About the Webinar
Net Neutrality is an issue that has been increasingly in the news, but it is something that has affected libraries for a lot longer. Many public libraries are in underserved communities where patrons may not have personal access to the internet, so the use of the public libraries' resources is critical for them. Without net neutrality, those public libraries may not be able to cost-effectively provide such Internet service. For the scholarly and academic communities, scholarly resources could be resigned to the slow lane of the net, if content providers and libraries don't have the resources to pay for the "fast lane." As resources increasingly go multimedia, requiring greater bandwidth, will libraries and content platform providers be saddled with taking on added costs to ensure reliable access?
Net neutrality begins with the basic idea that the Internet is a fair and democratic platform for all. Organizations such as the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, EDUCAUSE, and Internet2, among others, have spoken out about the critical need for retaining net neutrality in the library, higher education, and research communities.
In this webinar, presenters will help define Net Neutrality, what could happen without it, and how it can impact public and academic libraries, and the wider information community.
Event Sessions
Introduction
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Network Neutrality Principles and Policy for Libraries & Higher Education
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The American Library Association has partnered with other library and higher education organizations to advocate directly with the Federal Communications Commission and Congress on network neutrality. This presentation will define network neutrality and related terms, briefly explore the national policy concerns and politics at play in the current debate, and explore network neutrality principles and advocacy from a library and higher education perspective. What is “paid prioritization” and what does “Title II” refer to—and why should you care? This primer will provide a network neutrality policy context through the library lens.
Network neutrality: The Public Library Perspective
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The Open Internet is fundamental to the basic tenant of public libraries: free and equal access to information for all people . Since the Internet is a primary conduit to digital content and applications used by the public, a pay to play scenario would require public libraries to make difficult budgetary choices in providing high quality internet access at the expense of other library services. Communities rely on the public library to provide public Internet access for homework help, job searches, videoconferencing, research databases, eBooks and other digital content. What library services or compromises might public libraries be forced to make if they must pay for premium access? This presentation will provide examples of valuable library and community programs and services that flourish because of a free and open Internet and how such services would be affected without the principle of network neutrality.
Academic Libraries and Net Neutrality
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Additional Information
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Cancellations made by January 7, 2015 will receive a refund, less a $25 cancellation. After that date, there are no refunds.
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Registrants will receive detailed instructions about accessing the webinar via e-mail the Monday prior to the event. (Anyone registering between Monday and the close of registration will receive the message shortly after the registration is received, within normal business hours.) Due to the widespread use of spam blockers, filters, out of office messages, etc., it is your responsibility to contact the NISO office if you do not receive login instructions.
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If you have not received your Login Instruction email by 10:00 a.m. (ET) on the Tuesday before the webinar, at please contact the NISO office or email Juliana Wood, Educational Programs Manager at jwood@niso.org for immediate assistance.
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Registration is per site (access for one computer) and includes access to the online recorded archive of the webinar. You may have as many people as you like from the registrant's organization view the webinar from that one connection. If you need additional connections, you will need to enter a separate registration for each connection needed.
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If you are registering someone else from your organization, either use that person's e-mail address when registering or contact Juliana Wood to provide alternate contact information.
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Library Standards Alliance (LSA) members receive one free webinar connection as part of their membership and DO NOT need to register for the event for this free connection. Your webinar contact will receive the login instructions the Monday before the event. You may have as many people as you like from the member's library view the webinar from that one connection. If you need additional connections beyond the free one, then you will need to enter a paid registration (at the member rate) for each additional connection required.
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Webinar presentation slides and Q&A will be posted to the site following the live webinar.
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Registrants and LSA member webinar contacts will receive an e-mail message containing access information to the archived webinar recording within 48 hours after the event. This recording access is only to be used by the registrant's or member's organization.