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We’re about the need for a well-stocked national digital library system for all Americans—not just the elite or those in big cities.
This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, given all the benefits for K-12 students and others. None other the late William F. Buckley Jr., the conservative columnist, advocated such a system. And while not explicitly talking about a library, President Obama mentioned broadband and digital textbooks in his State of the Union address.
How can we improve our schools if some science textbooks are a decade or two old, and shouldn’t our workforce have access to the best training materials, whether books or multimedia? And what about reading as recreation—itself a worthwhile activity, especially for the young or for older people who want to keep their minds active?
Care to contribute a related essay? Whatever is on your mind and whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, librarian or nonlibrarian, farmer or academic, we’d love to hear from you. Educate policymakers and the media via LibraryCity.org, on the need for a well-stocked national digital library system for the entire country, point here from your site, and follow us on Twitter! Court Merrigan, a writer and parent in Eastern Wyoming, recently wrote for us on the benefits for online learning in rural areas.
(Update of earlier posting.)
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Equitable access to electronic information is huge. How can we maintain a democracy, much less a productive population if any of our citizens are prevented from accessing information because of economics? We’ll need another Carnegie.
Welcome, Marsha! Tom Peters grew up in NW Iowa, and my sister is a retired teacher. He’s now in rural Missouri.
Tom and I could not agree more with your thoughts. In fact, a Carnegie isn’t enough. We think the digital library system could make good use of both tax and foundation money (hello Gates and Buffett!).
No question that library resources help student achievement, and in particular, school librarians can do a world of good. Tom and I don’t just want the library system–we want it well-integrated with schools as well as local libraries.
Feel free to ask questions about the proposal and our site. As you’ll see from Writings on the national digital library issue, I’ve been on the case for many years. And so has Tom.
If/when the spirit moves you, I hope you’ll contribute your own essay on how a well-stocked national library system could help young people and other Americans.
Thanks for dropping by!
David Rothman
Co-Founder, LibraryCity
703-370-6540