One of the problems government information specialists face is that, as so much government information is born digital and available only online, a large percentage of people have less access than they did when a paper copy of government information was within relatively easy reach at their local FDLP library. We all imagine that this is a temporary situation and hope for a time when broadband access is as available as electricity and telephones and television. But, as the reports and surveys continue to reveal, the digital divide is real and is not shrinking very fast if at all.
The Benton Foundation has released a new report that addresses this issue head on.
- AN ACTION PLAN FOR AMERICA: Using Technology and Innovation to Address Our Nation’s Critical Challenges A report for the new administration, Benton Foundation, by Jonathan Rintels, December 1, 2008. [more links and HTML at http://benton.org/initiatives/broadband_benefits/action_plan ]
Jonathan Rintels is the Executive Director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media. The Benton Foundation is a private foundation that works to ensure that media and telecommunications serve the public interest and enhance our democracy.
The report says that the new Administration “must launch a well-planned, concerted national effort — paralleling that which deployed telephone service, electricity, and interstate highways across the nation — to deploy robust and affordable broadband to every corner of our nation.”
Amen to that!
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