Jessamyn Charity West (born September 5, 1968) is an American library technologist and writer known for her activism and work on the digital divide.

[12][13] She has staffed information desks at Burning Man and the 1999 WTO protests, and supported and maintained the Internet Archive's Open Library project.

[16] She believed that "the money factor" skewed the relationship between the researcher and consumer of information, and played a part in the service's later demise.

[20] She addressed challenges faced by people in rural communities on The Takeaway podcast in September 2019, "How Libraries Are Bridging the Digital Divide".

[24] In a 2022 interview on the Slate (magazine) podcast, "Working," she described herself as a "rural tech evangelist" who is committed to helping to alleviate the digital divide.

[30] In 2007, West made a YouTube video of herself installing Ubuntu on two library computers, which attracted thousands of views and requests for free CDs from Canonical.

"[34] Wired described her as "on the front lines in battling the USA PATRIOT Act," particularly the provisions that allow warrantless searches of library records.

[36] West, standing up for the individuals' right to digital privacy, sued Equifax in small claims court in Vermont.

[39] When notified that she had won her claim, West noted her intention was "the explicit mission of demonstrating that citizens are not powerless when it comes to their personal information.

"[40] In 2019, Jessamyn West's CNN Opinion essay, "Libraries are fighting to preserve your right to borrow e-books", drew wide attention for her stark assessment, "Librarians to publishers: Please take our money.

[43] In 2022 Laughing Monk Brewing created a benefit beer named Sister Jessamyn dedicated to West for her "activism, work on the digital divide, and safe access to knowledge and free spaces."