The first TASCHA Talk of winter quarter will take place today, Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 3:30pm in the RCB multi-purpose room (4th floor of the Roosevelt Commons Building - 4311 11th Ave NE). **Please note: if you have a UW parking permit, you can park under RCB for free using your permit!!** Public access ICT in disaster management Speakers: Maria Garrido & Beth Patin Maria Garrido and Beth Patin will discuss the role of telecenters and libraries in the context of crisis informatics, an emerging field of inquiry. Crisis informatics reframes the role of public access to ICT in emergency response as a socially distributed information system that leverages citizen-to-citizen communication in the lifecycle of a disaster. Public access to computers and internet, particularly telecenters and libraries, can play an important role in preventing and responding to disasters or emergency situations. By providing access to information and acting as information sources, public access venues enable citizen-to-citizen generated information that fulfill important needs during and after a disaster. From the use of blogs, micro-blogging, social networking sites, and more, citizen communication and information activities serve critical, logistical, community-building, and other roles. Additionally, telecenters and libraries often play a variety of roles that go beyond ICT access, acting as shelters, resource providers, and coordination centers, improvising based on community needs. -- Melody Clark Research Coordinator | Global Impact Study Technology & Social Change (TASCHA) melclark@uw.edu<mailto:melclark@uw.edu> | 206.685.7819 Twitter: @ictimpact www.globalimpactstudy.org<http://www.globalimpactstudy.org/>