Report: Public libraries narrow the digital divide
SEATTLE (AP) — Build libraries and they will come — and surf.
Public libraries have helped narrow the digital divide by providing free access to computers and the Internet, according to a report released Wednesday at the Public Library Association 10th National Conference, which ends Saturday.
More than 95 percent of the nation’s public libraries now offer Internet access to the public, with 14 million people using them regularly to get online, said the report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Families earning less than $15,000 a year are two to three times more likely to rely on libraries than those earning more than $75,000.
“Cuts in library budgets won’t turn off the Internet for wealthy or middle-class families,” William H. Gates Sr., co-chairman of the foundation, said in a news release. “It will turn off the Internet for people who have nowhere else to turn.”
Since 1997, the foundation has spent $250 million to provide libraries with computer hardware, software, training and technical support.
As a priority for library users, computers for public use tied for third place with homework help centers, according to a 2003 poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
The No. 1 priority was reading programs for children.
A study released by the association Tuesday showed that early-literacy programs for parents and caregivers boosted youngsters’ interest in vocabulary, reading, and library use. That early support helps children later, both in school and with reading in general.
A child who is a poor reader at the end of the first grade has a 90 percent chance of still being a poor reader at the end of fourth grade, that study said.
“So getting them early is really essential,” said Luis Herrera, association president.
Early intervention especially helped teen parents and “low-education, low-income parents,” said the study by the Chicago-based American Library Association, an umbrella organization that includes the Public Library Association.
Over the past year, 39 states have reported substantial reductions in library budgets at the state, county and city levels, Herrera said, while patronage has nearly doubled over the last decade.
“It’s ironic that Americans do have a love affair with libraries, but we want that to translate into support and funding,” he said.
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On the Net:
American Library Association: www.ala.org
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: www.gatesfoundation.org