PANEL PRESENTATION:
ISSUES IN ACCESS
Friday, March 27, 1998, 1:30- 2:45 p.m.

PRESENTER: BETSY BAYHA, Director of Technology Policy at the World Institute on Disability, CYNTHIA LOPEZ-KHAN, Advocacy Director for Libraries for the Future and VINCENT THOMAS, Office of New York State Assemblyman Al Vann. By: Mimi Liu

For artists and the general public, the goal of this seminar was to remind us of whom the Internet is serving, what questions to ask if a population was not being served, and how an artist can distribute its work. As the instruments that provide connections change, so do the considerations that determine accessibility and opportunity. How is equity of access and innovation ensured? As the possibilities provided by technology broaden, the discourse on analysis and research accelerate to only keep up. Living web pages rapidly supercede handbooks. In the end, how do we remind ourselves of the thoughtfulness that is inherent in sharing wisdom and information? Hanna Griff, a NYSCA Associate in Folk Art, moderated the panel.

“What are the challenges and the opportunities?” began Betsy Bayha, Director of Technology Policy at the World Institute on Disability. “We are all pioneers as we go out into cyberspace…pioneering environments have few laws. Who hasn’t been spammed? While this lawless environment can be very exciting, we must not forget the guidelines that would make a web page more publicly accessible. Yes, a dilemma is posed. Standards in typography, macro buttons, and process is of enormous benefit to someone who has trouble reading the computer screen. This infringement on an artists’ freedom to create is hard to digest.” To begin to reconcile these complexities, Betsy encourages artists to read the handbook, try out the suggestions, share them with colleagues, and tell the stories.

Also on the panel was Cynthia Lopez-Khan, Advocacy Director for the Libraries for the Future. Libraries for the Future are national non-for-profit advocates on behalf of library advocates – individuals, organizations, educators, and librarians. Through numerous publications and policy work effecting collaborations among diverse sectors, libraries are local creatures and can foster literacy, education, economic development, environmental health, artistic expression, and civic engagement. Continually reworking the parameters of a public sphere, Cynthia describes Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), a technology that will impact libraries as forums of social and cultural issues, particularly in rural areas. In the meantime, she urges everyone to read at least one piece of public policy material every six months and stake your claim on issues of distribution.

Vincent Thomas from the Office of New York State Assemblyman Al Vann calls for rigorous work on telecommunication policy between the art community and governmental offices. Emphasizing the importance of distribution and another perspective of physical accessibility he said, “As we are able to call each other on the phone, we want to really see capital move to a point where we can transfer information as much as full motion video.” To achieve a realistic goal of reaching humans in all areas, there needs to be a vociferous demand for high capacity networks. Artists, especially, need to push for issues on distribution and access, and he suggests the following questions be constantly asked: Are advanced networks being rolled out? Where is the upgrading being done? How soon will it be done? Will there be degradation in resolution? He concludes that service quality in New York is an area that requires monitoring at several levels.

One audience member, Richard Spiegel of the Waterways Project of Ten Penny Players wanted a translation of some of the principles to practice. He learned that the Alliance for Public Technology and the Public Service Commission’s Diffusion Fund are available to facilitate a seamless transition to an advanced network. He also found out that states including Arkansas and Florida are leading the way for libraries to provide video conferencing. Lastly, Bayha reminded him that two modes of outputting information (enlarging text and using auditory output) is incredibly beneficial to the learning disabled.

Please visit:
World Institute on Disability, http://www.wid.org/tech/handbook
Sailor, Maryland’s online public information network
http://www.sailor.lib.md.us
Libraries for the Future, http://www.lff.org