Without a Net

November 14, 2011 12:57 AM

Jessamyn's first book was published earlier this year: Without a Net: Librarians Bridging the Digital Divide.

Here's an In the Library with the Leadpipe blog post about the making of the book.

Some excerpts from the book's Introduction:

"People now have free access to computers with internet access via public libraries in most places in the United States. So, why is there still a digital divide? It turns out the problem is more complicated than simply having computers available. People who can physically sit down in front of a computer still don’t necessarily know how to use one."

"Getting online is often an affirmative decision adults must make. While younger people are often online by default at work or school, or through owning smart phones, people who live in a home without technology have to decide to seek out technology access and technology instruction."

"I don’t intend to be fatalistic or doomsaying when I predict that some form of the digital divide may always be with us. There will always be a bottom 10% of users in whatever setting we look at. Since we work in libraries, we have an obligation to provide service to all of our patrons and provide them with tools that they can use, or at least learn to use. For some librarians who may not be tech-savvy themselves, this can be challenging. Even tech-savvy librarians may find it difficult to get traction within their institutions, or may understand the how but not the why of the technology."

If you have a Kindle or Kindle app, you can read the first portion of the book via Amazon's Kindle store.

After reading the Kindle sample, I asked my library to buy a copy of the book. For those without access to the book in any form, here's a 17 October Olin Technology & Culture Series talk on the subject of the book (The Digital Divide).

Bonus: An Amazon review by Jessamyn's mom.

Postscript: Exploring the seedy underbelly of Kindle piracy...

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