Public Internet Access Research Articles

Public libraries and the Internet 2007: Issues, implications, and expectations

This article presents an overview of the methods, findings, and the general implications of the 2007 Public Libraries and the Internet study. This annual study has chronicled public libraries' provision of Internet access to patrons and a range of related issues since the early 1990s. The 2007 study focused on the provision and maintenance of Internet access and services, infrastructure issues, community impacts of the technology, training, library technology funding, and e-government roles of public libraries. This article details these findings, exploring how the 2007 data compare to previous studies. It also considers the implications of these comparisons in terms of the levels of service that libraries are able to provide, the challenges that libraries face in providing these services, and the ways in which communities and governments rely on public libraries to guarantee public Internet access.

The Impacts of Free Public Internet Access on Public Library Patrons and Communities

Public libraries have evolved into a primary source of Internet access in many communities, generating wide‐ranging impacts in the communities that public libraries serve. Based on the findings of the 2007 Public Libraries and the Internet study, this article examines the ways in which the Internet access delivered by public libraries affects their communities. This article describes the public access technology roles of public libraries and explores the relationships among community impacts, community expectations, and public policies related to libraries. The analysis emphasizes the effects of future Internet platforms and applications and online communities on the community impacts. This article also examines ways in which to measure these impacts from other perspectives, including developing a means of assessing the users' perceptions of the impacts of public library Internet access in their own lives and in their communities.

Gaming or gaining? Comparing the use of Internet cafés in Indonesia and Tanzania

Main objectives of this study are to map and compare patterns of Internet use in poor contexts and to enhance the understanding of social gains from Internet access. The term ‘utility gap’ is introduced, defined as a divergence between optimal benefits and real social profit from regular Internet use at a specific site. Internet cafés are the most common venues for accessing the Internet in poor countries, and this research is based on a survey of customers in such cafés in two countries. The selected cities of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Yogyakarta in Indonesia represent typical poor African and Asian contexts for Internet use, which are worthy of comparing. At both locations, usage frequency tends to increase with higher individual competence and capacities. Type of use is influenced by age and gender, as well as by competence, capacities, and usage frequency. A high percentage of users utilise their Web access for socially gainful activities, and limited time is spent on games and gambling. Use patterns are quite similar in the two cities. However, the utility gap appears to be bigger in the Tanzanian than in the Indonesian context. Indonesians use access to the Web from Internet cafés primarily for instrumental purposes, like seeking information, while Tanzanians spend more resources for online recreation. The paper concludes that education and Internet experience are important for enhanced social gains from public Internet access.

Group disparities and health information: a study of online access for the underserved

The Internet is an oft-cited learning resource, useful to consumers who seek to educate themselves on specific technical issues or knowledge-intensive topics. Availability of public-access Internet portals and decreasing costs of personal computers have created a consensus that unequal access to information, or a "Digital Divide", presents a like problem specific to information for uninsured or under-insured healthcare consumers. Access to information, however, is now an essential part of consumer-centric healthcare management. To date little research has been done to differentiate levels of health information access on the Web by different subgroups, linking online socioeconomic characteristics and health seeking behaviors. This analysis of a landmark Pew Foundation survey seeks to differentiate and delineate information access, or lack of desired access, across targeted, "digitally underserved" subgroups.

A convergência dos aspectos de inclusão digital: experiência nos domínios de uma Universidade

Traz resultados de um estudo de caso, aplicado com técnicas de survey, visando analisar os aspectos da inclusão digital através dos usuários do telecentro Tabuleiro Digital da Faculdade de Educação da Universidade Federal da Bahia - FACED/UFBA. O principal objetivo destinou-se a investigar o tipo de inclusão digital, promovida por este Projeto, em conformidade com a perspectiva da literatura atual. Os objetivos específicos indicam as características do perfil dos usuários; tipos de aplicações utilizadas e a finalidade da Internet em confronto com o nível educacional e social. Desta forma, a sociedade da informação e a inclusão digital são contextualizadas; também os aspectos da inclusão do Tabuleiro são demonstrados e discutidos. Por último, com a análise, foi comprovado que o modelo de inclusão digital do Projeto é induzido (técnico).

