followed by identity theft (86%),
• the concern that their device would be infected by malware (86%) and
• concern that their location might be revealed without their knowledge (78%).

To address the privacy concerns of the IoT era, TRUSTe held the first Internet of Things Privacy Summit in Silicon Valley last July, which provided a forum for privacy experts, policy makers and innovators around the world to come together and define the privacy needs of the increasingly connected world. In response to the success of the event, TRUSTe will host the 2^nd annual IoT Privacy Summit on June 18, 2015 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

IoT industry experts and privacy leaders who are interested in speaking at or sponsoring the summit should go to http://www.truste.com/events/iot/2015-speaking-submissions/ for further details.”

for more:Press

Libraries are relevant

screen shot:Ferguson Municipal Public Library

and important

and safe.

Libraries are where we go

for information

and hope.

This is what happened in Ferguson at the Municipal Library on August 20 2014:

The Ferguson Library has been an oasis of calm since the town's residents erupted in anger at the police after a Ferguson cop shot and killed an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, on Aug. 9.

It has used Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to offer residents a place of respite for them to get bottled water, check their emails, and avoid the unrest developing on Ferguson's streets.

We are here for all of our residents. If you want to come, get water, read, check email, we are here… http://t.co/56qhtfFoOz

As the Ferguson-Florissant School District postponed the start of the school year for more than a week, teachers set up shop at the Ferguson library, providing activities and instruction for children awaiting the start of class.

Today, about 120 children showed up to the library for lessons and activities, though staff only expected about 60. Teachers also began hosting classes in the nearby First Baptist Church."

source: ABC News Online, FERGUSON, Missouri, Aug 20, 2014, 3:17 PM ET, Colleen Curry and Micha Grimes

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We aren't pleased that our warnings to our colleagues, friends and family are proving accurate.

The truth about 'free apps' for your Smart Phone has hit mainstream media and the news isn't pretty.

Information is being harvested from mobile phones... information and money, out of bank accounts, all approved automatically because users are giving permission to access bank accounts and credit cards. We'd like to say that these people are victims and unsuspecting but more accurately one would have to say that they are willingly ignorant of warnings that have been common knowledge in a large chunk of web-time.

This willingness to guard our private information on our home computers whilst completely pretending that security isn't an issue on our mobile phones is inexplicable and perhaps lays somewhere in the area of cognitive dissidence.

Whatever the reasons, we have to sit up and take note. Our information is being mixed up with that of our places of business, compromising our and our employers' privacy, this information is a commodity. It is used legally (because we give them permission) by the app developers and of course, illegally by those people who will always be with us, stealing whatever and whenever, to make money at all costs.

This article - "As Facebook changes Messenger, 'risky' app behavior on the rise. A new report out says that the risks associated with mobile apps is continuing to rise, particularly for free apps on the iOS and Android platforms." by Jacob Axelrod, Staff Writer, The Christian Science Monitor, August 11, 2014, succinctly describes further the ways people are finally waking up to this theft of and permission to use, our private data.

We are particularly interested in the reports that parents are finally paying attention to privacy now that charges are arriving on their credit card bills from 'purchases' made by their children when they downloaded apps. If only we could understand more about about privacy because it IS an issue and not just because it hits us in the bank account.

Here's one of the links in the CSM article that is worth a look if you haven't the time to read the whole article now.

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Good news America - there is sanity in the North.

Internet providers in Canada can't provide customer names and addresses to police without a warrant.

The Canadian Conservative Government must rewrite it's proposed bill to limit our right to privacy on the net.

Link to the following excerpt: article here.

"Canadians have the right to be anonymous on the internet, and police must obtain a warrant to uncover their identities, Canada's top court has ruled.

The landmark decision from the Supreme Court Friday bars internet service providers from disclosing the names, addresses and phone numbers of their customers to law enforcement officials voluntarily in response to a simple request — something ISPs have been doing hundreds of thousands of times a year."

The decision has law enforcement people scrambling to ensure that there are lawful ways to track those who prey on victims of internet crime.

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Check out this article at fastcolabs.com by John Paul Titlow, the Associate Editor for Fast Company's FastCoLabs

I've lifted some points out of the article to pique your interest...

Like any company with a mostly remote team, DuckDuckGo experiments with all the latest online collaboration tools.

Skype. Yammer. HipChat. Asana. "We've tried everything that we know of," says Pappis.

Lately, they've been toying with Sqwiggle, an online collaboration tool that uses persistent video and periodic screenshots to let coworkers see each other--or know who's away from their desk."

We are early users of The Duck, won't leave home without it. Give it a try, you'll be pleased (and secure) that you did.

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Report from PCmag.com today by Chloe Albenesius

(photo - PCmag)

A coalition of top Internet firms - from Google and Amazon to Facebook and Twitter - penned a letter to the FCC this week to express concern with the commission's proposed net neutrality rules.

See the entire article here. It's not too late...yet. Make your voices heard.

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Who controls the on/off switch?

Is it possible all of our digitized information could all go away? ...or just some of it?

These are questions that immediately came to mind when we were listening all day to the Webcast from NYC of the Institute of Museum and Library Services - Strategic Priorities 2014.

Being that the scope of the conversation was Digitizing All the Information in the World!, we thought the on-line following was paltry.  What has to happen before we all wake up and together try to fashion our future into a scenario with which we can almost cope?

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Event: Digital Cultures Conference

73% of Americans are 'likely' to ask an on-line librarian for research help.

This is Choose Privacy Week.

So many of us are completely unaware of the easy-to-use strategies that will help  guard our personal information from theft or inadvertent disclosure.

A new tip sheet, from ALA -" Public Computers and Wi-Fi Privacy, helps individuals understand the privacy risks associated with public access computing and outlines how they can protect their privacy while using public computers and public networks.  The tip sheet is available here at chooseprivacyweek.org as a free, downloadable PDF file."

Here are the main tips you should be aware of and practice in your day to day life on line in public places and while using Wi-Fi:

• Delete your browsing history
• Log out
• Do not enable "remember me" on a public computer
• Look for the 's".  https:// and shttp:// sites make sure your information is secure.  An http:// site is NOT secure.
• Do not conduct personal transactions  that request personal and sensitive information (bank account numbers; home address; SIN etc.) on Wi-Fi hotspots or public computers.
• If you have any doubt about your ability to guard your privacy on line anywhere and in your library - ask your Librarian!

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Topic: Open and Accessible Governments.  Soon we we will be able to both request information and pay for it on line.

As reported in the Winnepeg Free Press this morning, Canadian Delegates join others from 53 countries in Brasilia on April 17-18 at the Open Government Partnership.  They will spell out commitments on making government more open and accountable.

One of the more important pieces of the proposal is a  "new directive on open government that will provide guidance to 106 federal departments and agencies on maximizing the availability of online information;".