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Commerce Report Shows
Growing Racial “Digital Divide”

A report issued July 8 by the U.S. Department of Commerce reveals a growing disparity in Internet use between whites and ethnic minorities.

Falling Through the Net III: Defining the Digital Divide, the agency’s third annual report on the increasing gap between technology “haves” and “have-nots,” shows that the gap between white and both black and Hispanic households is now 6% larger than four years ago: About 47% of all whites own computers, as opposed to 23% of blacks. Although people at the lowest income levels have the lowest levels of computer use, the racial disparity isn’t income-based: More than 33% of white families making $15,000–$35,000 own computers, but only 19% of blacks.

“The NTIA research confirms what ALA members have been telling us—that libraries serve a vital social role as Internet access points for people who are otherwise unconnected to the information superhighway,” said Lynne Bradley, acting director of ALA’s Washington Office.

Posted Ju;y 12, 1999.

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