The Looming Infrastructure Plateau? Space, Funding, Connection Speed, and the Ability of Public Libraries to meet the Demand for Free Internet Access

While virtually all public libraries provide free Internet access to patrons, libraries seem to be reaching a plateau in their ability to meet demands for Internet access. Based on the findings of Public Libraries and the Internet surveys, the average number of public access workstations and the average connection speeds of Internet access in public libraries have stayed the same or slightly decreased in recent years. Further, more than half of libraries do not have sufficient connection speeds to meet patron demand, while staff, space, cost, and technical/telecommunications infrastructure issues prevent a great number of libraries from increasing the number of workstations or the connection speed in the library. Moreover, the US federal telecommunications and broadband policies require revision and updating. These findings raise serious questions about the ability of public libraries to continue to meet patron needs for Internet access. As a result of early public library commitment to ensuring public Internet access, patrons rely heavily on public libraries to meet their Internet needs. However, as demands for library computers and connection speeds continue to grow, there may be a drop in the quality of Internet services that public libraries are able to provide their patrons. It would also challenge the fundamental role of the contemporary public library in the community, as libraries have become so inextricably linked to the provision of Internet access. In addition, the survey data identify a range of implications regarding the policy environment in which public libraries offer their public access Internet services.

Public Library Public Access Computing and Internet Access: Factors Which Contribute to Quality Services and Resources

SUMMARY This article explores a number of variables which can contribute to the quality of public access computing and Internet services that public libraries provide their communities. Through this exploration, the article offers several insights and implications for the development and implementation of high quality public access computing and Internet services which increasingly technology-savvy users expect from service providers. A key focus of the article is determining the extent to which some public libraries can reasonably provide high levels of network-based services given staff, budgetary, and other constraints and challenges.

Public Libraries and Internet Access across the United States: A Comparison by State 2004–2006

Drawing upon findings from a national survey of U.S. public libraries, this paper examines trends in Internet and public computing access in public libraries across states from 2004 to 2006. Based on library-supplied information about levels and types of Internet and public computing access, the authors offer insights into the network-based content and services that public libraries provide. Examining data from 2004 to 2006 reveals trends and accomplishments in certain states and geographic regions. This paper details and discusses the data, identifies and analyzes issues related to Internet access, and suggests areas for future research.

Effects of the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act of 1999 on restaurant revenues in South Africa--a survey approach.

To investigate the impact of the restrictions on smoking in indoor public places on the financial situation of the hospitality industry. A telephone survey was undertaken of 1011 restaurants, selected by searching public-access Internet databases. Fifty per cent of surveyed restaurants spent an average of R67 000 (median of R25 000) to comply with the clean indoor air legislation. The capital cost for the remaining 50% of restaurants was zero. The impact on restaurant revenues was limited: 59% of restaurants reported no change in revenue, 22% an increase and 19% a decrease as a result of the legislation. Franchised restaurants experienced a net gain in revenue (34% reporting an increase, 16% reporting a decrease, and 50% reporting no change), although on average they incurred more costs to comply with the legislation than independent restaurants. On average, independent restaurants reported a decrease in their revenues as a result of the legislation (21% reporting a decrease, 13% reporting an increase, and 66% reporting no change). Ninety-two per cent of respondents believed that their restaurants complied with the legislation. The new smoking policies have been well accepted by nonsmokers (nearly 100%) and smokers (87%) alike. Despite the hospitality and tobacco industries' claim that the law restricting smoking in restaurants would have very detrimental financial consequences, the retrospective evidence does not support this.

The interplay of public and private spaces in internet access

The creation of public internet access facilities is one of the principal policy instruments adopted by governments in addressing ‘digital divide’ issues. The lack of plans for ongoing funding, in North America at least, suggests that this mode is regarded mainly as transitional, with private, home-based access being perceived as superior. The assumption apparently is that as domestic internet penetration rates rise, public access facilities will no longer be needed. Central to this issue are the varied characteristics of publicly provided and privately owned access sites and their implications for non-employment internet activities. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of these two access modes? More fundamentally, how do people conceptualize public and private spaces and how does this perception influence their online activities? Finally, why do people choose one over the other, and how do they navigate between the two? This article attempts to answer these questions by drawing on data generated within the Everyday Internet Project, a ‘neighborhood ethnography’ of internet usage. It argues that the conventional view of private and public access facilities as immiscible, fixed alternatives is inadequate. Rather than ‘pure’ types, they are better understood as offering hybrid spaces whose identity and character are fluid, perceived differently by individuals in light of the activities being performed, life experiences, infrastructure and architecture. The picture emerging from our study is one where public and private access modes intertwine with each other in a variety of ways, their combination offering significant additional value for many users. From a public policy perspective, these findings suggest that if universal access is to be achieved, there is a continuing need for publicly supported broad-spectrum facilities with integrated technical support and learning opportunities, even if domestic penetration rates approach that of the telephone.

Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries: The role of public libraries in e-government and emergency situations

This article presents findings from the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet study and other research that demonstrate the impact of public Internet access in public libraries on the communities and individuals that the libraries serve. This article focuses on the importance of public library Internet access in times of emergencies and for a range of electronic government (e–government) services at the individual and community–wide levels. Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries function as a first choice, first refuge, and last resort in a range of emergency and e–government circumstances, allowing individuals to engage successfully in essential e–government services such as registering for Medicare or other benefits and filing tax information. With this key centrality as agents of government services, public libraries increasingly play significant roles in times of emergencies, like the aftermath of a hurricane, in which communities rely on the public library Internet access to request aid, try to find missing family and friends, file Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance claims, and begin rebuilding their lives. This article also discusses the need to revise government policy related to the role of public libraries in their support of e–government as public libraries increasingly serve as agents of e–government.

Assessing Health Consumerism on the Web: A Demographic Profile of Information-Seeking Behaviors

The growing diversity of the online health information community is increasingly cited as a limiting factor related to the potential of the Internet as an effective health communication channel and information resource. Public-access Internet portals and decreasing costs of personal computers have created a consensus that unequal access to information, or a "Digital Divide," presents a like problem specific to health care consumers. Access to information, however, is an essential part of the consumer-centric framework outlined in the recently proposed U.S. National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) and Health Architecture initiatives. To date little research has been done to differentiate the types of health information sought on the Web by different subgroups, linking user characteristics and health-seeking behaviors. Data from a study of consumer Web search activity in a post-intervention era serves as a natural experiment, and can identify whether a "digitally underserved group" persists in the United States. Such an environment would serve to exclude traditionally underserved groups from the benefits of the planned national heath information infrastructure. This exploratory technology assessment study seeks to differentiate and delineate specific behaviors, or lack of desired behaviors, across targeted health care subgroups. Doing so allows the design of more effective strategies to promote the use of the Web as a health education and health promotion tool, under the envisioned shared decision-making, consumer-centric health information model.

Internet Access and Innovation-Diffusion in a National Cancer Institute Preventive Health Education Project: Telecenters, Cybercafes, and Sociodemographic Impacts on Knowledge Gaps

Policymakers and analysts cite the availability of free Internet telecenters at libraries and community centers as a viable way to close the so-called knowledge gap and the digital divide among minority and poor communities. This study looks at policymakers’ dissemination of a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Web-based, preventive health education intervention to low-income people in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado through free Internet access. Although free public access Internet telecenters would appear to offer the potential of bridging these gaps, knowledge and information gaps persist because of the differentials between free and pay Internet access, as well as access through direct personal ownership of computers with Internet connections. The rate of increase of knowledge diffusion is much higher for individuals and communities of higher socioeconomic status who pay for access than for those with lesser means and who access free electronic resources. Pay-for-Internet cybercafes and free Internet telecenters have different accessibility thresholds, offer different user environments, and attract at least two different types of customers or clients.The socioeconomic differences in the two types of patrons are presented in this study by way of the results of an electronic user survey and a telecenter survey in the aforementioned project locales. While a learning and knowledge gap is evident between patrons of pay and free access sites, both types of public Internet access are, in relative terms, severely limited. Residually, a large knowledge gap persists among users of public access sites compared to computer owners with their own Internet connections. These disparities have implications for the dissemination of Web-based health information, particularly among the poor in minority communities.The Internet access evaluation is placed in the larger context of the NCI project, the Health Communication Intervention Research Initiative, looking (1) at broader concerns of cultural communications and policy and program implementation (2) across social and programmatic networks, with consideration to (3) pedagogical applications of the case in the MPA classroom.

Brest, une ville apprenante. La mutation d'une ville-port militaire

Thanh Nghiem Brest, a learning city Brest is one of the first French cities to provide Internet access to all interested residents. Setting up PAPIs (public Internet access points) has facilitated social appropriation of new technologies.

Reconfiguring public Internet access in Austin, TX: Wi-Fi's promise and broadband divides

Abstract This paper assesses the ways in which local actors are reconfiguring public access to broadband through the unlicensed spectrum. The process of adoption and configuration of public Wi-Fi networks in Austin, Texas, is the focus of our case study. Austin is one of the most “unwired” cities in the United States and increasingly known as a world-class industrial center in wireless. The development of strategic visions about public Wi-Fi services among user groups and local startups provided a fertile ground for diverse partnerships among nonprofit groups, broadband providers, wireless ISPs, and the city government. We also found that the popularity of the venue-sponsored or free-to-end-user model of access is supported by different providers that see their interests represented in the growth of public wireless broadband. However, the prevailing model of public Wi-Fi has a strong commercial bias. This, combined with the historical socioeconomic divides in the city, has resulted in an uneven geography of public Wi-Fi networks.

