Digital inclusion: digital INCITE supplement - November/December 2019

INCITE: The magazine for library and information professionals - November/December 2019 Volume 40 Issue 11/12 (supplement)
 
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has been a strong advocate for digital inclusion for more than 30 years. Libraries were early adopters of digital technologies, not only to support our own operations, but also to improve customer services and help our clients build their own technology skill sets.
 
In this report, we showcase just a few examples of the kinds of digital inclusion programs and services delivered in public libraries around Australia. We have stories about intergenerational learning, technology training for culturally diverse groups, digital access to local history collections, helping people digitise their personal collections, running coding classes, and providing local communities with opportunities to interact with robots, virtual reality and other advanced technologies.
 
Through public libraries, we reach some of the least connected people in society, but digital inclusion activities are also critical in school, TAFE and academic libraries, where students may have varying levels of digital literacy, and in special libraries, where, for example, clients need help accessing vital information contained in electronic databases and in identifying authentic information from the morass of results generated by an online search. The purpose of all these activities is to help people connect to the internet, have positive online experiences, improve their digital skills, build their confidence and be prepared for the next wave of technological innovation. Today, digital inclusion is core to what a library delivers.