Publications

This page contains a list of selected publications. For a more complete list, please see my CV.
= open access publication

Books

Colin Rhinesmith. (forthcoming, June 2026). Digital equity ecosystems: How community coalitions reduce inequality and strengthen democracy. University of California Press.

Refereed Journal Articles

Colin Rhinesmith. (2026). “Public libraries, digital equity coalitions, and the public good.” Public Library Quarterly, 45(1), 94–118.

Pierrette Renee Dagg, Megan Knittel, Colin Rhinesmith, and Joon Oh. (2025). “Beyond Access and Infrastructure: Evaluating the Impact of Local Contexts on Digital Equity Strategies Through the Lens of the Digital Opportunities Compass.” Journal of Information Policy.

Colin Rhinesmith and Sangha Kang-Le. (2025). “Understanding the value of a digital equity researcher-practitioner collaboration using participatory action research.” Journal of Participatory Research Methods,6(2), 177-206.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2024). “It’s one of the most important things we carry for us”: How mobile hotspots support people experiencing homelessness. Mobile Media & Communication, 12(2).

Chris Ritzo, Colin Rhinesmith, and Jie Jiang. (2022). “Measuring Library Broadband Networks to Address Knowledge Gaps and Data Caps.” Information Technology and Libraries, 41(3).

Meghan Doran, Colin Rhinesmith, and Sarah Arena. (2021). “Perspectives of Community Partner Organizations in the Development of Ethical Service-Learning Guidelines.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 27(1), 155-180.

Sharon Strover, Brian Whitacre, Colin Rhinesmith, and Alexis Schrubbe. (2020). “The Digital Inclusion Role of Rural Libraries: Social Inequities Through Space and Place.” Media, Culture & Society, 42(2), 242-259.

Colin Rhinesmith, Bianca Reisdorf, and Madison Bishop. (2019). “The Ability to Pay for Broadband.” Communication Research and Practice, 5(2), 121-138.

Colin Rhinesmith and Christiana Lynne Urbano Stanton. (2018). “Developing Media Literacy in Public Libraries: Learning from Community Media Centers.” Public Library Quarterly, 37(4), 420-440.

Miriam Sweeney and Colin Rhinesmith. (2017). “Creating Caring Institutions for Community Informatics.” Information, Communication & Society, 20(10), 1482-1497.

Brian Whitacre and Colin Rhinesmith. (2016). “Broadband Un-adopters.” Telecommunications Policy, 40(1), 1-13.

Colin Rhinesmith, Molly Dettman, Michael Pierson, and Rebecca Spence. (2015). “YouthStudio: Designing Public Library YA Spaces with Teens.” Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 6(4).

Brian Whitacre and Colin Rhinesmith. (2015). “Public Libraries and Residential Broadband Adoption: Do More Computers Lead to Higher Rates?” Government Information Quarterly, 32(2), 164-171.

Martin Wolske, Colin Rhinesmith, and Beth Kumar. (2014). “Community Informatics Studio: Designing Experiential Learning to Support Teaching, Research, and Practice. “Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 55(2), 166-177.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2012). “Free Library Hot Spots: Supporting Broadband Adoption in Philadelphia’s Low-Income Communities,” International Journal of Communication, 6, 2529-2554.

Refereed Papers in Conference Proceedings

Pierrette Dagg, Megan Knittel, Colin Rhinesmith, & Joon Oh. (2024). “Beyond access and infrastructure: Evaluating the impact of local contexts on digital equity strategies through the lens of the digital opportunities compass.” Proceedings of the TPRC2024 The Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy.

Johannes M. Bauer, Pierrette Renée Dagg, Colin Rhinesmith, Greta Byrum, and Aaron Schill. (August, 2023). “A Comprehensive Framework to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy.” Proceedings of the TPRC2023 The Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy.

Colin Rhinesmith, Jo Dutilloy, Susan Kennedy, Laurenellen McCann, Chris Ritzo, Georgia Bullen, & Stephanie Stenberg. (2020). “Co-Designing an Open Source Broadband Measurement System with Public Libraries.” In L. Stillman, M. Anwar, C. Rhinesmith, & V. Rhinesmith (Eds.), Proceedings – 17th CIRN Conference 6-8 November 2019, Monash University Prato Centre, Italy: “Whose Agenda: Action, Research, & Politics.” (pp. 153-176). Department of Human Centred Computing, Monash University.

