I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, titled “Digital Equity Ecosystems: How Community Coalitions Reduce Inequality and Strengthen Democracy” is now available from the University of California Press. The book introduces an ecosystem approach to study and understand the role of community coalitions in promoting digital equity and social justice. In addition, the book describes how these coalitions work to protect the environment through technology refurbishing while also providing spaces for democratic communication and civic participation in public life.
The book was featured in the iSchools Book Talk series and more information about the book can be found online at the publisher’s website.
Here is an excerpt from the Introduction, which describes the main argument and goals for the book.
In this book, I highlight and uplift stories of “ordinary” people—including educators, librarians, pastors, managers, neighbors, parents, and friends— doing extraordinary things in communities to help other people and our planet. This book underscores how a sense of community can be built by listening and paying attention to these everyday social interactions focused on care. The pandemic reminded us about the importance of digital technologies in our everyday lives, as well as about the face-to-face interactions that we need to solve problems and heal our natural world. However, if we are going to continue this work, we must move beyond an embrace of individualism and towards an embrace of interconnectedness with each other and the earth. By focusing on human and community interactions such as those highlighted in this book, I believe we can learn more about the things that connect us at a basic human level, which can also inspire us to create a better world for one another. At the same time, we must continue to question the role of digital technologies in supporting or limiting the possibilities for such interconnectedness.
