Toward Universal Access to All Knowledge

Join pioneering Internet access innovator Brewster Kahle for MSRI/BCC’s “Toward Universal Access to All
Knowledge,” 7-8:15 p.m., Wed., Mar. 18

“Toward Universal Access to All Knowledge” presented by pioneering Internet access innovator Brewster Kahle, takes place 7-8:15 p.m., Wed., Mar. 18, in Berkeley City College’s auditorium. The presentation is free and open to the public. Reserve your free tickets at https://www.msri.org/general_events/20845. A ticket is required for admission to the auditorium.
Mr. Kahle will focus on the questions: Will we allow ourselves to re-invent our concept of libraries to expand and to use the new technologies? Can we make all the published works of humankind accessible to everyone, no matter where they are in the world.
Advances in computing and communications mean that we can cost-effectively store every book, sound recording, movie, software package, and public web page ever created, and provide access to these collections via the Internet to students and adults all over the world. By using existing institutions and funding sources, we can build this as well as compensate authors within the current worldwide library budget. A passionate advocate for public Internet access and a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Kahle has spent his career intent on a singular focus: Universal Access to All Knowledge. Soon after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he helped found the company Thinking Machines, a supercomputer maker. In 1989, Mr. Kahle created the Internet’s first publishing system called Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) and established WAIS, Inc. He also founded the Internet Archive, one of the largest digital libraries in the world. With a staff of nearly 150, and 100 partnering libraries, the organization is working to create an online catalog of every book ever created.