The Policy Implications of Internet Connectivity in Public Libraries

Abstract The provision of public Internet access and related networked services by public libraries is affected by a number of information policy issues. This article analyzes the policy dimensions of Internet connectivity in public libraries in light of the data and findings from a national survey of public libraries conducted by the authors of this article. After providing a summary of the study methodology and findings, this article examines key policy issues that include the nature of sufficient bandwidth and broadband, the perpetuation of the digital divide of Internet access in libraries, the role of libraries as e-government access points, the complexities of funding Internet access, the impacts and contradictions of filtering, and the chilling effect of homeland security legislation in public libraries. This article concludes with a discussion of how examining these policy issues can lead to a better understanding of public libraries and the Internet access they offer within the context of public policy.

The people's network

This article explores perceptions of Internet access in UK public libraries within government policy, by librarians, and by library users, in the broader context of government/citizen intermediation. Predominantly theoretical, it focuses upon how discourses of self-education and empowerment have come to position Internet access within this domain in different ways. Public libraries are significant here because: (1) within policy circles, public libraries are positioned as key informational intermediaries between government and citizen; (2) they offer an opportunity to explore the role and experience of ‘traditional’ institutions incorporating Internet access (as opposed to ‘new’ institutions such as the cyber-café and e-gateway); and (3) perceptions of Internet access within public libraries have been under-explored within theoretically driven sociology. An illustrative case involving documentary analysis and interviews with librarians and library users is drawn on to question the technicist image of future domestic governance and citizenship in policy on access and intermediation. The article highlights emerging conjunctions and disjunctions between (1) government policy; (2) library-institutional discourses, interests and strategies; and (3) the everyday practices of citizens, in the context of such access. Utilizing theoretical insights from STS and cultural theory, the article stresses that ‘tensions’ between the different interested constituencies involved (government; libraries; library users) problematize any simple notions of a ‘unitary Internet’ and raise some theoretical and empirical questions regarding the current conceptualization of intermediation within policy on public Internet access.

Sensemaking a public library's internet policy crisis

PurposeUsing Weick's sensemaking theory within a KM framework, and storytelling methodology, this study aims to deconstruct a recent public internet access policy crisis at the newly amalgamated Ottawa Public Library (Canada). As the library's former Manager of Virtual Library Services, the author retrospectively enacts the story of how the library board and management resolved a public controversy led by the staff and the community newspaper. At issue were the library staff's right to be protected from viewing internet pornography, the community's reaction to the issue of protecting children's internet access, and the library's commitment to intellectual freedom online.Design/methodology/approachPlausible meanings are presented, the public library's identity and beliefs are reinterpreted, organizational vocabularies are challenged and tacit and cultural knowledge is created and shared.FindingsIn keeping with a commitment to knowledge creation and use, the library should be actively engaged in multiple tellings of this organizational story by both staff and management. Such tellings, while perhaps not building any new consensus, would contribute to future sensemaking and could aid future strategic planning.Originality/valueApplies Weick's theory, developed in a larger KM framework, and using storytelling methodology, to deconstruct the experience of a recent organizational crisis involving public internet access in a Canadian public library.

The E-rate Program and Libraries and Library Consortia, 2000-2004: Trends and Issues

The E-rate program has provided tremendous benefits to libraries, allowing many libraries and library systems to acquire technological equipment and services that would otherwise be too expensive, increasing the availability of public Internet access through libraries. This article analyzes the data related to the E-rate program and the discounts that it has provided to libraries and library systems between 2000 and 2004. By examining the E-rate data in a longitudinal manner, this article explores the trends in the application for and the provision of E-rate discounts to libraries and library consortia at national and state levels. The data suggest that, despite a number of controversies over the years, the program has provided a significant level of support for libraries and library consortia.

Bridges over the Digital Divide

The study investigates the digital divide concerning computer literacy in Hungary. It examines the differences of computer literacy of people with different social-demographic characteristics (gender, settlement type, education, labor market presence and income). It also investigates the intentions to learn computer skills. In this respect, smaller differences have been found then in the case of actual knowledge, which predicts the narrowing down of digital divide in the future. An attempt has been made to identify the institutional, technical and primordial conditions in everyday life that may influence both computer literacy and inclination to master the computer, and hence may function as “bridges” over the digital divide. Four of these factors have been studied: access to computers at the workplace, public internet access at the settlement, communication via cellular phone and effect of the family members' ITC knowledge. Statistical analysis and in-depth interviews were used as methods of examination. Based on logistic regression models it was found that the bridging factors exert weak or insignificant influence on the willingness to learn computer skills - if they are controlled - so these factors alone are insufficient to bridge the digital divide.