By empowering librarians with the knowledge to find and use this data, and creating tools for libraries to teach everyone in their community to find and use this data, this project builds the foundation for communities in which everyone – not just a select few who are already knowledgeable and skilled – shares in the benefit and promise of open data.
Libraries are not community centers, but they are centers of our communities. As John Palfrey describes in BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google, libraries have an intellectual/educational mission – led by trained information professionals – that differentiates them from community centers. This is precisely why they are the right organizations to ensure that all Americans have an opportunity to take advantage of open data.
We've become quite comfortably reliant on Basecamp to keep track of the many threads of thought that have gone into our curriculum and our project. Basecamp doesn't publish "landing pages", but if you're on the team and want to find the project, try these links: Basecamp
Anne Neville (Dir., CA Research Bureau, CA State Library): Built and led open data program, (National Broadband Map; builds partnerships across sectors, 15 yrs of digital equity work. Will Saunders (WA State’s “Open Data Guy”): Expands open data across WA; as State Broadband Manager, created program for students to use open data.