Austin Free-Net
By John Evans
Austin Free-Net is a non-profit organization providing public access
to the Internet and information technologies for all residents of
Austin, Texas.
Upon reaching the Austin Free-Net web page, web surfers are greeted
with a simple, clean layout which organizes a lot of information.
Much of the site is aimed at inexperienced web users, but there are
links to in-depth pages for interested surfers.
The easiest way to explain Austin Free-Net is through their mission
statement: To provide convenient access to the Internet and computing
resources to all Austin residents through access and training sites
that are open to the public and free, and to educate the public on
the importance of providing equitable access to all Austin residents.
The many goals encapsulated in that sentence are explored in the different
sections of the site.
The "How-To" section starts with the most basic facts about
the Web, defining such terms as "modem", "browser"
and "URL" and working up to getting the most from your web
browser. There are also links to further information on the Web. This
page is expanded upon by Austin Free-Net's internet classes, listed
on the Calendar page. These classes are a large part of Austin Free-Net's
plan for providing information access.
The Project page lists a number of ongoing projects that make up
Austin Free-Net's activities. Here you can read about the Public Library
Project that provides free net access in libraries, as well as the
East Austin Community Network and Southeast Austin Community Youth
Development Project, programs which are aimed at providing access
in lower-income areas of Austin. The Sister Project is working to
establish a relationship with a "sister network" in Colombia,
and Austin Free-Net also sponsors SeniorLinks classes to help seniors
get connected.
The rest of the Austin Free-Net site provides supporting information.
The Locations page lists locations of public libraries and relevant
organizations, the Help AFN page talks about volunteers and contributions,
and the Community Resources page is an extensive, annotated list of
helpful sites. A section of the Resources page is devoted to Austin-specific
organizations and services, while the rest provides tips on what other
Internet sites are most useful.
Austin Free-Net is an ambitious project that appears, from their
press releases, to have been quite successful. While the front page
does mention the "digital divide" (and feature links to
articles about it), most of the site works under the rhetoric of "access
to all residents". It seems likely the website is working to
provide access to minorities and lower-income families, but this is
accomplished through publicly available computers in libraries and
resources in Spanish. I think this approach will be appealing as it
focuses on positive, idealistic goals which nevertheless can be accomplished
with simple, practical work. In fact, it was the spirit of optimism
which most struck me about the site, and made me feel comfortable
exploring it.