THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC ACCESS COMMUNITY NETWORKS Communications is at the heart of building a nation and making it strong... We must use communications to help break down the barriers and build the bridges to greater understanding and cooperation... Although innovations in broadcast programming (and publishing) are laudable, they are unlikely to bring breakthroughs in interpersonal communications and understanding. It is time to look outside these domains, towards the great advances made in computers and computer networking technology which have taken place in recent years, to find new means of making progress. from "The Changing Face of Broadcasting: Research Proposals for New Broadcast Services". Communications Research Centre, Department of Communications Technical Note No. CRC-TN-92-002, 26 February 1992, pp 18-19. Success in our generation will depend upon the degree to which we shape the information technologies in accordance with human values. Dizard The Context of Public Access Community Networks Every development in communication technology creates opportunities to redefine the shape and scale of human relationships and social organization. The convergence of telephone and computer network technologies now creates the opportunity to develop a national network of affordable, public access, community-based, electronic information services (FreeNets) that meet the information needs and expectations of an ever increasing proportion of Canadians. Previous technologies have encouraged community organizations to develop unilateral, "monologue" strategies for communicating with the public. Technological developments now make it possible for these organizations to communicate with the public on a common stage. FreeNet encourages bilateral, "dialogue" strategies by offering the public and its organizations free and equal access to a common and convenient medium of communication. The heart of a FreeNet is a central computer network dedicated to storing and retrieving thousands of files of community relevant information, and to relaying thousands of electronic messages each day among community members and organizations. Yet the soul of a FreeNet lies in the people who use it and who are free to create as many uses for it as their imagination will allow. It has become expensive and inefficient for each community agency trying to develop and to maintain its own single- offering, computer-based information service. Now each can now share a single, cost-effective, interactive and sophisticated computer facility. A FreeNet permits each organization to have its own dedicated space on the central network, and to determine autonomously how it is used. The network is accessed by a common telephone number, much like 911, and provides "one stop shopping" for all those seeking community information. Because a FreeNet is run by the community and for the community, it helps to encourage and to revitalize community involvement. It creates a partnership, a shared responsibility between the community and existing social institutions for developing and providing timely information. Many people are recognizing that traditional ways of sustaining a community are no longer working well. They are beginning to accept the idea that greater voluntary donations of time and energy are required if their community is to be maintained. The information offered on a FreeNet is provided as a voluntary effort by private citizens and community agencies. A FreeNet thus offers new opportunities for citizens to become more involved in their community, and for groups, institutions and governments to become more visible and accessible. A FreeNet alters the scale and nature of the relationships that people have with the services provided in the community. For example, in Cleveland, Ohio and Peoria, Illinois where free, public access to local FreeNets has been established, thousands of people of all ages and walks of life have convenient access -- from home computers or from terminals located in schools, libraries and community centres -- to hundreds of information services. Citizens can access public officials at all levels of government. They can select and obtain information on screen, disk or printer about health, day care, welfare and other social programs. They can read an up-to-date calendar of community events, including meetings and minutes of boards, committees and voluntary organizations. They can read and write comments in special interest groups discussing hundreds of matters ranging from waste disposal to modern dance. They can explore a wide range of business, economic and legal topics, scan the catalogues of university and public libraries, consider a wide array of educational opportunities publicized on FreeNet by community schools, colleges and universities. Linking school computers to FreeNet provides a cost-effective opportunity for school boards to add the vast learning potential of distance communication to their pedagogical mix. This is especially useful to the increasing number of citizens who must work during school hours but who desire interaction with teachers. The FreeNet can also serve as a forum of opinion exchange among teachers, students, parents, administrators, and boards without encountering the difficulties of scheduling and attending large meetings. Students and others who use a FreeNet soon learn skills necessary to become information literate as well as computer literate, to find information quickly and to assess its quality and completeness. A FreeNet can thus make significant contributions to functional literacy in the coming century. Because of its superior information exchange capabilities, a FreeNet has additional advantages for individuals and groups who for many reasons may be information disadvantaged. For example, the physically challenged, the elderly and minority ethnic groups can develop and access their own information about their special needs, releasing what they choose as part of the general community information flow. Members of such groups who have transportation difficulties find a FreeNet especially useful because all the information and communication facilities are available via their home telephone, available to them without discrimination on an equal basis with everyone. A FreeNet allows fast communication among community organizations as well as citizens, so it can serve as a vital medium for the coordination of organizational activities. Even mid-sized communities now have hundreds of organizations attempting to serve a wide range of community needs. Too often the agencies find it difficult to communicate with each other and to keep abreast of their respective activities. As a result, service duplication can easily occur while large gaps in services can frequently go undetected and unfilled. A FreeNet allows each organization to maintain up-to-date information about its own services and staff. The collective information base can be easily accessed by all, and needed services found and provided in an efficient way. A FreeNet promotes openness. As society becomes increasingly complex and opaque to the general public, frustration is often expressed as distrust for politicians and social institutions. Because a FreeNet is designed both to provide prepackaged information and to encourage public and private exchanges among citizens and social institutions, community computing is a vehicle by which institutions can be better understood and comprehended by the public. The institutions, in turn, can better respond to the public questions and issues in the community. A FreeNet, for example, permits elected representatives at the municipal, regional, provincial and federal levels a direct method of interacting with constituents. It provides a communication channel through which elective representatives both listen and talk to the electorate about their individual concerns and the issues of the day. The polling and voting features of a FreeNet allow elected representatives and citizens to collect information about the nature and strength of public opinion an matters of the day. A FreeNet thus accelerates and diversifies the information exchanges that are critical to an open and democratic society. The philosophy of a FreeNet differs significantly from that of commercial information services: it operates as a non-profit public information utility offering free access to community information provided by citizens, for citizens. As a result, a FreeNet does not compete with commercial information services; on the contrary, it can create a larger market for them. Many people develop a taste for computer information services by making use of a FreeNet without charge. Others purchase or upgrade their home computing facilities or phone connections to make FreeNet more accessible. Still others suggest improvements to FreeNet to make it more useful and usable. Such reactions expand the market for potential commercial ventures. Indeed, a FreeNet can be as useful to local businesses as it can be to the rest of the community. FreeNet links among businesses and local government agencies, for example, can increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of developing and learning new bylaws and regulations. Cultural, sports and tourist businesses can benefit from better public access to information about their offerings, especially in a national FreeNet network where remote access can help people in other communities plan their holidays. And as demonstrated in American FreeNets, questions from citizens on topics such as car repair, home renovation, legal or financial issues can be answered by volunteer experts from the business community with the almost certain effect of increasing their clientele.