ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) has released the final report on stage one of its study Public Library Internet Services: Impacts on the Digital Divide, which examines how libraries have made technology available to those who could not otherwise afford it.
The study’s researchers, Charles McClure and John Bertot, found that: the e-rate discounts, LSTA, and the Gates Foundation awards made 1998–2000 a unique time period for public library information-technology infrastructure development; libraries have used funding from these programs to make huge gains in information technology, information structure, and network-based services and resources; the programs have spawned a number of innovative partnerships between public libraries and other organizations; and although the funding programs frequently constituted only 1% or less of the libraries’ budgets, they provided both discretionary monies and significant budget flexibility to libraries.
The stage-one report is available on the OITP Web site. The project is expected to be completed in 2001.
Posted October 2, 2000.