It also refers to a physical space, usually in an academic library, where any and all can participate in the processes of information research, gathering and production.
that the increasing control and commodification of information restricts humanity's ability to encourage and foster positive developments in its cultural, academic, and economic growth.
[1] The internet facilitated the decentralized production and distribution of information because it bypasses the control of some of more traditional publishing methods.
[3] Many innovative programmers have and released open source applications to the public, without the restrictive licensing conditions of commercial software.
This changed in the 1970s when IBM decided to take more control of their products, removing the source codes and not allowing the redistribution of their software.
This expanded in the late 1990s with the growth of the Internet, which facilitated international cooperation and allowed individuals and groups to share their products more freely.
In 1998 Netscape Communications Corporation announced that all future versions of their software would be free of charge and developed by an Open Source Community (Mozilla).
European and American academic communities began to find alternate ways to distribute and manage scholarly information.
“It is an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to correct imbalances in the scholarly publishing system.
[11] Although statistics such as gate counts illustrate the impact of an information commons, there is more to success than just getting students into the library's facilities.
In addition, increased hardwired Internet connections let students access large files, such as multimedia, or offer an alternative to wireless when the network becomes saturated at peak use times.
Information commons frequently have furniture built to accommodate several people sharing a common computer and provide large tables where several students can use their laptops while working together, comfortable seating areas with upholstered furniture to encourage informal meetings, cafes with food and drink, and group study rooms, often with a computer and screen, so students can work together efficiently on projects.