ResourceBlog Article: Public libraries challenged to meet patron needs for high-speed Internet access

contact us \| suggestion \| cart

Receive the weekly sampler of posts and "Resource of the Week".
Subscribe »

My Account »

If you find ResourceShelf useful, please supply a testimonial »

Home > ResourceBlog > Article

« All ResourceBlog Articles

$\"Feed\"$

Thursday, 21st May 2009

Public libraries challenged to meet patron needs for high-speed Internet access

From the Summary:

With growing demand for public Internet services and Wi-fi access, nearly 60 percent of U.S. public libraries report Internet connection speeds are insufficient to meet patron demand at some point in the day, according to the 2008-2009

"As more and more people turn to their public libraries for critical access to online information and services, the bandwidth needed to provide these services increases rapidly," said American Library Association (ALA) President Jim Rettig. "Just over 70 percent of libraries report they are the only source of free access to computers and the Internet in their communities. As the nation begins to invest in high-speed broadband build-out, it is crucial that that investment include public libraries."

Nationally one in five libraries report connection speeds less than 1.5 Mbps (T1), and the disparity between urban libraries and their rural counterparts is pronounced. About one-third of rural libraries have connection speeds less than 1.5 Mbps, compared with 7.1 percent of urban libraries, and 16 percent of suburban public libraries.

The complete study will be released in September 2009. The study is funded by the ALA and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Source: ALA

Category:

Search News (ResourceShelf)

blog comments powered by Disqus

« All ResourceBlog Articles

The FreePint Family is a family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success.

'FreePint... provides most of my professional development because it won't come through work and [other resources] just don't cut it.'

Read about the FreePint Family »

FreePint Shop: FreePint sells reports, resources and subscription products to support your information work and information-related decisions.

Latest: FreePint Volume: Critical Insight on Social Media 2012 (01 Feb 2012) | FUMSI Report: Folio on Conferences and Continuing Professional Development (26 Jan 2012) | FreePint Research Report: Information Governance Policies and Priorities (25 Jan 2012) | Docuticker Report: DocuTips on Health Literacy (19 Jan 2012) | VIP Magazine: 98 (18 Jan 2012)

Browse the FreePint Shop »

FUMSI Forum: Do you have a research question? Post it to the FUMSI Forum, where professionals share Q&A and useful tips on how to Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. It's free.

Latest FUMSI Forum postings: Most Shared Content on Finding Information (09 Feb 2012) | Times are changing - a FUMSI Editorial (09 Feb 2012) | [TIPPLE] eBook resources - Share (07 Feb 2012) | Most Shared Content on Sharing Information (01 Feb 2012) | Our own worst enemy? - a FUMSI Editorial (01 Feb 2012)

Visit the FUMSI Forum and post »

VIP LiveWire: Offers commentary on emerging news stories of interest to premium content users, vendors and industry insiders.

Latest VIP LiveWire postings: Compliance - it's not just financial (10 Feb 2012) | Social media and BRIC - new report (08 Feb 2012) | Reuters takes the social media pulse (08 Feb 2012) | How to deal with the tech-savvy customer? (08 Feb 2012) | More ways for employers to poke around (01 Feb 2012)

Visit the VIP LiveWire »

Subscribe to the ResourceShelf Newsletter and receive the weekly sampler of posts and Resource of the Week.

Find out more »

ResourceShelf sponsored by:

Article Categories

Search News (9309)
Source File (9460)
Web 2.0 (2523)

All Article Categories »