I was invited to give a talk, which I titled “LIS Values: Access, Equity, and Social Justice” at today’s Beta Phi Mu Initiation for our students in the School of Information Sciences. As the website exaplains, Beta Phi Mu “was founded in 1948 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a group of leading…
Public Libraries
Libraries in a Democratic Ecosystem
I’m excited to join my friend and colleague, Claudia Șerbănuță for the first in a series of engaging discussions on “Libraries in a democratic ecosystem” hosted by Acesso Cultura. As the website explains (also below):Online debates5, 12, 19 May (Tuesdays) and 25 May (Monday)7-9pm CETThe debates will be held in English. They will not be…
Mobile Media & Communication Article Now Open Access
In 2023, my article titled “‘It’s one of the most important things we carry for us’: How mobile hotspots support people experiencing homelessness” was published in a special issue of Mobile Media & Communication. The article featured findings from my study of the Boston Public Library’s hotspot lending program, which is still continuing today. I’m thrilled…
“The Ability to Pay for Broadband” Now Open Access
I am thrilled to announce that our 2019 paper, titled “The Ability to Pay for Broadband” (Rhinesmith, Reisdorf, & Bishop) is now open open access in Communication Research and Practice. As I described in a previous post after the article was published, “In our recent paper, published in a special issue of Communications Research and…
New Article in Public Library Quarterly
My new article, titled “Public Libraries, Digital Equity Coalitions, and the Public Good” was published this week in Public Library Quarterly. The article features findings from a 2024 study of U.S. public libraries. The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of their role in digital equity coalitions, as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration…
Special Issue on Homelessness and Mobile Media Published
My article, titled “‘It’s one of the most important things we carry for us”: How mobile hotspots support people experiencing homelessness” has been included in the new Special Issue on Homelessness and Mobile Media just published in volume 12, issue 2 of Mobile Media & Communication. The article, first published last November, presents findings from…
New Article in Mobile Media & Communication
I am thrilled to announce that my new article, titled “‘It’s one of the most important things we carry for us’: How mobile hotspots support people experiencing homelessness” was just published in the journal, Mobile Media & Communication. It will be part of an upcoming special issue on homelessness and mobile media. MMC’s Social Media…
FCC Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination Listening Session Comments
The Federal Communications Commission’s Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination held a public listening session at Medger Evers College in Brooklyn yesterday. As part of the event, the FCC invited several speakers from a diverse group of organizations representing communities impacted by digital discrimination to provide their comments that could be included in the public…
Missing Pieces: How the FCC’s Broadband Map Misrepresents Public Libraries
Back in December, I responded to an open invitation from John Windhausen, Executive Director of the Schools, Health, & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, during the monthly SHLB Coalition member policy call, to take a closer look at how the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Broadband Map represents community anchor institutions (CAIs). I thought this would be a…
New Article in Information Technology and Libraries
My colleagues, Chris Ritzo, Jie Jiang, and I have a new article, titled “Measuring Library Broadband Networks to Address Knowledge Gaps and Data Caps” that was just published in the journal, Information Technology and Libraries. The journal is part of the American Library Association’s Core: Leadership, Infrastructures, Futures division. Here is the abstract for the paper…