What is a Community Network?

A community network is a computer-based electronic network that provides a wide range of public and community-based information and services to people in a community for little or no cost. Although not a requirement, these systems are generally administered by non-profit groups or governmental agencies. Attention is paid to providing access to people who traditionally have little or no access to electronic information and services. Generally community networks are activist- oriented, and have been established primarily to meet social needs rather than financial goals. Outreach to and feedback from the community are vital to the system, offering a participatory medium, utilizing the principle of many-to-many communications.

For more information about Community Networks, examine the Community Net-Working page maintained by the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

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Chicago Coalition for Information Access / Maintained by Robin Burke / burke@cs.uchicago.edu
Last modified: Tue Jan 16 14:15:55 1996