Two of U of A's Librarians Weigh the Pros and Cons of Zero Ratings

Michelle Gibeault

This fall, Michelle Gibeault and Stephanie Pierce of the University Libraries will travel to Milwaukee for the Digital Library Federation Forum to present "Lose the Zero, Get with the Hero – What Zero Ratings Mean for Digital Libraries."

Gibeault and Pierce hope to further a conversation about how librarians can help make the Internet available to everyone in the world, while also protecting the infrastructure of the World Wide Web.

"The bottom line is net neutrality rules affect access to the world's knowledge," said Gibeault.

Timely, considering Europe votes today on policies to uphold net neutrality. Proponents of net neutrality favor an open internet, free of favoritism or censorship. For digital citizens, this is a good time to become familiar with the debate:

• Fast Lanes: Fast lanes would allow carriers to offer faster access to certain websites for a fee. Opponents say content from start-ups, small businesses, artists, and everyday users might get lost in a "slow lane."
• Zero Ratings: By exempting certain applications from users' monthly data caps, a practice called zero-rating, opponents say carriers will be the ones to pick winners and losers by making certain apps more attractive to use.
• Defining Traffic: Carriers would like to define classes of traffic even in the absence of congestion. Opponents say this class-based management discriminates against certain content.

For more information on net neutrality and what you can do, visit the Libraries' Guide on the Open & Decentralized Web.

In her role as English and Communication Librarian, Michelle Gibeault focuses on helping students develop fluency with the changing information landscape. As a consequence, physical and virtual learning spaces, ecomedia, and library instruction pedagogy are research topics of interest for Gibeault.

Stephanie Pierce is the head of the Physics Library. She received her M.Li.S. from San Jose State University and a B.A. in history with a minor in anthropology from the University of Arkansas. Pierce has experience in a variety of different libraries, including academic, public, government, and medical, and she interned at the NASA Ames History Office in Moffett Field, California.