Papers by Brendan Fitzgerald
The benefits and implications of online information delivery are now beginning to be understood. ... more The benefits and implications of online information delivery are now beginning to be understood. Libraries Online and Rural Libraries Online have since 1998 been developing Internet access in Victorian public libraries. Funded by State (Multimedia Victoria) and Australian Federal (Networking The Nation), these projects have provided a whole of Library approach to e-services which includes provision of bandwidth, infrastructure, ICT skills and content. The specific projects such as Satellite delivery of bandwidth, Rural POP's, Victoria’s Virtual Library (www.libraries.vic.gov.au), and the Gulliver consortium are discussed, as is the experience of working with 44 partners with very different needs and As the presence and influence of the world wide web became more pervasive during the late 1990s, it became clear that at least two organised groups had issues that threatened to become pressing. First public libraries were realising that here was a whole new “thing ” that library us...
Advances in Librarianship, 2015
Abstract Purpose This chapter looks at Australian public libraries and how they have developed an... more Abstract Purpose This chapter looks at Australian public libraries and how they have developed and delivered inclusive service to people with disabilities over the past decade or so. As digital technology impacts the public library sector the question of “how are libraries responding?” emerges, especially for the one in five Australians living with disabilities. This chapter is focused on how the public library network is delivering digitally inclusive services to people with disabilities. Methodology/approach The approach was to examine the international obligations, related governance, and professional standards that apply to Australian Public libraries; the current disability and digital inclusion related research from the past decade; and highlight some of the better examples of practice in Australian public library service. Findings This chapter is not a comprehensive examination but rather a summary scan of digital inclusion practice. However, it raises a number of questions for further investigation: research as to how these obligations are put into practice; how they can be better shared and learnt from; and more importantly how the aspiration of “inclusion for all” is being met.
Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 2013
technologies now pervade every aspect of modern Australian society. Almost every aspect of how we... more technologies now pervade every aspect of modern Australian society. Almost every aspect of how we live, work and play-from getting an education, accessing health care, communicating with friends to getting a job-is influenced by digital technology. In this era of rapid change, the trajectory of economic development, our future prosperity and our ambitions to be a socially inclusive nation will all be influenced by the increasing growth and reliance on digital technologies as a part of everyday life. Digital inclusion (and equality) is increasingly becoming one of the major social justice challenges of our time. Digital inclusion is vital to employment participation, economic development, educational achievement, social and civic inclusion, health and wellbeing. Many people continue to be digitally excluded in Australia and, importantly, as technology changes there is a growing risk of a participation gap in terms of a person's ability to engage with technology. At present, the response to such a major issue in Australia is fragmented and only occasionally addressed holistically. Comprehensive national research on this issue is limited, the longer-term costs of digital exclusion have not been fully explored, nor do we have a national plan to mobilise a whole of community effort that ensures that all Australians have the skills and opportunity to benefit from digital citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current needs, challenges and benefits of digital inclusion in Australia. It explores how the concept of inclusion is evolving with changes in technology and to social structures. This article is a précis of a White Paper commissioned by Telstra. The aim is to advance our understanding of digital inclusion and introduce a more refined conceptual framework for defining and addressing digital equality.
OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, 2004
... The Authors. Brendan Fitzgerald, Manager, Public Libraries Unit, at VICNET, State Library of ... more ... The Authors. Brendan Fitzgerald, Manager, Public Libraries Unit, at VICNET, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Frances Savage, Online Projects Coordinator, at VICNET, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Abstract. ...
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Papers by Brendan Fitzgerald