Think Positive

This week I had the extreme pleasure of hearing noted librarian, author and advocate for information rights, Nancy Kranich, former ALA president, speak about her recent work regarding the Information Commons with the Free Expression Policy Project. I was expecting a discussion about copyright and access, but I got a lesson in democracy and political activity. 

To summarize here:

• Free access to information is essential for a democratic society. It is unique to the USA and a cornerstone of our culture. Understanding this concept was behind the creation of public schools and public libraries in the United States.
• The argument against free access has forced us to argue why information is not potentially detrimental to the public good, when we should be arguing the positive aspects of this right. Arguing against this negative perception only reinforces it. As Nancy, quoting George Lakoff, said, “We need to reframe the argument.”

As I compiled this month’s news, I thought how I could “reframe the argument.”  My usual approach is that I hope we can continue to keep the politicians unaware of how far the world has come in providing universal access, but after Nancy’s speech, I see we need to spread the word.  Make the media and our fellow citizens aware of how much digitization is going on around the world and that it is a good thing. We should crow about the amazing collaboration that is happening with the million-book project, the Gutenberg project, the Internet bookmobiles, the Smithsonian’s American Memory, the European Library, too many to list and yet as I mention in the News many people have not heard about them.  We or at least me needs to stop being paranoid, worrying that if “they” find out, they’ll stop it.  Think positively!!

Therefore, this month’s News is even more focused than usual on efforts being made to “open” cultural and educational information to the everyman. For those interested in more information I recommend an article “Digital Library Initiatives Across Europe by David Raitt in Computers in Libraries [http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/nov00/raitt.htm.]

For those of you in France, where some in the French government has become concerned about Google becoming the arbitrator of culture by being the source of all information, please remind your people of what you already are doing to contribute. The Internet is not Hollywood and Google is not MGM. Besides, Google’s scholar includes the Oxford’s archives and I am sure would welcome all who wished to participate.  By all means, France should contribute to the publication of their cultural contributions online and enrich all of us.

While in the USA, we must remind everyone that, as Nancy said, the USA based its development on everyone learning to read (public schools) so that all citizens could have access to information (public Libraries). We must remember and state it as such. We are continuing the revolution that birthed this country: not fear but trust in our fellow man, not censorship but free access and not doubt but belief in the common intelligence of us all.  We must remind people, in a positive fashion, the good that will come to the public with access to information, all information.

This is the Gutenberg revolution to the google.