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Google, Inc 2011 Google Policy Fellowship Location: Various (American Library Association is one of them) ********* American Library Association * www.ala.org<http://www.ala.org/> * * Fellowship Location: Washington, DC The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit educational organization of over 65,000 librarians, library trustees, and other friends of libraries dedicated to improving library services and promoting the public interest in a free and open information society. The Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) advances ALA's public policy activities by helping secure information technology policies that support and encourage efforts of libraries to ensure access to electronic information resources as a means of upholding the public's right to a free and open information society. It works to ensure a library voice in information policy debates and to promote full and equitable intellectual participation by the public by conducting research & analysis, educating the ALA community, advocating ALA's information policy interests, and engaging in strategic outlook: * Conducting research and analysis aimed at understanding the implications of information technology and policies for libraries and library users, * Educating the ALA community about the implications of information policy, law, and regulation for libraries and library users, * Advocating ALA's information policy interests in non-legislative government policy forums, and * Engaging in strategic outlook to anticipate technological change, particularly as it presents policy challenges to libraries and library users. In coordination with OITP, its sister office, the Office of Government Relations (OGR) works to insure that libraries are consistently involved in the legislative and policy decision-making processes by: 1. informing government of the needs and concerns of the library community; 2. providing library supporters with up-to-date information on government actions or proposals; 3. building coalitions with Washington-based representatives of other groups with similar concerns; and 4. developing grassroots networks to lobby legislators and further library interests. 5. Fellowship Focus Areas: OITP is organized into three substantive programs, to which the Google Fellow would make contributions: * Program on Public Access to Information: Includes our diverse portfolio on digital copyright that includes international advocacy, E-government issues, digital archiving and preservation, open access, and other topics related to how the public accesses information in a digital society. * Program on Networks: Two core issues are library connectivity (how to improve broadband access to libraries, especially those in rural or low income areas) and universal service (in particular, the E-rate program that provides significant funding for telecommunications services in libraries). This program covers the large diversity of policy issues related to networks and libraries such as network neutrality, DTV transition, FISA, Internet privacy, cloud computingInternet filtering, and more. * Program on the Future of Libraries: Investigates the implications of the increasing influence of digital information, networks, and the Web on the role and functions of libraries of all types. Many of OGR's issues are included in the taxonomy above, but OGR also engages in other issues such as advocating and lobbying for federal appropriations on behalf of the library community. ********* For more information visit: http://www.google.com/policyfellowship/ -Devendra Potnis Devendra Dilip Potnis, PhD, MPA, MS Assistant Professor School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee Suite 442 Communications Bldg., 1345 Circle Park Knoxville, TN - 37996