Encouraging the digital economy and digital citizenship is an article that appeared in The Australian Library Journal in November 2209. It’s based on a presentation to the ALIA Public Libraries Summit in July 2007. Roxanne Missingham is the author and is Parliamentary Librarian in the Parliamentary Library and has worked as a library educator, library manager and researcher, focusing on the development of digital services (Missingham, 2009).
The main purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of access to information, particularly digital, for all Australians with the establishment of the ERA (Electronic Resources Australia) offered as an example of what is being done to supply this information. Within this review, we will see how the article evaluates the current state of information access in Australia and what solutions, if any, are provided to aid in gaining access for all Australians. Through use of statistics, personal accounts and discussion on the establishment of the ERA, Missingham covers all major points and concerns clearly and simply.
The key points discussed in the article are the current state of access to digital resources in Australia, what key resources you can find online, why access to quality information is necessary and important to Australians, what has been done to secure access to quality information and issues and barriers involved with getting all Australians access to quality information. By focusing on the needs of Australians, Missingham makes her article more approachable for Australians and also has a specific target group she can focus on. Of course, this limits most of her research to Australia and although there are some brief comparisons made with other countries, no real strong comparison is put forward.
Missingham’s use of statistics alongside personal accounts lets the reader obtain a sense of validity and relevance to what she is writing about. By presenting statistical data, Australia can be quickly compared with countries like Canada and the United Kingdom – though the United States of America is not mentioned. By featuring the story of Brandt, who lived in a rural Australian town, the paper becomes more “human”, allowing the reader to gain insight on more than just an academic level.
Although she alludes to it, Missingham does not refer to the digital divide in her paper, though this would seem to be a key issue. A paper studying the social benefits of information access found the conclusion to a census indicated that “…66 per cent of dwellings in major cities have access to the internet, compared to 42 per cent for very remote Australia…” (Foth & Notley, 2009). In not addressing the issue of the digital divide, Missingham has missed a valuable argument in support of access to quality digital information to all Australians.
A short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcboST0evqE , although a little outdated since being posted in 2007, highlights what the digital divide is while another, more recent (2009) video looks at the real issues and what is being done to combat them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwEC_x3Rk-w
Missingham’s paper is easy to understand and follow, making it clear what her concerns and goals are. This paper broadens our understanding of what a digital economy is and what digital citizenship means, especially in Australia. Each section of the paper is brief but clear and concise in its intent, never losing focus of the goal. In her conclusion she doesn’t offer many solutions but a call for the Australian government and citizens to get active in the push for access to quality online information for all Australians.
