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Chicago Community Information Conference Daniel K. Blewett On November 16 and 17,1995, more than 200 people attended "Building the Information Superhighway in the Chicago Metropolitan Region: A Conference on Information and Communications Access for Urban Chicago," in downtown Chicago at Roosevelt University. The conference was co-sponsored by Roosevelt's Institute for Metropolitan Affairs (IMA), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Chicago Community Information Consortium (CCIC). A few national and many regional and local social research/activist organizations attended. Most of the attendees were from community-based organizations (CBOs), or those who work with the citizens of urban areas. Although this gathering was focused specifically on Chicago, these problems and possible solutions are obviously national in scope.1 This conference was organized because many people are worried that the economically/educationally/financially disadvantaged among us, particularly those in the troubled inner cities, are falling further and further behind in this exciting and ever-evolving Information Revolution.2 Many individuals do not even have a telephone in their homes, let alone computers.3 A common American ideal is that a well-informed citizenry makes for a better country. But cutbacks in the government's compilation and distribution of data, along with a shift away from print to electronic formats, has meant that less information is available, and frequently only available to those who have the money, equipment and expertise to obtain it. This applies to federal, state and local governments equally.4 Also, many of the recent federal programs have focused on the information needs of rural areas, since there is a belief that cities are well served by libraries and other organizations. Thus social/geographical/economic divisions within the U.S. are increased.5 Private companies may jump in to provide some information, but perhaps at a greater expense. This would translate into fewer citizens having access to the information they have paid for. Given this problem, the conference attendees spent a lot of time discussing: (1) what kinds and quantities of information is available, primarily in electronic format, to the general public (this could include housing availability, mortgage information, health data, current local environmental data, the service status of public transportation, etc.); (2) how this information might be integrated into the communication networks used by community organizations; (3) how this information might be used to improve social conditions, particularly in urban areas; (4) the important communications roles of government agencies and community-based organizations and (5) how to link individuals, through these organizations and personal computers, to the needed information. The theory is that inner cities specifically and society as a whole will benefit when the disadvantaged have easier access to more information. Since the disadvantaged cannot afford computers and sophisticated communications equipment, CBOs must take on the moral and financial responsibility of accessing the information and making it available to the surrounding community.6 There is a very strong desire among the community-based organizations to perform this roll, but they need trained staff, equipment and money to access the electronic world of information.7 LIBRARY ROLES None of the speakers at this conference were librarians, and the role of libraries in providing information to inner city communities was seldom mentioned. Getting the information directly to the community organizations and individuals without an intervening level was the main intent of the conference. For many, particularly those lacking educational and English language skills, the churches and even schools are more important sources of information, because they have more contact with these institutions than with libraries. This is true even though these institutions frequently do not have the information to dispense, and instead have to direct the person to another location. Many people still identify libraries with books, not with data or electronic information. Many local branch public libraries do not have the space, equipment or trained staff to effectively aid patrons in finding electronic information. 109 It can be very time-consuming to navigate the Information Superhighway, and library staff face so many varied time demands that it is frequently not possible to sit with a patron for a long period of time to assist them in finding the information. All these factors can lead citizens to think that the library cannot help them find the information they desire. Yet it is the public libraries that are located in the communities staffed by people trained to find information. What is clear is that libraries, particularly public libraries, must increase their publicity efforts to inform the surrounding community, as well as civic and governmental leaders, about what information and services are available at the library, and to provide training, space and equipment for the public. This will require financial and staff commitments by library administrators and governments at all levels. This is not to say that libraries are not involved at the local level; indeed, one can find many examples in professional literature of library programs that expand electronic access to information for their community.8 In addition, libraries can compile bibliographies of government publications of interest to community-based organizations and sponsor information fairs, where libraries, research organizations, publishers, local organizations and government agencies could showcase their publications, programs and services. Another way to help community organizations is for libraries to acquire the publications of these various community groups and make them available at the library, usually through a vertical file. Also, creating records for electronic cataloging networks of some of the more substantial items will at least make the bibliographic information available to a larger group of people, both citywide and beyond, and that is the firststep to accessing the data within the publications. It is here where smaller libraries can contribute electronic records of their unique community resources to both regional and national bibliographic databases, as has been shown here in Illinois.9 Due to their usually larger budgets and staff and to prove their commitment to their communities, academic libraries may be approached by community groups for assistance in installing equipment and training. Academic institutions may already have programs that distribute surplus computer equipment to needy community organizations. Federal or state government document depositories are already aware of the need to make government information available to the general public. With the big push to integrate the Internet into primary and secondary educational curriculums, one can foresee students of higher education (from the department of computer science, library science and education), being sent out to conduct computer training in the local schools. Students could be taught not only how to use the computer to write papers, but how to conduct literature searches via the Internet. Colleges and universities could adopt branch public libraries, operate computer terminal clusters for the general public, conduct classes on how to do local research and compile local area factbooks. Professors involved with community research and local organizations should be encouraged to donate relevant reports and