Portugal:
impact of public policies among children and young people;
generational gap smaller, except elderly, esp. less educated and female ;
Strong focus in infra-structures and info-structures ignored informational literacy;
absence of local initiatives targeted at “local users”;
The Changing Face of Public Access Use in USA and Portugal
1. Joseph Straubhaar (U. of Texas), Laura Dixon (UT), Cristina Ponte (New Univ. of Lisbon), José Azevedo (University of Porto), Dean Graber (UT), and Jeremiah Spence (UT) IAMCR, International Communication Section, Istanbul, July 16, 2011
P: One of least Internet oriented EU societies, weighted down by illiteracy, low industrialization from Salazar dictatorship until 1974 A: Pioneer in Internet development, but Internet access/use still lower than many in OECD, somewhat limited by lingering inequities in education, income, geography Both: Immigrants, less educated, older less fully incorporated into Internet use; need for both public access and training for proficient use.
Two-thirds (67 percent) of U.S. public libraries report they are the only provider of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities. Public computer and Wi-Fi use increased last year at more than 70 percent of libraries; 82 percent of libraries now provide Wi-Fi access. The great majority (89 percent) of libraries provide formal or informal technology training, including classes in computer skills, software use and online job-seeking. Almost two-thirds (66 percent) of libraries provide assistance to patrons completing government forms. http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries2011/publiclibraries.cfm
A. Free Net tradition back into 1990s (survey early 2000s?), free access at public libraries rising since 1990s, 1990s CTC movement, some schools public access, community centers A. User observation at libraries centers shows heavy use by young Latinos, more men than women overall; Austin user survey shows that library access used by about 12% of population, some of whom also have other forms of access.