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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2005 Libraries Following Retailers' Lead University Combines Exercise and Technology Cities and Towns Adding Wireless Networks British Organization Urges Data Sharing LIBRARIES FOLLOWING RETAILERS' LEAD Libraries increasingly find themselves in a quandary between growing expectations among patrons for personalized services and libraries' traditional stance as a strong advocate for personal privacy. Commercial enterprises such as Amazon and Netflix typically make suggestions to customers based on previous purchases and can notify users when certain products are available. The library at North Carolina State University is implementing a program that offers students similar services based on past usage. To offer such services, however, the library must keep more-detailed patron records than many libraries keep, given the authority of government officials under the USA PATRIOT Act to subpoena those records. Officials from the university report that students are comfortable trading some measure of privacy for the convenience of personalized services. Another program at the University of Notre Dame offers similar suggestions to users, which, according to its developer, should simplify research for many students. Michael Golrick, the city librarian in Bridgeport, Conn., said that the large numbers of immigrants in his community would not be so willing to trade privacy for convenience. Many of them, he said, "came to this country to avoid the kinds of surveillance and persecution we're seeing tinges of today." New York Times, 20 November 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/weekinreview/20cowan.html UNIVERSITY COMBINES EXERCISE AND TECHNOLOGY The recreation center at Minnesota State University now includes computers that can be used while people are exercising. Although many fitness centers include individual TVs for treadmills and other pieces of equipment, officials at Minnesota State wanted to offer something more. They set up 40 adjustable stands, each of which has a computer, monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Students using the rec center can surf the Web, check e-mail, or perform other computer tasks while they exercise. One professor at the university said he will incorporate the new facilities into one of his fitness courses, where students will exercise while taking quizzes and doing other activities on the computers. Officials at other schools said they would consider adding similar facilities to their rec centers, noting that more and more students grew up multitasking and expecting to have access to a computer all the time. Some disagree with the approach. Stephanie Maks, who worked as a personal trainer for 20 years, said often the biggest hurdle to an effective exercise program is letting go of technology. "Don't bring the office with you to the gym," she said. Wired News, 20 November 2005 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,69633,00.html CITIES AND TOWNS ADDING WIRELESS NETWORKS Cities and towns across the United States are launching, or announcing plans to launch, wireless broadband networks. Wireless technologies are evolving to allow increasingly secure, robust networks in city-wide installations. Large cities, such as Philadelphia and San Francisco, and smaller towns, such as Lebanon, Oregon, are establishing wireless municipal networks for reasons ranging from economic development to improved services for residents. In Tucson, Arizona, a wireless network will allow communication between ambulances and one of the city's hospitals, improving patient care. That network is expected to be online in mid-2006, and the service could be extended to other medical facilities in the city. Other municipalities see wireless Internet access as a valuable step in narrowing the digital divide and bringing the benefits of technology to lower-income residents. In Mountain View, California, Google, which is headquartered there, will develop a wireless broadband network at no cost to the city. Federal Computer Week, 21 November 2005 http://www.fcw.com/article91475-11-18-05-Web BRITISH ORGANIZATION URGES DATA SHARING In the United Kingdom, a report from the Council for Science and Technology calls on the government to share information among its various agencies while keeping a close eye on privacy concerns. Due to the sheer amount of data that the government collects and stores, pooling that data can facilitate improved public services, as happens already with health-related data. Mark Walport, head of medical charity at the Wellcome Trust and author of the report, said such data sharing in medical research has uncovered links between health problems and social factors and can allow researchers to closely track the effectiveness of various treatments over time. Walport suggested that similar benefits could be derived from governmental sharing of other types of data, which is currently not being used effectively. Walport said he believes that with adequate creative thinking, the government could see significant benefits from sharing data while ensuring protection for personal privacy. BBC, 20 November 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4455306.stm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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