Just as our forefathers and mothers knew it made food sense to invest in libraries as a shared community Source for books, it makes even more sense to support libraries in acquiring the powerful technology needed to obtain electronic lnformation.
Nothing is more important to the future of our democracy than ensuring public access to information. That is why we need our nation's school, public and college libraries online.
The technological revolution is happening now, and now is the time to support your library and all libraries in their efforts to ensure equity on the information superhighway.
Betty J.Turock, President, 1995-96
Riding the information superhighway
Before there was talk of an information superhighway, there were libraries.
In fact, you might say librarians paved the way for the information superhighway, with many Americans having their first hands-on encounter with a computer at the library. University libraries, in particular, have been leaders in making their collections available online- not just to students but to researchers around the globe.
Today, an increasing number of public and school libraries offer online public access both to their own collections and to worldwide data networks. And librarians are experts at helping others to navigate the myriad of databases known as the information superhighway.
Some examples:
€ In Seattle, a mother researched her daughter's chronic ear condition online at the library before deciding whether to proceed with surgery.
€ Library users in Clinton, Iowa, can view statewide job listing via an electronic bulletin board.
€ Third-graders at Macedon (N.Y.) Elementary School joined explorer Will Steger on his walk from an island near St. Petersburg in Russia to the North Pole and south to Canada via online connections at their school library media center,
€ Maryland residents obtain online stock market reports, travel advisories, job listings and more at their homes, schools and businesses thanks to the federally-funded Sailor project, which provides free statewide access to the Internet via libraries.
€ In Columbia, Mo., residents can send e-mail and participate in listservs and "chat" lines via the Columbia Online Information Network (COIN) at the Daniel Boone Regional Library.
Needed: Equal access
New technology threatens to widen the gap between the "information rich" and "information poor" even as it promises to revolutionize how we live, learn, work and govern. Statistics such as these underscore the need for policies to ensure equal access to electronic information sources:
€ Fewer than one in three U.S. households own a computer. Only 10 percent own a modem required for online access.
€ Families earning $50.000 or more are five times more likely to have access to computers and ten times more likely to have access to online services than other families.
€ Those living in rural areas and central cities are least likely to possess computers and modems.
€ African-American and Latino school children are less likely to have access to computers (both at home and at school) than white children.
Solution: Libraries
Libraries have always served to connect people of an ages and backgrounds with the books and other resources they need for their education and enjoyment. This role is more critical than ever in the new era of electronic information.
At a time when only one of three American households owns a computer, our nation's libraries are uniquely positioned to serve as the public's on-ramp to the information superhighway.
Libraries that are online support equal access in many ways. These include:
€ providing free public access to the Internet and other vital information resources;
€ teaching people of all ages to use new technology;
€ supporting community networks and serving as a central hub for local resources;
€ making their collections accessible online in their communities and around the world;
€ advocating for free and open access to electronic information.
Unfortunately, the high costs of technology are making it difficult for some libraries to carry out this critical function.
The most recent statistics show:
€ about 1 in 5 public libraries are connected to the information superhighway. This number varies by population served from 13 percent in public libraries serving less than 5,000 people to 77 percent in public libraries serving over a million.
€ 67 percent of academic libraries are connected to the information superhighway with the number ranging from 100 percent for doctorate-granting institutions to 56 percent for public two-year colleges and 24 percent for private two-year colleges.
€ only 11 percent of public elementary school libraries and 21 percent of high school libraries were found to be connected in a 1993 survey of 12 states.
These numbers are growing rapidly thanks to the leadership of librarians and the support of savvy communities. But not rapidly enough. A new infusion of support from both public and private sources is needed if Americans are to enjoy the same level of intellectual participation in the next century as they do today.
Rules of the road
The new era of electronic information has raised many issues of special concern to the nation's libraries and librarians.
The American Library Association is committed to ensuring that all Americans have access to the information superhighway and believes that its development should be guided by the following principles:
1. Open access to information must be guaranteed in the electronic environment. There must be a balance between fair return to copyright owners and the needs of users if members of the public, as well as commercial interests, are to benefit from new technology.
2. Equity must be ensured via libraries, government and a diversity of sources which make information affordable and available to all people. Electronic information must also be documented, organized and archived to maximize accessibility.
3. Libraries must be supported in their traditional role of providing public access to information regardless of format. Telecommunications rates for libraries and educational institutions should be stable, predictable and affordable.
4. Privacy must be protected. Individuals should have the right to inspect and correct data files about themselves. Transaction data should be confidential.
5. First Amendment rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution must be protected. Access to electronic information should be available and affordable to all people. Individuals must have the right to choose what information they wish to receive.
6. Easy access should be encouraged through uniform standards of operation by government, telephone companies, computer manufacturers and other providers.
What you can do