Colin Rhinesmith, Chris Ritzo, Georgia Bullen, James Werle, and Alyson Gamble. (2019). “Participatory Development of an Open Source Broadband Measurement Platform for Public Libraries.” Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 11420.

Philip Coombs and Colin Rhinesmith. (2019). “Edge Perspectives in Online Scholarly Communities: A Network Analysis of #critlib.” Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 51(1), 86–93.

Colin Rhinesmith and Martin Wolske. (2015).“Community Informatics Studio: A Conceptual Framework.” In: Stillman, L. and Denison, T. (Eds.), Conference Proceedings – CIRN Community Informatics Conference “Challenges and Solutions”: 13-15 October, Monash Centre Prato, Italy: Centre for Community and Social Informatics, Faculty of IT, Monash University.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2014). “The Social Shaping of Cloud Computing: An Ethnography of Infrastructure in East St. Louis, Illinois.” Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 51(1).

Book Chapters

Bianca Reisdorf and Colin Rhinesmith. (2018). “An Asset-Based Approach to Digital Inclusion Research in the US Context.” In Massimo Ragnedda and Bruce Mutswairo (Eds.), Digital Inclusion: An International Comparative Analysis. Lexington Books.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2016). “Community Media Infrastructure as Civic Engagement.” In E. Gordon & P. Mihailidis (Eds.), Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice. The MIT Press.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2011). “Community Media in the Digital Age.” In R. T. Scholz (Ed.), Learning through digital media: Experiments in technology and pedagogy (pp. 195-201). Institute for Distributed Creativity.

Editor-Reviewed Journal Articles

Colin Rhinesmith, Malana Krongelb, and Jie Jiang. (2022). “The Digital Equity Leadership Lab (DELL): A case study of community leadership development to promote digital equity and justice.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 18(1), 104-131.

Sharon Strover, Brian Whitacre, Colin Rhinesmith, and Alexis Schrubbe (2017). “At the Edges of the National Digital Platform.” D-Lib Magazine, 23(5/6). https://doi.org/10.1045/may2017-strover.

Martin Wolske and Colin Rhinesmith. (2016). “Critical Questions for Community Informatics in Practice from an Ethical Perspective.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 12 (3), 236-242.

Encyclopedia Entries

Colin Rhinesmith. (2019). “Community Informatics.” In G. Ritzer & C. Rojek (Eds.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. (invited submission)

Colin Rhinesmith. (2019). “Community media.” In Hobbs, R. & Mihailidis, P. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. (invited submission.)

Reports

Colin Rhinesmith and Revati Prasad with Caroline Stratton and Larra Clark. (2025). “From the Ground Up: The Human Infrastructure of Broadband.” Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Colin Rhinesmith, Malana Krongelb, and Sangha Kang-Le. (2023). “Developing a digital equity theory of change with Tech Goes Home.” Tech Goes Home.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2023). “Digital Equity and Justice in Maryland: Opportunities and Challenges.” Digital Equity Research Center, Metropolitan New York Library Council.

Colin Rhinesmith, Pierrette Renee Dagg, Johannes M. Bauer, Greta Byrum, and Aaron Schill. (2023). “Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy.” Working Paper, Ann Arbor: MI: Merit Network, Inc. and East Lansing, MI: Quello Center.

Colin Rhinesmith. (February, 2023). “Missing Pieces: How the FCC’s Broadband Map Misrepresents Public Libraries.” School, Libraries, Health and Broadband Coalition and American Library Association.

Colin Rhinesmith and Rafi Santo. (November, 2022). “Digital Equity Ecosystems Measurement Framework.” Digital Equity Research Center, Metropolitan New York Library Council.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2022). “Community-Based Solutions for Digital Advancement: Findings from the Digital Integrators Pilot Program.” Washington, DC: Centri Tech Foundation.

Colin Rhinesmith. (July, 2022). Afterword. In “The Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Fellowship: A Participatory Action Research Project” (p. 27). Wilmette, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Shaun Glaze, Colin Rhinesmith, Chris Webb, and Sabrina Roach. (July, 2022). Introduction. In “The Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Fellowship: A Participatory Action Research Project” (pp. 4-7). Wilmette, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Colin Rhinesmith. (October, 2021). “The Digital Equity Leadership Lab: A Case Study of Community Leadership Development to Promote Digital Equity and Justice.” Baltimore, MD: Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

Colin Rhinesmith. (May, 2021). “Why Low-Cost Devices Matter for Broadband Policy.” Wilmette, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

John Horrigan, Brian Whitacre, and Colin Rhinesmith. (February, 2021). “Providing Free and Affordable Broadband for All in Illinois.” Wilmette, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Colin Rhinesmith and Susan Kennedy. (November, 2020). “Growing Healthy Digital Equity Ecosystems During COVID-19 and Beyond.” Evanston, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Colin Rhinesmith, Jo Dutilloy, and Susan Kennedy, (2020). “The state of broadband connectivity and related IT infrastructure in Montana’s public libraries.” Montana State Library.

