Articles Tagged with Digital divide

Published on: October 14, 2014

The Law Decoded: Virginia (beta test)

By Laura Orr

A lot of “law & tech” endeavors often widen the gap between the legal haves and have-nots (think “digital dead end“), but this Law Decoded project (in progress) shows real promise, in addition to having a high cool factor, which never hurts. And even if it stalls, the intention, to make the law truly readable and “accessible” to all, should never be forgotten or lost in that legal-tech forest where you find a plethora of fancier A2J endeavors.

“Discover the Code of Virginia: THE LAWS OF VIRGINIA, FOR NON-LAWYERS.

Virginia Decoded provides the Code of Virginia on one friendly website. Inline definitions, cross-references, bulk downloads, a modern API, and all of the niceties of modern website design. It’s like the expensive software lawyers use, but free and wonderful….” [Link to Virginia Decoded.]

Published on: May 23, 2012

Does Equitable Access to Digital Content Exist? Libraries, Licensing, and Privacy

By Laura Orr

InfoDocket links us to, “New Report from ALA Explores Challenges of Equitable Access to Digital Content”

“The American Library Association (ALA) today released a new report examining critical issues underlying equitable access to digital content through our nation’s libraries. In the report, titled “E-content: The Digital Dialogue,” authors explore an unprecedented and splintered landscape in which several major publishers refuse to sell e-books to libraries; proprietary platforms fragment our cultural record; and reader privacy is endangered….” [Link to ALA press release and report.]