Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion: Information Policy and the Public Library

Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion: Information Policy and the Public Library examines the interrelationships between digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public policy, emphasizing the impacts of these policy decisions on the ability of individuals and communities to successfully participate in the information society. This book is the first detailed consideration of digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy problems and as core issues in information policy and libraries. The unique features of this book include ·drawing together the key themes and findings from the discourse on digital literacy and digital inclusion widely spread among many fields; ·analyzing digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy issues, both being driven and regulated by policy; ·building on a wealth of original research conducted by the authors using different quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches on four different continents when analyzing these issues, providing unique examples, case studies, and perspectives; ·using information behavior theory to provide important insights about these issues at individual, community, and political levels; ·providing recommendations to inform practice in libraries and help libraries to frame their advocacy for public policies that support literacy and inclusion; and ·providing policy recommendations to improve the creation and implementation of policy instruments that promote digital literacy and digital inclusion. The authors of this book have been involved in this research for many years, and their experience provides a broad view across the literature, inherent problems, and national perspectives. This breadth allows this book to offer comprehensive policy recommendations, solutions, and best practices for an area that is fragmented in discourse, practice, and policy. Review [T]his is a valuable book for policy makers, . . . [and] for those who help influence policy as well as put policy into action, like state libraries, federal agencies, and state and national library organizations.--Library Preservation 2 This book is an important and invaluable resource for library staff, managers, planners and policy makers as well as teachers and students. Digital literacy and digital inclusion are social justice and human rights issues, and it is not simply a matter of providing technology and assuming people will be able to use it. The unique knowledge and skills of library staff are a central part of protecting these rights.--Australian Library Journal About the Author Kim M. Thompson, PhD, is lecturer in the School of Information Studies of the Charles Sturt University and an affiliate faculty member of Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC) in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. Her research and teaching focus on information poverty and the physical, intellectual, and socio-cultural supports for and barriers to information access. Her articles are found in the Journal of Documentation, Public Library Quarterly, Library Quarterly, and Library and Information Science Research, among others. Paul T. Jaeger, PhD, JD, is associate professor and diversity officer of the College of Information Studies and co-director of the Information Policy and Access Center at the University of Maryland. He is the author of more than one hundred and thirty journal articles and book chapters. This is his ninth book. His other recent books include Information Worlds: Social Context, Technology, and Information Behavior in the Age of the Internet with Gary Burnett; and Public Libraries and the Internet: Roles, Perspectives, and Implications. Dr. Jaeger is co-editor of Library Quarterly and the Information Policy Book Series from MIT Press, and associate editor of Government Information Quarterly. Natalie Greene Taylor is a research associate and doctoral candidate of the Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC) in th