Colin Rhinesmith. (October, 2019). “Networks, Knowledge, and Power in U.S. Public Libraries.” Global Media Technologies & Cultures Lab, MIT.

Colin Rhinesmith and Angela Siefer (2017). “Digital Inclusion Outcomes-Based Evaluation.” Evanston, IL: Benton Foundation.

Angela Siefer, Katherine Bates, and Colin Rhinesmith. (2016). “Libraries’ Increasing Role in Broadband Adoption.” Evanston, IL: Benton Foundation.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2016). “Digital Inclusion and Meaningful Broadband Adoption Initiatives.” Evanston, IL: Benton Foundation.

Editorials

Colin Rhinesmith. (2023). “Community informatics and artificial intelligence.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 19, 1-2.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2022). “Envisioning the Future of Community Informatics.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 18(2), 1-2.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2021). “Community informatics in pandemic times.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 17, 1-2.

Colin Rhinesmith. (2020). “A legacy to continue.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 16, 1-2.

Bianca Reisdorf and Colin Rhinesmith (2020). “Digital Inclusion as a Core Component of Social Inclusion.” Social Inclusion, 8(2), 132-137.

Written Commentary

Colin Rhinesmith. (2016-). Digital Beat Blog (Benton Institute for Broadband & Society).

• “How to Ensure Community Perspectives are Represented in Digital Equity Program Evaluations.” (2023, November 28). With Sangha Kang-Le (Tech Goes Home) and Malana Krongelb (Digital Equity Research Center).
• “Digital Equity and Justice in Maryland: Challenges and Opportunities.” (2023, November 2).
• “Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide State Broadband Policy.” (2023, February 28). With Pierrette Renée Dagg (Merit Network), Johannes M. Bauer (Michigan State University), Greta Byrum (HR&A Advisors), and Aaron Schill (National Digital Inclusion Alliance).
• “The Digital Equity Action Research Fellowship.” (2022, July 12). With Shaun Glaze, Chris Webb, and Sabrina Roach (Black Brilliance Research Project).
• “Why Low-Cost Devices Matter for Broadband Policy.” (2021, May 5).
• “Providing Free and Affordable Broadband for All in Illinois.” (2021, February 4). With John Horrigan (Technology Policy Institute) and Brian Whitacre (Oklahoma State University)
• “The Impacts of COVID-19 on Digital Equity Ecosystems.” (2020, November 18). With Susan Kennedy (Simmons University).
• “While More Americans Rely on Parking Lot Wi-Fi, Many Public Libraries Do Not Have Adequate Broadband.” With Jo Dutilloy (Simmons University) and Susan Kennedy (Simmons University)
• “Too uneducated to understand the importance of home Internet?” (2019, September 19). With Bianca Reisdorf (UNC Charlotte)
• “The Ability to Pay for Broadband.” (2019, June 11). With Bianca Reisdorf (UNC Charlotte) and Madison Bishop (Plymouth Public Library)
• “Digital Inclusion and Outcomes-Based Evaluation.” (2017, May 15). With Angela Siefer (National Digital Inclusion Alliance)
• “Digital Equity Planning in U.S. Cities.” (2016, October 3). With Brandon Brooks (Queens University of Charlotte) and Angela Siefer (National Digital Inclusion Alliance).
• “Digital Literacy and Inclusion: ‘We Are All In It Together.’” (2016, February 22).
• “Poverty and the Cost of Broadband.” (2016, January 19).
• “Understanding Broadband Un-adopters.” (2016, January 12).
• “The Complexity of ‘Relevance’ as a Barrier to Broadband Adoption.” (2016, January 6). With Anabel Quan-Haase (University of Western Ontario) and Michael Haight (University of Western Ontario).
• “Four Essentials for Digital Inclusion Efforts.” (2016, January 4).