Benefits » Libraries When libraries are connected to high speed
Internet, the neighboring community benefits. Public libraries
serve as critical gateways to information outside one’s own
community, and in the Information Age this role has become even
more important. Libraries give people without home computers
free access to the Internet, helping America close the digital
divide. As reliance upon public libraries to provide broadband
telecommunications services for their community increases, it
becomes essential to have universal high speed connectivity in
libraries across the country. Although the need for libraries to
provide broadband access is increasing, many libraries are ill-
equipped to meet this need. In 2006, 98 percent of public
libraries indicated that they provided public access to the
Internet, but in the same survey, 45 percent reported that they
did not have sufficient bandwidth to satisfy their community’s
needs. Libraries without enough bandwidth to quickly transfer
data, images, and video pu