PL PC Access To Be Assessed

Most people agree that free access to computers in public libraries is a good thing. But exactly how and why? The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will work with the University of Washington Information School (iSchool) on a national study of the social, economic, personal, and professional value of such access. The iSchool will work with the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization. The $1 million project is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

While public libraries, with support from public and private funds, notably the Gates Foundation, have provided free access to the Internet and computers for more than a decade, as well as various other computer-related services, “little research has been done on the relationship between free access to computers and the benefits to individuals, families and communities” and the negative impacts of the lack of free access, according to the IMLS. The grant will last through March 2009.

The research team will work with libraries, users, and communities and an advisory committee of library leaders, researchers, and public policy organizations to develop methods to measure the benefits of free computer access. This, says IMLS, may help guide decision-making and also produce public support for public access computing.