New York Public Library president Tony Marx presides over the largest public library system in America, in a city where 2,000,000 people lack broadband internet access, so he understands as well as anyone the way that libraries bridge the digital divide, a divide that gets deeper and more daunting every day, as key services and opportunities move online.
In a fantastic interview with The Verge's Kaitlyn Tiffany, Marx explains how libraries rely on Net Neutrality as a cornerstone of this bridge, and how the FCC's vote today to kill Net Neutrality threatens the very fabric of American public life.
AM: Well, we happen to believe in the First Amendment. We are a foundational part of the First Amendment. All libraries are. And you know, if you curtail people’s access to information, not only will they not be able to do their homework or look for a job or use our collections, they will not be able to inform themselves as citizens. And in this day and age, when accusations of false news are flying every day, the citizens need to be able to check facts and gather facts and argue about facts.
And they do that online, from the library. If we don’t continue to ensure that, our democracy is at risk. Not just the First Amendment.
What public libraries will lose without net neutrality
[Kaitlyn Tiffany/The Verge]
On Oct 7, workers and volunteers at New York City's beloved Pacifica Radio affiliate WBAI received a sudden notice informing they that they were all fired without notice or a board vote, as is required by Pacifica's by-laws; the next day, a court issued an injunction requiring Pacifica to reinstate local programming until a hearing […]
Lucy Sparrow is a felt artist, or as she likes to call herself, a “Feltist.” You might remember that in 2017, she packed a NYC bodega full of her faux products in felt and that last year in Los Angeles, she opened the Sparrow Mart Supermarket at the Standard Hotel. Well, she’s back! Her latest […]
Yesterday, volunteers and staff at New York's beloved Pacifica Radio affiliate, WBAI, got an abrupt notice informing them that Pacifica had shut down the station, in order to prevent its "financial losses" from "jeopardiz[ing] the survival of the entire network."
People tend to keep luggage around for a long time. And why not? New suitcases are pricey, and no matter how banged up or patched up that old bag gets, it still holds your clothes. Right? Maybe not. Here are 15 travel bags and accessories that make a strong case for upgrading your gear. They’ve […]
Do you own a Mac? Unless you’re using it for a paperweight, you almost can’t afford not to get the Magnificent Mac Bundle. It’s a roundup of some truly essential security and file management apps, bundled up with great photo and video enhancers. The best part is that all nine apps are potentially available for […]
As much as vaping has taken over the market during the last decade, there’s still a lot of questions about the technology, as well as health concerns that we’re just now finding out about. One thing you can say about smoking: You know exactly what you’re getting, especially when it comes to pipes that you […]
