Gates Foundation Gives Grants To Libraries
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced Tuesday that it will provide $3.4 million in grants to help libraries in five states improve their Internet connections and also will partner with 14 other states to help public libraries compete for federal broadband stimulus funding.
A September study released by the American Library Association found that while Internet usage at libraries has increased dramatically in the wake of the economic recession, their funding has decreased. It also found that 60 percent of libraries say the current Internet speed they provide users is insufficient, while 81 percent of libraries surveyed said they do not have enough Internet-connected computers to meet demand some or all of the time and also are having trouble finding the money to replace outdated computers.
The Gates foundation grants are going to state libraries in Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Virginia to implement plans to improve and maintain Internet connections at local libraries. At the same time, the foundation said it will work with Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and Washington to help them develop proposals to apply for broadband grants, provided by the federal economic stimulus package, for their local libraries. "Federal, state, and local government investments in connecting libraries to broadband are important steps toward realizing the vision of universal broadband access," said Jill Nishi, deputy director of the foundation's U.S. library program.
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