Gates Library Foundation Wiring 257 of Alabama's 270 Public Libraries
Staff -- Library Journal, 1/11/1998
After Alabama, the next six poorest states based on poverty levels will be considered for a statewide project similar to Alabama's: Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Stonesifer also told LJ that 36 inner-city libraries applied for GLF's urban grant program, while 72 applied for opportunity grants. She said that GLF would award grants to 20 libraries in each of the two groups in 1998.
In an exclusive interview with Library Journal, Patty Stonesifer, president and chairman of the Gates Library Foundation (GLF), disclosed that by the end of March the philanthropic organization will have completed the job of linking 257 of Alabama's 270 public library buildings to the Internet. GLF is giving the libraries cash ranging from $4000 to more than $100,000--depending on size and need--to buy the needed computer hardware, according to Stonesifer. GLF's technological arm, the Technology Resource Institute, is supplying technical training and support. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda formed GLF in 1987, saying they were donating $200 million to help bootstrap libraries onto the net. 
