================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 44 ISSN 1069-7799 May 1, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (100 lines) ALA HAILS REPORT ON LIBRARY PARTICIPATION IN TELECOM DISCOUNT PROGRAM _________________________________________________________________ ALA HAILS REPORT ON LIBRARY PARTICIPATION IN TELECOM DISCOUNT PROGRAM Public libraries and K-12 schools throughout the country demonstrated their commitment to connecting every community to the "Information Superhighway" by completing over 30,000 applications for the universal service ("e-rate") telecommunications discounts. The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today an estimated demand of $2 billion for 1998 for libraries and K-12 schools applying for discounts on telecommunications services, local connections, and Internet services during the first application period of this new program. "This tremendous response shows that the need is out there. We expect that the program will be carried out in good faith and that full funding will be provided for its implementation in order to close the gap between the information HAVES and HAVE-NOTS," said ALA President Barbara Ford. The SLC's estimate is based on a statistical sampling of all of the applications filed to date. According to the SLC, no funding commitments have been made yet to any applicants. The FCC must still determine how much of the $2.25 billion annual allotment for the new fund to collect from the telecommunications industry for the 1998 application cycle. Ford noted that while 72 percent of all public libraries are connected to the Internet, only one in seven offers World Wide Web access to the public in some or all of their branches. "In rural communities, public Web access is available to only one in ten libraries," Ford added. "Further, school libraries are key partners in making sure every K-12 student gets access to the Information Superhighway." ALA and other library and school supporters have advocated for this program and worked in conjunction with EdLiNC, the Education and Library Networks Coalition, to assure implementation of the e-rate. The discounts were mandated by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as part of the overhaul of an estimated $21 billion of overall, long-standing universal service initiatives that serve high-cost and low-income communities. Just as traditional universal service has brought basic telephone service to all Americans, this new policy regarding advanced telecommunications will give library users and students access through their local public libraries and K-12 schools. The discounts range from 20% to 90% based upon a community's local school eligibility for participation in the federal school lunch program. The deepest discounts are intended to provide access to those communities that have not been able to afford telecommunications services as part of their library and K-12 school programs. "The discounts will help libraries afford telecommunications services to meet the growing public demand," said Carol C. Henderson, Executive Director of ALA's Washington Office. "We appreciate all the hard work that has gone into these efforts from public and school library supporters throughout the country and expect that more will be needed to assure that this program is fully funded." Founded in 1876, ALA has a membership of about 57,000 librarians and library supporters. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library services and public access to information. _________________________________________________________________ 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. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo 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: Carol C. Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================