Community networks are as important to society as public libraries.
Letter to the Editor, Times-Star, Middletown, CA and Clearlake Observer,
Clearlake, CA, January, 1996
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Community networks (Free-Nets) are an attempt to use computer network
technology to address the needs of the community. A major part of that
effort is spent making computing facilities available to everybody in a
community, especially people without ready access to the technology.
With a strong sense of community responsibility, most community network
developers insist on the utopian ideal that the services be provided
without charge. Realizing that the low-income citizen has been generally
left out of the Information Age, developers are actively working to build
free public-access sites.
Community networks are not designed to be on-ramps to the Internet at
large. While virtually all community network systems do offer access to at
least some Internet services (e-mail at a minimum), the focus of a
community network is on the local community. Other access that can be
provided are FTP (File Transfer Protocol), telnet (directly using remote
computers), and Gopher (searching and reading on-line information on
remote computers). Some Community Networks offer a Web interface to the
world and can allow limited World Wide Web browsing to it's users through
a text interface.
Community Networks currently rely chiefly on volunteers to run them,
usually organized into committees. It is important to maintain high levels
of unpaid volunteer participation, even while some aspects of the
operation may need paid professionals. Many networks are run by
independent non-profit organizations, while others are under organizations
like universities, libraries, or government agencies.
Government has clear responsibilities in this area. It is essential to
ensure equal access to information and the infrastructure of government.
Although libraries make ideal candidates, they are under continual
economic pressure and may not have the resources available for the
project. Universities generally are strong proponents of Free-Nets
although there is some reluctance to get involved in community work within
higher education.
The Middletown Area Council (M.A.C.) has expressed an interest, along with
Helen Whitney, our County Supervisor to pursue this idea here in
Middletown as a pilot project for the entire county. I am willing to
participate in this project as a technical adviser and consultant, and in
any other way I can.
M.A.C.'s interests lie along the line of Middletown becoming an
"Electronic Village" with the goal of putting Middletown merchants and
citizens on the Internet and promoting the "soft" industry of small
computer-oriented businesses to increase our economic base and provide
more jobs.
Helen's interests, along with supporting M.A.C. is to get local County
government information on-line and available to her District constituents.
She feels County information should be available to our area without
having to call long distance or spend hours driving to the County Seat.
In addition, information from both the State and Federal governments is
available on-line for access by all citizens as well as libraries and
other community organizations. One local Free-Net in Ukiah is sponsored by
the County Library system (mailto:
[email protected] ) and is very active
with over a thousand members.
Computer networks, unlike traditional media, provide the opportunity for
many-to-many communication, since they are a two-way street. This opens up
immense possibilities for increased political participation by all people,
both the economic haves and have-nots.
Some of the aspects of community that can be placed on-line include
information on arts and crafts fairs and classes, writing workshops, local
dance and theater events, homework hotlines, parent's forums, on- line
education, e-mail to local government agencies and District Supervisors,
Board agendas and public meeting schedules, forums on local issues, legal
documents from government on-line, social services information, job
listings, forums for unemployed workers, library catalogs on-line, ethnic
and alternative newspapers, letters to the editors of newspapers, and
civic journalism projects.
Community networks need funding for computers, equipment, Internet
connections, and telephone lines. They also need funding for ongoing
development, office facilities, and staffing. Computer companies, and
telephone companies have made substantial contributions. There is some
foundation support and government funding is also available.
If community networks are going to become a community resource, they need
a more reliable form of continuing funding. Providing some services, such
as Web Pages for local businesses and full Internet access, for a fee is
reasonable. Public funding, just as for libraries, public parks, and
schools, may also be necessary.
Tom Grundner of the National Public Telecommunications Network likens free
public computing to free public libraries, saying, "I can't envision a
21st century without free public computing" Community networks could
become a cornerstone of that vision, but will only happen if people work
to make it happen. Please join me in that vision, call Peter Conrad
Cumminsky at 987-9484
(C) Copyright 1996,
[email protected]
