the Digital Town Hall

The work of InternetforEveryone.org in promoting widespread broadband infrastructure development is essential to support public access to information in our rapidly changing world. Internet users want to communicate, learn, consume, and create online. Increasingly, users need to be able to interact effectively in this medium, as our government asks us to utilize e-government services and employers require us to fill out job applications online.

While it is imperative to advocate for affordable, quality broadband access to the home and business, we should not forget the role that civic and community organizations play in connecting the “have nots” of our society. Assuring equitable access to information has been the raison d'être of public libraries, and broadband technologies play an increasingly vital role in enabling libraries to provide essential services.

According to a 2008 study by the American Library Association, nearly 73% of libraries report that they are the only source of free access to computers and Internet in their communities. In rural areas, the role of the public library is even more critical, as 83% of libraries are the only no-fee Internet provider.

Over half of the libraries surveyed reported that their connectivity speed was insufficient some or all of the time, due to increasing user demand for Internet access. In the world of public libraries, there are many obstacles to access to fast, robust connectivity, including under-informed decision makers, poor data on broadband availability and pricing, and a continued reticence on the part of the telecommunications industry to invest in infrastructure projects that don’t mesh with their bottom line. In some rural areas, the cost of connecting a library to broadband is prohibitively expensive, or not available at all.

We need to continue to educate local and national lawmakers and regulators on the applications and services made possible by broadband connectivity. We need to suggest improvements to data collection practices so that institutions like libraries can make more informed purchasing decisions. We need to continue to support innovative models such as regional broadband cooperatives that help public libraries deliver broadband services. We need to explore fiber build out—the “connectivity gift that keeps on giving”—to library buildings or systems in order to help meet the explosive demand on library broadband networks and provide a platform for users to tinker with emerging bandwidth-intensive applications.

Public libraries will continue to provide equitable access to information for all. Many different user groups need this space—whether physical or virtual—in order to search for jobs, communicate with relatives, participate in political forums, work on school projects, and access e-government services. More and more, these tasks require fast, reliable Internet connectivity. If we care to support equal access to information for citizens in the 21st century, we need to start thinking about broadband infrastructure in the same way we think about other critical services. Broadband connectivity needs to be seen as a core component—not an optional add-on—to a healthy and innovative society.