================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 22 ISSN 1069-7799 April 1, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (137 lines) ALA INITIATES 1997 NATIONAL SURVEY OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE INTERNET _________________________________________________________________ ALA INITIATES 1997 NATIONAL SURVEY OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THE INTERNET Washington, D.C. -- The American Library Association (ALA) in conjunction with the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) will survey U.S. public library involvement with the Internet, the vast collection of global inter-connected computer networks. The 1997 study builds and expands upon areas of public library Internet-related data as reported in the NCLIS-sponsored 1994 and 1996 studies [1]. The 1997 study will provide detailed information on public library costs and infrastructure associated with Internet-related services and technology. The ALA/NCLIS quick-response sample survey will be conducted in May 1997. ALA will publish a project report by the Fall. Dr. John Carlo Bertot, Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Studies, University of Maryland Baltimore County and Dr. Charles R. McClure, Distinguished Professor at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University are the investigators for survey. This study seeks to collect data on public library: Budget spent on Internet-related services over time in such areas as - communications, system, software, training, content, and planning - infrastructure enhancements (technology and physical) to engage in Internet services; Technology deployment - needed IT infrastructure (e.g., multi-media workstations, T-1) to provide adequate Internet-related services for a public library's population of legal service area - unique library electronic resource development and service provision (e.g., Web server with library-developed content) versus libraries that connect and use the Internet; and Social issues - overall number and distribution of public libraries that serve rural/urban areas - percentage of connected public libraries that serve rural/urban areas. Such data will provide policy makers, various stakeholder groups, and the library community with the ability to determine the relationships between public library Internet-related costs, services, IT infrastructure, and types of populations served for public library electronic networked services. As the Federal Communications Commission and the Joint Board, as established by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-104), review Universal Service issues and mechanisms, it is important for the library community to have public library Internet-related data to: (1) Inform the FCC's Universal Service implementation process. (2) Provide policy makers, various stakeholder groups, and library professionals with information as to how best to leverage local and state IT initiatives to provide public library-based public access Internet services. (3) Assist public libraries to develop IT plans that incorporate electronic networked services, to include the means through which to apply for the preferential connectivity rates for public libraries currently under consideration by the FCC. (4) Identify and develop public library roles and capabilities in the evolving National Information Infrastructure (NII). (5) Provide a database of basic information related to public library costs that can be extended and developed over time. Such data will provide a national picture of public library electronic network infrastructure and the adequacy of that infrastructure as libraries enter the 21st century. A sample of public libraries will be contacted to participate in the survey, to be distributed in April 1997. A high response rate from surveyed libraries will be essential for the success of the study. For further information on this study, contact J. Andrew Magpantay, Director, Office for Information Technology Policy, American Library Association, 202/628-8421. Support for this project was made possible in part with funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. --- [1] Bertot, J.C., McClure, C.R., and Zweizig, D.L. (1996). The 1996 national survey of public libraries and the Internet: Progress and issues. Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. McClure, C.R., Bertot, J.C., and Beachboard, J.C. (1995). Internet costs and cost models for public libraries. Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. McClure, C.R., Bertot, J.C., and Zweizig, D.L. (1994). Public libraries and the Internet: Study results, policy issues, and recommendations. Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: J. Andrew Magpantay All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================