Other resources

Citation

(2002), "Other resources", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 19 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2002.23919eae.005

Other resources

Other resources

Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002: Readiness for the Networked World. (GITR), a comprehensive and wide-ranging international study of the state of information technology around the world. This report, to be available in print in mid-March from Oxford University Press, is a joint publication of the Center for International Development at Harvard University and the World Economic Forum, an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world, based in Geneva, Switzerland. There are three main elements of the report: a series of individually authored thematic chapters related to issues of ICTs and developing countries, 75 national ICT profiles, and extensive data related to ICTs globally. The report also develops a Networked Readiness Index that ranks 75 countries on their ability to leverage ICT networks. The report is meant to expand our analytic understanding of the networked world through both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Themes such as rural ICT development, telecommunications reform, ICTs and education, business practice and trade policy and patterns are examined in depth.

Much of report is available on the Web site at http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cr/gitrr_030202.html but by the time this issue is released will be featured prominently. The press release states, "Amidst the political and economic turbulence that has coincided with the bursting of the dot.com bubble, the first GITR reinforces that information and communication technologies (ICTs) remain a powerful and important force for positive change in the world. The Report tackles the challenging issue of Networked Readiness – the preparedness of countries to participate in the Networked World."

The report addresses the major opportunities and obstacles that global leaders face as they try to more fully participate in the networked world. The report bases its findings in three main areas. The first Networked Readiness Index (NRI) ranks 75 countries according to their capacity to take advantage of ICT networks. Higher ranked countries have more highly developed ICT networks and greater potential to exploit the capacity of those networks. The USA ranks first on the NRI. Iceland ranks second, Finland and Sweden are slightly further behind, followed by Norway and The Netherlands. Another Northern European country, Denmark, ranks seventh, followed by Singapore in eighth, Austria in ninth and the United Kingdom in tenth place. Further down in the rankings, Japan ranks 21st, only slightly ahead of Estonia (23rd), which is in turn ranked ahead of France, Italy and Spain, ranked at 24th, 25th and 26th respectively.

A total of 75 in-depth Networked Readiness country profiles document the major national and sub-national ICT trends. Countries around the world are grappling with major challenges. These include urban-rural splits in ICT usage, getting small and medium businesses online, high Internet access prices, crafting effective telecommunications policy, and shortages of skilled ICT workers.

In-depth analysis by some of the world's leading experts on the networked world, from organizations such as McKinsey & Co., INSEAD, Forrester Research, the Media Lab at MIT, Sun Microsystems, the World Bank, Harvard University, the Institute for International Economics, the International Trade Center, and the World Economic Forum. The authors tackle such important themes as telecommunications and educational reform, the microeconomic impact of ICTs, ICT trade policy, business leadership and rural development.

Internet World has launched a Web Seminar series and the calendar for the remainder of 2002 is:

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  April – 21st Century Security.

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  June – Maximizing Customer Value.

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  August – Managing Your Hosting.

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  October – Building Business on the Web.

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  December – Mining Your Business.

See: www.internetworld.com/web seminar/archives

Professional Development Resources from the Association of College & Research Libraries. The ACRL's e-Learning Web-casts offer a cost-effective opportunity to expand your knowledge of digital reference, information literacy, and other issues at the forefront of librarianship today. Web-casts include streaming video synchronized with PowerPoint slide presentations. Bibliographies and discussion questions are also provided.

One of the most popular Web-casts is "Digital Reference: The Future of Academic Reference?" Others include:

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  The Technology Revolution, featuring Michael Hawley of MIT Media Labs.

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  From "My Library" to "My Librarian": A Reinvestigation of Personalized Research Clinics.

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  Emerging Technology and Policy Trends: A Conversation with Clifford Lynch.

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  This Changes Everything – Information Literacy in the New Core.

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  Find, Evaluate, and Organize: Using Scenarios to Assess Student Information Competence Skills in the California State University System.

Complete descriptions of the Web-casts and registration information can be found at: http://acrl.telusys.net/webcast/session.html Individual and institutional rates are available.

Review of US Federal Agency Web sites. From: March 8, 2002 issue of GovExec.com is an interesting piece about a study on the usability of agency Web sites: "The Experience Design Group of Andersen's Office of Government Services, a Washington, DC based consulting firm, tested 25 federal Web sites during November/December 2001 for usability. Andersen chose federal Web sites that had been singled out as "best in class" in e-government studies and awards programs to demonstrate that usability is an area that is often ignored. The sites of most major agencies were surveyed, including those of the Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, Transportation and Treasury Departments. The fulltext of the study, "A Usability Analysis of Selected Federal Government Web sites" is available at: www.andersen.com/resource2.nsf/vAttachLU/US_fedl_Web _Usability_Study/$File/US_Fedl_Web The article about the study is available at: www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0302/030802j1.htm

Scout Report on the Web – current issue at http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/current and the weblog at http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/weblog