[alac-forum] Recommendation for New TLD

["John Felton" <j.felton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings,

I am a librarian in a public library where I manage information technology.
Our library has been providing Internet access to the public since 1996.  I
would like to recommend a new top level domain for libraries.  (.lib)

According to the American Library Association, there are now 116,618
libraries in the U.S.  This includes public, academic, and school libraries
as well as special libraries, armed forces libraries, and government
libraries.  Internationally, the number is much higher.

Libraries have always been engaged in research, in the dissemination of
information, in education.  Millions of people use library web sites as
their portal for the Internet, because we have designed our sites around the
function of organizing and categorizing the vast amounts of information
available through the Internet.  Internet users access public library web
sites because they know that information professionals with no commercial
affiliation have evaluated the links they recommend.

Therefore, I believe it would be a public service for ICANN to establish a
separate domain for libraries.

Thank you.

John D. Felton
Coordinator, Information Services & Technology
Lincoln City Libraries
136 South 14th Street
Lincoln, NE  68508-1899

E-mail: jfelton@mail.lcl.lib.ne.us
Phone: 402-441-8522
Fax: 402-441-8509