Gates Foundation renews library aid

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is renewing its effort to support free access to the Internet in U.S. libraries by providing new computers and high-speed connections to libraries that have struggled to keep up with technology.

A new series of grants began with an $11.5 million investment at the end of December and will continue to put millions of dollars into libraries in 32 states, said Jill Nishi, program manager for the foundation's library initiative. The foundation bought new hardware for libraries in the other 18 states last year.

Nishi said 40 percent of American libraries have had trouble getting the money to buy new equipment and faster connections since the foundation began a decade ago to work to get every public library connected to the Internet.

"The fact that 60 percent of public libraries are in fact reinvesting on their own without our assistance is very, very encouraging," Nishi said Wednesday.

The foundation is targeting libraries that serve communities where at least 10 percent of the population is poor. Libraries will be expected to match the foundation's dollars to participate in the program.

Another aspect of the foundation's current series of library grants will involve helping these public institutions compete for government dollars.

"Libraries have been perceived as nice amenities, but they haven't been perceived as critical to the lives of their patrons. We want to help them assert their value," Nishi said.

She offered Hurricane Katrina as one instance of the value of library Internet access, offering people a way to download federal assistance forms. People lined up in libraries all over the Gulf Coast states to access that information.

The foundation has not put a dollar figure on its next round of grants, but said it made six grants totaling $11.5 million at the end of 2006, including $3.9 million to WebJunction to help public libraries plan for technology, manage hardware and software and train staff and patrons.

Another $2.6 million went to Florida State University to conduct annual surveys that track trends in Internet connections and public funding for libraries.

A study in 2006 by Florida State University researchers, which was also paid for by the Gates Foundation, helped inspire this round of grants, Nishi said.

The study found that about 37 percent of public libraries do not offer high-speed Internet access.

Nishi said the foundation wants to eliminate this "access divide," in which some public libraries have high-speed Internet connections and a number of up-to-the-minute computers while other libraries serve patrons with a few old computers and a dial-up connection.