Here are the notes that I got out of reading the Jaeger article. They help to answer the question from the study guide, and there are some key terms that might be on the test.
• One issue was that there just weren’t enough work stations in each library and so patrons were not able to have access, even though it was available in the actual library. Rural areas have the least about of work stations and it also depends on poverty level
• High speed connectivity is not evenly distributed across libraries. Urban libraries have higher connection speeds.
• Demand for bandwidth is increasing
• Current government view is that we are now “digitally inclusive”: concentrating on how many people are online rather than how many people are not, and viewing how many people there are online as an accomplishment
o This leads to cuts in funding but funding needs to be ongoing and continuous.
• Children’s internet protection act (CIPA): puts a limitation on a great range of information that people want to reach
o High cost of compliance
o Possible need for extra staff and extra staff training
o Does this fringe on imposing on our rights? Should public libraries ban things that should be available to everyone?
• Many people say that they are anxious to use libraries in public libraries because they have inexperience with technology.
o With CIPA, having to request certain information can be embarrassing.
• Patriot act has caused libraries to not keep records that would normally help them gain funding, knowledge about what they need to improve, they are now just trying to protect their patron’s privacy
• Suggestions: add wireless connectivity, definition of “quality” of internet and workstations is needed.
8 years ago