Introduction
The editors define community informatics as “[…] the theory and practice of empowering communities with information and communication technologies”, (p.xi) acknowledging the overlap with many of the research concerns of its better-known big brother – social informatics. The seven chapters that make-up this volume reflect diverse research endeavours exploring the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICT) are appropriated as tools by communities ranging from South African slum dwellers to Italian citizen-activists.
The editors and contributors are academics, the stated aim of the volume is to add theoretical perspectives to a growing body of literature, most notably generated by the annual Prato community informatics conferences and the Journal of Community Informatics. The editors emphasise their intention for the work to reflect the range of approaches and research contributing to community informatics, rather than propose one main or distinctive theory. Therein lies much of the appeal of this book.
Despite the emphasis on the theoretical, the content is anything but dry or dull. Remarkably, given the different authorial voices, all chapters were distinguished by readability, and each was engaging in its own way. Perhaps this is due to the focus of community informatics on empowering communities; it was difficult to resist the authors’ obvious enthusiasm or even passion for their subjects: their communities.
The first two chapters consider the use of ICT in two very different but related settings. The use of ICT in Finnish volunteer activities was shown to be not so much as a source of help but as tools that could facilitate interaction. In Southern Italy, the elderly subjects of the research demonstrated the ability to select the tools that were most useful to them rather than simply rejecting anything perceived as new. The two subsequent chapters explore the use of ICT in crisis situations, discussing “clicktivism” along the way. The following chapter proposes new approaches to knowledge production, clearly demonstrating how more genuine engagement between academics and citizens can address the real shortcomings of the academic endeavours which are becoming more and more apparent (cases of fraud, the falsification of data and misrepresentation of findings are not likely to be one-off isolated incidents). The final two chapters consider, from very different perspectives, a particular manifestation of ICT, often regarded as defining everyday life: the mobile phone.
Some of the most-effective writing is characterised by evoking a strong sense of place. Particularly striking examples include description of earthquake devastated L’Acquila, a small city in central Italy, to Larry Stillman’s powerful and moving narrative of life in Zandspruit, a South African shanty town. In contrast, Jane Vincent’s vivid and compelling account of the development of mobile phones in historical context of other technological innovations is not specifically location-based, and yet still provides fascinating contextual detail with the description of Liverpool’s Telegraph House. What all chapters have in common is intelligent and highly nuanced discussion of the role and utilisation of ICT by communities.
This book is highly recommended. It will be of particular interest to academics seeking fresh ideas and motivation and researchers alert for new approaches and methodologies. All contributions are guaranteed to be thought-provoking and stimulating, hopefully the book will further insight and critical consideration of technological determinism. The ways in which the young, the elderly, the poor and the disenfranchised utilise ICT tools to build and shape communities makes for often surprising and exciting reading. For librarians seeking ways in which ICT can be used to engage with their communities, this book provides an important glimpse of the bigger picture.
