ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy home page
Last Update: May 1, 2008
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OITP is pleased to announce the release of Regional Library Cooperatives and the Future of Broadband, a report detailing the best practices, successful
strategies, and challenges of Regional Library Cooperatives (RLCs) as they help libraries obtain high-speed connectivity.
RLCs are key institutions in promoting and supporting high-speed broadband in libraries, especially for rural and less-affluent areas. The report summarizes discussions of an OITP meeting of RLCs held in December 2007, with the bulk of the content detailing the experiences of RLCs to enhance broadband services for their member libraries. RLCs shared important information, in particular emphasizing the inclusion of and partnership with members, meeting the challenges of greater demands for bandwidth, and developing models for other RLCs to adopt and learn from.
This report provides knowledge important for both the ALA and the library community, mapping out directions for RLCs to utilize as they expand broadband service in the future. “Broadband deployment is an increasingly important issue as more and more library services depend on broadband access and will remain a continued priority for OITP,” concludes Carrie Lowe, Director, Program on Networks.
The Regional Library Cooperatives and the Future of Broadband report was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and OITP (ALA).
About Us
Mission
The Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) advocates for public policy that supports and encourages the efforts of libraries to ensure access to electronic information resources as a means of upholding the public’s right to a free and open information society. It works to ensure a library voice in information policy debates and to promote full and equitable intellectual participation by the public by:
- Conducting research and analysis aimed at understanding the implications of information technology and information policy for libraries and library users,
- Educating the ALA community about the implications of information policy, law, and regulation for libraries and library users,
- Advancing ALA’s information policy interests in non-legislative government policy forums, and
- Engaging in strategic outlook to anticipate technological change, particularly as it presents policy challenges to libraries and library users.
The fulfillment of this mission implies an array of activities, currently organized into four Programs: Public Access to Information, Networks, America’s Libraries in the 21st Century, and OITP Fellows.
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