Plan B Forum

Dear Library Patron,

Thank you for having a library card with the Santa Clara County
Library District, and for choosing one of our member libraries for
service. We are contacting you to let you know about important
changes that will affect your account starting July 1st.

In response to dramatic reductions in State funding and an
increasing demand for library services, the Santa Clara County
Library District Joint Powers Authority (JPA) approved an $80
annual library card fee for non-residents of the District in order
to balance the budget. Non-district resident students who attend
public or private schools and school districts (preschool through
grade 12) that overlap the Santa Clara County Library District are
eligible for a free student limited card.

Since 1988, the State has reimbursed public libraries for lending
materials to non-residents of their district, and any resident of
California could get a card at any public library in the state.
Demands for service have increased to a point that the Santa Clara
County Library District lends far more books to non-residents than
District residents borrow from other libraries. In order to
preserve the high quality of service, collection and open hours,
the JPA reluctantly decided it must implement the non-resident card
fee.

Everyone is still welcome to visit our libraries, attend programs,
and use resources inside the library. However, a card is required
to check out materials, use the full service computers, and have
remote access to online databases.

To be eligible for a free Santa Clara County Library District card,
you must reside or own property in the unincorporated area of Santa
Clara County or in one of the following nine cities: Campbell,
Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte
Sereno, Morgan Hill or Saratoga.

Our records indicate that you are not a resident of the Santa Clara
County Library District. We want you to know that your library
card will be disabled on July 1, 2011. To reactivate your card, you
will need to pay the $80.00 annual fee. Fees can be paid starting
July 1st. To apply for the free student limited card, please bring
proof of student status and school affiliation to a Santa Clara
County District library, anytime on or after July 1. If you need
to update your address, please present printed evidence of your new
address.

For more information, please review the Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) posted on our website: http://www.santaclaracountylib.org . You can
also call us at (800) 286-1991 Monday – Friday, 8:30 -5:00, or
email us at circulation@library.sccgov.org .

We value your patronage and hope to have the opportunity to
continue to serve you.

Sincerely [censored]

The United Nations has proposed that Internet access should be a human right. This push was made when it called for universal access to basic communication and information services at the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination. In 2003, during the World Summit on the Information Society, another claim for this was made.

In some countries such as Estonia, France, Spain, Finland and Greece, Internet access has already been made a human right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_a ... uman_right

I find this frankly ludicrous.

Not too long ago, theorists fretted that the Internet was a place where anonymity thrived.

Now, it seems, it is the place where anonymity dies.

This erosion of anonymity is a product of pervasive social media services, cheap cellphone cameras, free photo and video Web hosts, and perhaps most important of all, a change in people’s views about what ought to be public and what ought to be private. Experts say that Web sites like Facebook, which require real identities and encourage the sharing of photographs and videos, have hastened this change.