Boulder Community Network and the Internet
12 July 1994
What is the Boulder Community Network (BCN)?
BCN is a free online library of community information. The mission is to
empower citizens via increased awareness of and access to local
information and to the National Information Infrastructure.
BCN's creation and ongoing evolution processes can help
create a greater sense of local community.
BCN does not currently plan to offer
individual accounts for communications services due to lack of money
and to avoid duplication of effort, although we will help targeted
sub-communities to set up their own communications BBSs.
Who is BCN?
BCN is a cooperative effort involving Boulder educational, social,
civic, and non-profit entities. Current participating organizations
include the University of Colorado, Boulder Public Library, Longmont Public Library, the Boulder Valley School District,
Boulder County and City governments, the Boulder County United Way,
the Boulder County Civic Center (BCCC) and other local BBS and
communications providers and local public broadcasting stations (KGNU,
KBDI). We are also working with the Boulder County Business Report,
the Knight-Ridder Information Design Lab, Cable Labs, Apple Media Labs,
the Daily Camera and national labs.
What technology is BCN based on?
- Based on the largest network in the world - the Internet, in its latest
most user-friendly form - the World Wide Web (WWW).
- Forget the painful habits of FTP and the chaos of telnet interfaces
- WWW = distributed web of thousands of
information servers provided by universities, government, business
- Hypertext: easy for documents to refer to each other
- Multimedia: graphics, audio, video
- Growth of 30% per month for over a year, thousands of servers, perhaps a million clients
- Basis for CommerceNet: on-line malls with secure financial transactions.
- Networking provides flexible access options for "clients":
- Graphical interface: Mosaic (an application running on your own
PC/Mac/workstation)
- Character-based interface: lynx. Provides universal dial-up, download access to graphics, sound, video....
- Public access kiosks
- Free dial-in modem pool, no account necessary
- Via personal Internet accounts from other Internet providers or workplace
- Selected information available from other providers (e.g. OneNet)
- Networking allows us to refer to other servers: CU-LINE, Library of Congress, etc.
- Encourage our information providers to send it via email, etc.
What sort of information is on BCN already?
- Boulder City Council agendas, minutes and related memos, city info
- Links to CU-LINE info: bus schedules, campus events, phone book, ...
- Boulder County: Employment and Training Center info
- KGNU schedules, information
- Campus Press - an electronic newspaper produced by CU journalism students
- Colorado Music Festival information
- Links to the rest of the Internet
- Much more, some experimental
- What else do you think would be good?
When and where will BCN be available?
(new info in
Accessing BCN)
- BCN Prototype (1 April 1994)
- Available to those with Internet access
- BCN Phase 1 (18 July 1994)
- Boulder Public Library patron terminals
- CU-line kiosks on University of Colorado campus
- Boulder Valley School District computers & dial-up lines
- BCN Phase 2
- Graphical interfaces at Longmont and Boulder libraries
- BCN Target Sub-community Sites:
- Project Self-Sufficiency, Boulder County Housing Authority
- Senior Center
- BCN Phase 3
- BCN dial-up access
- Other public access sites (City & County buildings, etc.)
- ACLIN menu (details being worked out)
- BCN Phase x - more kiosks:
- Social services agencies
- Bookstores, copy centers
- Pearl Street Mall
- Supermarkets
- Hotels and motels
- ???
How will BCN be funded?
- Initially:
- CU is providing coordinator; server; leadership and technical expertise, student projects in Journalism and Computer Science classes.
- Other participating organizations and individuals' time, expertise, and use of existing computers as public access sites
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting grant
- Apple Library of Tomorrow grant
- Applied for NTIA grant
- Long term funding possibilities:
- Contributions from agencies deriving benefit (eg., City, County govts)
- "Universal Access" funding from national telecommunications legislation
- Public broadcasting model: individual contributors
- Possible commercial funding
Policy issues
- Interactivity (e.g. posting feedback on various issues)
- How to define "Information Providers"
How can BCN help provide greater sense of community?
- Planning and advisory meetings are already serving as
cross-fertilizing grounds, promoting greater awarenesss of
participating organizations and individuals. Very few other
activities could bring together representatives from eg., the City and
County governments, the University's assorted Departments, research
labs, corporations, local public broadcasting stations, non-profits,
local BBS operators, etc.!
- Training sessions will allow interactions between, eg.:
technically savvy, economically well-off segments of population and
those from less-advantaged sections; students and senior citizens;
etc.
- Awareness of other community groups in existence, schedule of activities, etc.
How do I find out more about BCN?