From the publisher: Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007 assesses public access to computers, the Internet and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, and the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment and sustainability. The study builds on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries begun in 1994 by John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure of the Information Institute at Florida State University.This comprehensive report provides information that can help library directors and library IT staff benchmark and advocate for technology resources in communities across the nation. The data also is of importance for policymakers at local, state and federal levels, manufacturers of information and communication technologies, and the communities served by public libraries.
The study provides data from thousands of rural, suburban and urban libraries in every state; information provided by 43 state library agencies; and feedback from focus groups and site visits in Delaware, Maryland, Nevada and Utah. Additional state data tables are provided online at Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study and Public Libraries & the Internet
The study is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association.
