ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 8, Number 113
November 3, 1999

In this issue:

American Library Association to Play Key Role in Markle Foundation 
Project to Promote Democracy in Cyberspace

Note: The following is a November 3 press release from the ALA 
Public Information Office.  For more information contact OITP 
Director Rick Weingarten at 202-628-8421 or rww@alawash.org.

CHICAGO -- The American Library Association (ALA) will launch a 
project to promote democracy in cyberspace with support from the 
Markle Foundation as part of a $1 million initiative to educate 
and involve the general public in Internet governance issues.

"The American Library Association welcomes this investment by the 
Markle Foundation.  Public libraries -- the most democratic of 
institutions -- are the perfect venue for discussion, 
participation and education about the issues of Internet 
democracy," said ALA President Sarah Ann Long.  "This grant places 
libraries and librarians at the heart of the key information age 
issues -- right where we belong."

The outreach project was announced November 2 at a meeting of the 
board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers 
(ICANN), established last year by the U.S. Department of Commerce 
as a private, self-governing institution to manage the addressing 
scheme that directs messages that flow through the Internet.

The first phase of the project will be in connection with the 
upcoming elections for at-large board members of ICANN.  The 
election will be the first global public vote that directly 
affects the emerging "government" of cyberspace.  Other 
participating organizations include the Carter Center, Common 
Cause, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Berkman 
Center for Internet and Society.

As part of the outreach project, "cybercitizens" (Internet users) 
will be encouraged to go to libraries to learn about ICANN, 
register as members and vote in the board elections at the 
library. 

ALA will create a Web site and work to involve public libraries in 
educating the public about democracy and governance in cyberspace. 

The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), based at 
its Washington, D.C. office, will administer the project.  For 
more information, contact OITP Director Rick Weingarten, at 202-
628-8421 or rww@alawash.org.

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ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, 
Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 
toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web 
site: http://www.ala.org/washoff.  Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; 
Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors:  Sally Benson, Mary 
Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet, Carrie Russell, Emily 
Sheketoff, Saundra Shirley, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.