Class notes 9/23/10

Today we talked about access. We started off with the question: “What is access?” Some of your answers included (click for larger image):

We discussed access from both a personal and an institutional perspective.

Personal Access to Information:
• Digital divide
• Economics/income
• Location
• Political: censorship
• Libraries are access points

Websites:
F.C.C. Takes a Close Look at the Unwired, an article from the New York Times earlier this year discussing access to broadband internet service in the U.S.

One Laptop Per Child, a project to bring inexpensive computers and network access to the developing world.

Readers’ Bill of Rights for Digital Books, stressing the need for readers to be able to do all of the things with digital books that they do with print books.

Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers is additional information on issues to consider when moving from print to digital books. This non-profit organization–the Electronic Frontier Foundation–works to safeguard internet rights and freedoms.

Institutional Access to Information
Schools
• Print: books, textbooks, etc.
• Internet: sometimes filtered (certain sites blocked)

Libraries
• Print onsite
• Internet onsite (usually filtered) and offsite
• Some public libraries have research collections

Museums
• Images, art, artifacts
• Some have specialized research libraries

Classroom for Thursday 9/16

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I’ve finalized the room for our class this Thursday, 9/16:

Projection Room, Atrium 432, Library

To get to Rm 432: enter the library, turn left and walk to the far wall, head up the small flight of stairs and straight through the door, then left into Rm 432.

I’ll also post a sign at the library entrance as a reminder. See you Thursday!

–Prof Smale

Reading and homework for 9/16/10

As I mentioned in class on Tuesday, I’m adding a short reading for our next class on Thursday 9/16. In addition to the readings listed on the syllabus (Pavlik pp. 79-84, Malitz, Elton), please read:

Frere-Jones, Sasha. (2010, August 16 & 23). The dotted line: What do record labels do now? The New Yorker, 92-93.

Here’s a link to the article from the New Yorker’s website:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2010/08/16/100816crmu_music_frerejones

I passed out the Pavlik reading in class, but if you missed it you can read those pages on Google Books.

(The Maliz and Elton readings are linked from the Readings page on the course website as usual.)

To remind you, for homework please write 1 reading response blog post and 1 comment. And please don’t forget to bring 1 question you have about the reading to class on Thursday.

As I mentioned in class, we will meet in a different classroom next week. I will email you with details early next week, and post the details here as well.