[Libs-Or] [Fwd: [alacro-l] FCC releases new report highlighting role of libraries in bridging broadband divide]

Tue Mar 2 14:49:40 PST 2010

FYI,

Suzanne L. Sager
Oregon ALA Chapter Councilor

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[alacro-l] FCC releases new report highlighting role of 
libraries in bridging broadband divide
Date: 	Tue, 2 Mar 2010 17:18:16 -0500
From: 	Don Wood <dwood at ala.org>
To: 	<alacro-l at ala.org>

Good afternoon, everyone.

I am writing to alert folks to a new report the FCC released today that 
confirms and complements (and cites) many of the findings from recent 
Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study reports. With library 
budgets being discussed and decided as we speak, the study may provide 
information you can use to inform decisionmakers (with the caveat that 
public library limitations also are referenced).

"*Broadband Adoption in Low-Income Communities*," conducted by the 
Social Science Research Council (SSRC), draws on roughly 170 interviews 
of non-adopters, community access providers, and other intermediaries -- 
including library patrons and library staff. Primary research was 
conducted in Philadelphia, Albuquerque, upstate New York and 
Minneapolis-St. Paul in late 2009 and early 2010. 
http://webarchive.ssrc.org/broadband_adoption.pdf

Key findings (verbatim) are:

    * Broadband access is increasingly a requirement of socio-economic
      inclusion -- and residents of low-income communities know it this.
    * Price is only one factor shaping the fragile equilibrium of home
      broadband adoption, and price pressures go beyond the obvious
      challenge of high monthly fees.
    * Libraries and other community organizations fill the gap between
      low home broadband adoption and high demand, and provide a number
      of other critical services, such as training and support.

The full report is worth reading, but the first and third findings are 
of the greatest value to libraries in communicating the need to support 
and fund public libraries in the Digital Age, and specifically to 
support improved technology infrastructure in libraries to meet 
community demand. The report also describes the constraints and 
limitations of public libraries, including time limits, computers in 
disrepair, wait times for computers, and -- in many cases -- diminishing 
staffing.

In the first finding, the SSRC details how broadband access is critical 
for job searches, education and online government interactions.

                *Work*

"With remarkable consistency, respondents described the importance of 
the Internet to job searches and other employment-related activities, 
even at the low end of the skill and wage ladder. Finding and applying 
for jobs, maintaining contact with employers, training to find better 
jobs, and other basic aspects of employment are increasingly Internet 
based---leaving those without access or only intermittent access at a 
serious disadvantage." (p. 17)

"The problems facing those without regular Internet access...are obvious 
and can be exacerbated by low Internet proficiency and limited English 
literacy. Large employers with online hiring portals typically recommend 
reserving at least 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete electronic job 
applications---a length of time that bumps up against typical time 
limits for Internet access in many public libraries and community 
centers." (p. 19)

*Education*

"For many parents who lack home connections, sending or bringing their 
children to libraries and other third spaces for homework-related 
activities is part of their weekly or even daily routine. The libraries 
we visited were consistently packed during after-school hours with 
children and teenagers using the computers and printers, getting 
homework help, and hanging out with friends.

For other families among our respondents, trips to the library to use 
computers are more difficult. A frequent complaint of working adults was 
that library hours were inconvenient for their work schedules." (p. 20)

"Students of all ages in our sample reported relying on computers at 
public libraries to complete their schoolwork." (p. 22)

*E-government*

"The shift to online [government] services represents a huge challenge 
for many social service recipients, and it disproportionately affects 
people at the low end of the socio-economic ladder. Those who require 
social service support the most are consistently the least likely to be 
able to afford either a working computer or home access and the most 
likely to need help accomplishing tasks online." (p. 23)

In the third finding (pp. 37-48), the SSRC describes the key roles 
libraries (and other "third spaces") play in helping bridge a persistent 
digital divide in the United States. This entire section is very 
relevant to the library community. "In every community we visited, 
libraries were the most frequently mentioned sites of broadband access 
outside the home" (p. 43). The report describes the need for formal and 
informal skill-building and its impact on staff, and the funding and 
infrastructure pressures libraries are under in meeting demand for 
technology services.

*/Technology assistance and staffing/*

The report references the need for human support in helping many 
computer users gain the essential skills they need to navigate online. 
Often these skills must be learned within a high-pressure context of 
applying for work or government benefits and within a funding and 
staff-constrained environment.

"Many intermediaries observed that as essential activities move online, 
users with the lowest technical proficiency and general literacy are 
increasingly motivated to connect. Invariably, this population needs 
more help to complete online tasks than more proficient groups." (p. 44)

"Staff time was almost always described as the scarcest resource...and 
staff expansion the most often-cited way of improving third-space 
support for constituents" and "Staffing problems extend to maintenance 
of the computer infrastructure." (p. 45)

*/Funding and cost shifting/*: The report acknowledges and describes 
many of the pressures libraries work under in meeting growing demand.

"Libraries have been shifting resources to accommodate the ever-growing 
demand for online services, but governments have generally not 
recognized or funded this expansion of service." (p. 47)

"Field Report Excerpt #5" shares a conversation with library staff from 
the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County library system in New Mexico about 
cost-shifting to libraries.

Among the study conclusions: "Cost-shifting onto community organizations 
needs to be met with additional funding of those organizations" and 
"Fuller funding of these intermediaries is the best means of assuring a 
meaningful broadband safety net and a stronger pathway to adoption in 
these communities." (p. 51)

Full report: http://webarchive.ssrc.org/broadband_adoption.pdf

The *FCC* also released survey data last week on broadband adoption and 
use in America, which many of you may already have seen. If not, it's 
here: 
http://wiredpen.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/fcc_broadband_survey_feb2010.pdf. 

The *Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study* provides 
additional national and state-level detail on all of the issues 
referenced above, including briefing reports on job-seeking, education 
and lifelong learning, and e-government. The reports are available at: 
http://www.ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/plftas/issuesbriefs/index.cfm, 
along with preliminary 2009-10 findings released at the ALA Midwinter 
Meeting: "A Perfect Storm Brewing: Budget Cuts Threaten Library Services 
at Time of Increased Demand."

The *ALA Washington Office* videotaped today's study announcement with 
the FCC and SSRC researchers, which should be up at 
http://vimeo.com/user1958572 tomorrow. And here's a link to the District 
Dispatch just posted: http://bit.ly/d8iKX3.

Best, Larra

Larra Clark

Project Manager

ALA Office for Research & Statistics

800-941-8478 x8213

www.ala.org/plinternetfunding

-- 
Portland State University logo

Suzanne L. Sager
Library East, Cataloging
Portland State University

503-725-8169
503-725-5799
sagers at pdx.edu

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