publications to their libraries. Many academic institutions have programs that focus specifically on urban affairs, and these could join libraries in studying and implementing new ways for community groups to access information. State libraries, because of their responsibilities and structure, seem somewhat limited in the type of direct service they can offer the public. They can help support the development of databases and coordinate the distribution of state government information electronically.10 One niche where libraries could definitely help is with geographic information systems (GIS). The price of some of these systems, although decreasing, is beyond what many CBOs can afford. Librarians could help individuals or community groups produce maps, which can help people visualize information or a particular situation, and aid in community planning and development.11 CONCLUSION Something that must be made clear to both the public and governing bodies is that librarians can perform an important role when it comes to community information because they: (1) are service oriented; (2) are professionally trained in gathering and organizing information; (3) work with computers every day; and (4) are experienced in teaching people with a wide variety of skills how to find information.12 The "library stands as a universal symbol of knowledge. This symbol can speak to people of all races and creeds."13 It is becoming more important that libraries provide local information to disadvantage communities. Individual citizens of all races and creeds pay the taxes that support all levels of government, and it is individuals and their activities that are represented by the statistics in governmental reports and databanks. They should not be shut off from information simply because they lack the equipment or expertise to find it. Notes 1. For more discussion on how modern computer systems can be used to distribute information to the citizenry, see: "Information Technologies and Inner Cities," a special issue of The Journal of Urban Technology 3 (1) (Fall 1995), and Nancy Milio, Engines of 110 Empowerment (Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press, 1995). 2. For example, read Richard M. Krieg's "Signed Off: Information Apartheid Blocking Black Communities," Chicago Tribune Oct. 23, 1995, p. 15. This problem of how information can help disadvantaged groups was discussed much earlier by Thomas Childers in his The Information-Poor in America (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1975), and Elfreda A. Chatman, "The Diffusion of Information Among the Working Poor," Ph.D. diss. (Berkeley, CA: The University of California-Berkeley, 1983). The "Benefits of Connecting to the National Information Infrastructure" are listed by Emilio Gonzalez in U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, Connecting the Nation: Classrooms, Libraries, and Health Care Organizations in the Information Age: Update 1995 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1995), pp., 3-6. 3. Ellis Jacobs, of the Legal Aid Society of Dayton, Ohio, discusses how the economy and society is affected by this shortage in "Expanding Low-Income Communities' Access to Telecommunications Technology," Clearinghouse Review (July 1995); 271-276. 4. See Joe Morehead, "The Myth of Public Access to Federal Government Information as a Constitutional Right," The Serials Librarian 26 (2) (1995): 1-26. 5. Hebert I. Schiller discusses this very issue in his Information Inequality: The Communications Industry and the Deepening Social Crisis in America (NY: Routledge, 1996). 6. Ronald D. Doctor calls this "Information Democracy," and defines it as "a sociopolitical system in which all people are guaranteed meaningful opportunities to benefit from access to information resources." See his "Cyberspace for Everyone?" in: Community Connections: The National Infrastructure and Civic Networks. Proceedings of the Library of Congress Network Advisory Committee Meeting, June 12-14, 1994 (Network Planning Paper, no. 27) (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service, 1995), p. 1.9. 7. One book on this topic is Douglas Schuler's New Community Networks: Wired for Change (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1995). See also: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Making Government Work: Electronic Delivery of Federal Services (OTA-TCT-578) (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1993). Chapter 5 discusses how Community Service Networks (CSNs) can be used to distribute information. 8. One federal study on this topic is U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Public Libraries and the Internet: Study Results, Policy Issues, and Recommendations, by Charles R. McClure, John Carlo Bertot, and Douglas L. Zweizig (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1994. 9. Bernard Sloan, "Illinet Online: Report from a Large Multi-Institutional Network,": in Impact of Local Library Systems on the National Networking Environment: Proceedings of the Library of Congress Network Advisory Committee Meeting, April 1-3,1991 (Network Planning Paper, no.21) (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1991), p. 81. The Library of Congress has prepared for libraries collecting and cataloging a variety of community information by compiling and issuing USMARC Format for Community Information, Including Guidelines for Content Designation, prepared by the Network Development and MARC Standards Office (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service, 1993). 10. Bonnie Juergens, "State Libraries and Regional Bibliographic Networks," and Rodney G. Wagner, "State Libraries and the Distribution of State Government Databases," in U.S. Library of Congress, Network Development and MARC Standards Office, The Role of State Library Agencies in the Evolving National Information Network. Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the Library of Congress Network Advisory Committee and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, April 27-29 (Network Planning Paper, no.23) (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1992), pages 39-42, and 43-46 respectively. 11. One relevant textbook is David Martin's Geographic Information Systems and Their Sodoeconomic Applications (NY: Routledge, 1991). 12. These points are made by Steve Cisler, "Library Web Sites," Library Journal 120 (19) (November 15,1995): 24; and Jeannette A. Woodward, "Auto Aces or Accident Victims: Librarians on the Info Superhighway," American Libraries 26 (10) (November 1995): 1017-1018. 13. Camila A. Alire and Frederick J. Stielow, "Minorities and the Symbolic Potential of the Academic Library: Reinventing Tradition," College and Research Libraries 56 (6) (November 1995): 516. Although written about academic institutions, this statement certainly applies to public libraries as well. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to express his appreciation to the Loyola University Library Administration and the staff of the Cudahy Library Reference Department for their support, and to Lorna Newman and her Interlibrary Loan staff for the fast and efficient acquisition of requested research materials. *Daniel K. Blewett, Government Documents Librarian and Bibliographer for History and Political Science, The Elizabeth M. Cudahy Memorial Library, Lake Shore Campus, Loyola University of Chicago. 111 Directory, Illinois State Library
(Printed by the Authority of the State of Illinois) (X0781-5,800-5-96) Opinions expressed in signed articles are not necessarily those of the editors or the Illinois State Library
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