From books to broadband, libraries have always existed to provide equitable opportunities for all. Few can doubt the internet’s central role as a driver for expanding civic and economic opportunity, from free speech to the free market. Equitable treatment on the communications channel for the 21st Century is near and dear to librarians and the publics we serve. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2015 Open Internet Order provided clear, enforceable rules to ensure these opportunities are preserved for all.
America’s public, research, academic and school libraries collect, create and disseminate essential information to the public over the internet. We are content providers, digitizing and sharing products that we create or partner with others to disseminate. We provide access to local, state and federal government documents – many of which are exclusively online. And, we facilitate online collaboration and creation by students, teachers, researchers, entrepreneurs and everyone else in our communities. We’re a critical place for the public to access the internet. Local public libraries are often the only no-fee public internet access point in our communities. Libraries particularly serve the information needs of the most vulnerable segments of our population, including those in rural areas, unemployed and low-income consumers, older adults and people with disabilities. This is the crucial mission of libraries: to transform communities through information. Network neutrality is essential to this mission. Read more<http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/329393-net-neutrality-americas-libraries-stand-for-freedom-and-fairness#bottom-story-socials> Don Wood Program Officer Chapter Relations Office<http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/cro/index.cfm> American Library Association 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 dwood@ala.org<mailto:dwood@ala.org> 1-800-545-2433, ext. 2429; 312-280-2429 312-280-4392 (fax) “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”—Albert Schweitzer “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen, can change the world.”—Malala Yousafzai “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”—Anne Frank [cid:image001.jpg@01D2B8EC.234DA750]<http://www.ala.org/offices/cro/getinvolved/partnership> [Libraries-Transform-Logo-Final-ALA-Colors - resized for signature]<http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/libraries-transform-campaign>
