Colin Rhinesmith
2015-2017, 2021-2022
Benton Senior Faculty Research Fellow
Colin Rhinesmith (pronouns: he/him) is an Associate Professor and Director of the Community Informatics Lab in the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science (iSchool). He is also the Editor-In-Chief of The Journal of Community Informatics.
Rhinesmith’s research is focused on the social, community, and policy aspects of information and communication technology, particularly in areas related to digital inclusion and broadband adoption. During his 2021-2022 fellowship with the Benton Institute, Rhinesmith will examine what he is calling "digital equity ecosystems" in communities across the United States.
Rhinesmith is affiliated with the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, as a member of its Scholar’s Council. Previously, Rhinesmith was a Google Policy Fellow and an Adjunct Research Fellow with New America’s Open Technology Institute. He was also a Faculty Associate with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Rhinesmith received his Ph.D. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was an Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded Information in Society Fellow, a Researcher with the Center for People and Infrastructures, and a Research Scholar with the Center for Digital Inclusion.
He is the author of Digital Inclusion and Meaningful Broadband Adoption Initiatives (January 2016), co-author of Digital Inclusion Outcomes-Based Evaluation (May 2017), and co-author of Growing Health Digital Equity Ecosystems During COVID-19 and Beyond (November 2020).
Colin's Articles:
While More Americans Rely on Parking Lot Wi-Fi, Many Public Libraries Do Not Have Adequate Broadband
Too uneducated to understand the importance of home Internet?
The Ability to Pay for Broadband
Digital Inclusion and Outcomes-Based Evaluation
Digital Equity Planning in U.S. Cities
Digital Literacy and Inclusion: “We Are All In It Together”
Poverty and the Cost of Broadband
Understanding Broadband Un-adopters
The Complexity of ‘Relevance’ as a Barrier to Broadband Adoption
