Information Policy in 2016: Let’s Have Some Optimism

[Commentary] As we welcome the New Year, policy wonks appreciate that as the last year of a second-term president, this is a special year. That means major turnover is coming in senior posts in the Administration regardless of who wins the presidency. It also means that policy people should be beginning to draft their proposals for the next Administration. Let’s begin with hope and vision. There will be time enough for lesser thoughts. Just think about what’s happened with digital technology since the Obama presidential transition of 2008. The “new sharing economy” was just beginning with the founding of Airbnb and Uber in 2008 and 2009 and the “the internet of things” had not yet emerged on the national agenda. The age of the smartphone, e-books, and social media had just begun. So what can we do? We can begin by thinking and talking and writing in these terms—at least some of the time. And incorporate this thinking into our policy strategies and planning in the coming months. Let’s put some of that holiday cheer and a few of our resolutions for the new year to productive use. Coming from the library community, I represent a constituency of people who are fundamentally helpful and hopeful by nature. And with a new Librarian of Congress on the way—an information leader with the knowledge and influence to play a key role in shaping the digital age for the benefit of all—there is the opportunity to leverage this appointment to advance information policy in the interests of all—across ideological, societal sector, and party lines.
[Alan S. Inouye leads technology policy for the American Library Association. Previously, he coordinated the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee in the Executive Office of the President, and directed information technology policy studies at the National Academy of Sciences.]