Making the Links-BCLA Information Policy Conference

British Columbia Library Association Information Policy Conference, 1997

MAKING THE LINKS
A Critical Look at Community and the Internet

March 20, 21, 22, 1997
Simon Fraser Downtown Harbour Centre Campus
515 W. Hastings Street, Vancouver

Less than ten percent of the population have Internet access. And yet, publicity about the Internet is everywhere. Governments and corporations are promoting information technology as the solution to problems of information access, education and communication.

Making the Links will explore the impact of the Internet on libraries, schools, and communities. How are social organizations using the Internet to build communities and provide services to the public? How can libraries maintain traditional services while providing new electronic resources? Can schools and libraries maintain their human qualities while policy makers move towards replacing staff with computers? Can technology be used to increase the public good and build strong, interpersonal communities? Which economic structures and government policies interfere? Unequivocal policies are needed to ensure a vibrant and active electronic space. Policy matters!

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

David Noble: Professor of History, University of Toronto, author of Progress Without People: New Technologies, Unemployment and the Message of Resistance.

Vincent Mosco: Professor of Communications, Carleton University, author of The Pay-Per Society: Computers and Communications in the Information Age.

Jesse Hirsh: Graduate student and Information Rights Activist.

Special Guest: Philip Halkett, Chief Information Officer, B.C.

Conference co-sponsors Aquelarre Latin American Women's Magazine, BC Coalition for Information Access, BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, BC Teachers' Federation, Canadian Women's Internet Association, December 9 Coalition, Rainbow BC, Simon Fraser University, UBC School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, Vancouver Community Network

Financial support gratefully acknowledged BC Information and Technology Access Office, BC Teachers' Federation, Legal Services Society Resource Centre, Simon Fraser University, UBC School of Library, Archival and Information Studies

Thursday Evening, March 20

6:00 - 7:30 pm - Registration

7:30 pm - Dr. David Noble: Religion of Technology

Dr. Noble is Professor of History at York University and the author of Progress Without People: New Technologies, Unemployment and the Message of Resistance, and the forthcoming Religion of Technology: The Divinity of Man and the Spirit of Invention.

Friday, March 21

8:00 - 9:00 am - Registration

9:00 - 9:30 am - Brian Campbell: Policy Matters!

Brian Campbell is Chair, Canadian Library Association Information Policy Task force; Chair, the BC Coalition for Information Access; a member of the BC Ministers' Advisory Council on Information Technology; and Systems and Planning Director of Vancouver Public Library

9:30 - 10:30 am - Stories from Cyberspace I

Craig Maynard, Rainbow, BC
Sandy Middleton, Literacy BC
Jack Patterson, West End Seniors Network
Persimmon Blackbridge, artist and user of on-line mental health groups

10:30 - 11:00 am - Coffee Break

11:00 - 12:00 pm - Stories from Cyberspace II

Bernard Charles, Grand Chief of the Semiahmoo First Nations and President of the Institute of Indigenous Government
Deb Thomas, Chief Librarian, Nelson Public Library
Lorena Jara, producer of America Latina al Dia, Co-op Radio
Geoff McMurchy, BC Coalition of People with Disabilities

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Lunch

1:00 - 2:15 pm - Concurrent Panels

1. Who controls the Internet?

Hanson Lau, Executive Producer, CHMB AM1320
Claudio Vidal, Sociology and Mass Media instructor
Fatima Jaffer, co - co-ordinator of the South Asian Women's Centre and Vancouver Status of Women co-ordinating collective member

2. Arts On-line

Thecla Schiphorst - co-curator, digital eARTH Transverse Worlds Web Project; Instructor, Art and the Internet, Emily Carr School of Art and Design
TBA

2:15 - 2:30 pm - Break

2:30 - 3:45 pm - Concurrent Panels

1. Women and Access

Lynn Hauka and Heather Gordon - Sunshine Coast Women's Centre
Ellen Balka - Assoc. Professor, School of Communications, SFU
The Honourable Sue Hammell, Minister of Women's Equality

2. Access in the Community

Penny Goldsmith, President, Vancouver Community Net
John Rowlandson, President, Nechako Access Network
Walter Sussel, Fraser Valley Community Information Society

4:00 - 4:30 pm - Jesse Hirsh, Information Activist

At 22, Hirsh is the director of the New Media Unit at the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology, and founder of TAO Communications. His interests include examining the political, economic and social effects of convergence, and the role of universal access in the redefinition of citizenship.

Saturday, March 22

9:00 - 10:15 am - Education: Challenges in the Networked Environment

Mary Bryson, Faculty of Education, UBC. "Gender, Educational Equity, and New Information Technology"
Robert Clift, Executive Director, Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC. "Brain Drain: Intellectual Activity in the Age of the Internet"
Larry Kuehn, Director, Research and Technology, BC Teachers' Federation. "A Critical Perspective on Technology in Education"
Judith Kootte, Past-President, BC. Teacher Librarians' Association. "The Role of the Teacher-Librarian in the Age of the Internet"

10:30 - 11:45 am - Libraries and Cyberspace

Barbara Patterson, Librarian, Coquitlam Public Library
Lynn Copeland, Manager, Library Systems, Simon Fraser University
Jim Looney, Manager, Information Services and Technology, Library Services Branch
Shelagh Flaherty, Head, Business Division, Vancouver Public Library

11:45 - 12:30 pm - Dr. Vincent Mosco

Professor in the School of Journalism and Communications at Carleton University, Dr. Mosco's most recent book is The Political Economy of Communications: Rethinking and Renewal. He has served as a consultant to governments in Canada and the United States and also has advised the parties creating new telecommunications legislation for a post-apartheid South Africa.

12:30 - 1:30 pm - Lunch

1:30 - 1:45 pm - Darrell Evans, Executive Director BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association

"What are the Directions for the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Act?"

1:45 - 2:45 pm - Policies for Community Building

Small groups will pull together the issues from the various panels regarding Community and the Internet and develop policy proposals for community groups to pursue.

2:45 - 3:30 pm - Discussion Group Feedback

Report back from the discussion groups

3:30 - 3:45 pm - Coffee Break

3:45 - 4:15 pm - Philip Halkett, Chief Information Officer

An update on the implementation of the BC. Electronic Highway Accord and an opportunity for Philip Halkett to respond to the issues raised in the discussion groups.

4:15 - 4:45 pm - Discussion on the Electronic Highway Accord

An opportunity to question Philip Halkett on the Electronic Highway Accord and issues of public access and community building.

4:45 - 5:00 pm - Conference Wrap-Up

This page last updated 10 March 1997.

Comments welcome to Barbara Patterson: [email protected]

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