The 1998 National Survey Of U.S. Public Library Outlet Internet Connectivity: Final Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Previous national studies of public libraries and the Internet documented the state and changes of public library Internet connectivity, type of connectivity, public access services, and costs associated with such connectivity from public library central units or systems/ The 1998 data studied all library outlets (defined as both central or system/administrative units and branches, excluding bookmobiles and 227 outlets for which it was not possible to determine the geocodes), the poverty level of the users served by these outlets, and the library's metropolitan status as urban, suburban, and rural (see Figure 1 for a detailed breakdown of public library outlets and their poverty-metropolitan status categories). This comprehensive picture can provide the public library community, policy makers, and researchers with a more informed picture of which library outlets in different types of poverty and/or urban/rural settings provide what level and type of Internet connectivity. Such data provide an important benchmark describing how public library outlets support Universal Service objectives as legislated through the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-104). The data can also inform policy makers as to possible future changes and impacts resulting from the disbursement of funds to these public library outlets in support of Universal Service objectives. Overall the study finds that there are some significant disparities among public library outlets in terms of their connectivity to the Internet, the type and speed of their public access connections to the Internet, and Internet-based service provision issues. The data also show, nationally, the degree to which public library outlets-especially those in rural areas and areas with high poverty-contribute to enhanced Universal Service as per the goals of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The key findings presented here offer highlights from the study. The following sections of this report contain detailed results and tables describing public library outlet Internet access, connectivity, and use of the Internet. Overall, the data show that 83.6% of all public library outlets have some type of connection to the Internet. The study also found that some disparities exist among public library outlets in terms of Internet access by metropolitan status. For example: • 91.0% of urban public library outlets are connected to the Internet; • 88.1% of suburban public libraries are connected to the Internet; and • 78.4% of rural public library outlets are connected to the Internet. The study also shows that disparities in terms of connectivity by different poverty levels is …