ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 9, Number 76 September 22, 2000 In this issue: OITP Releases Initial Report on the Internet, Public Libraries, and the Digital Divide ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) has released the Final Report on Stage One of its study, Public Library Internet Services: Impacts on the Digital Divide. The study's researchers, Dr. Charles McClure and Dr. John Bertot, began the project in March, 2000 and will complete it in 2001. The next stage of the study will include analysis of new national data on the E-rate program. We expect that the study's findings and recommendations will be critical tools used to inform policy and decision makers about library technology funding and related programs such as E-rate, Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), and the Gates Foundation awards. The findings, which indicate the critical benefits of connectivity and related services in addressing the Digital Divide, will be reported to Congress and the FCC as well as ALA members and library supporters. The Stage One Final Report details the results of the initial data analysis and preliminary site visits of selected state and public libraries. Key findings from the research include: ? 1998-2000 has been a unique time period for public library information technology infrastructure development because of the E-rate, LSTA, and the Gates Foundation awards. While E-rate promoted infrastructure and telecommunications, LSTA promoted program development and Gates provided necessary hardware and software to libraries. The fact that these three programs were available at the same time had, as one library director commented, "an unparalleled impact on improving our libraries." ? Local libraries have innovatively used funding from the E-rate, LSTA, and the Gates awards to make huge gains in information technology, information structure, and network-based services and resources. ? These various programs have spawned a number of new and innovative partnerships between public libraries and other organizations. ? Were it not for the E-rate awards, many libraries would not have been able to upgrade their technological infrastructure, expand access to networked services in the community, or otherwise support a range of applications. ? Although the funding programs (especially the E-rate) frequently constituted only 1% or less of the library's budget, they provided both discretionary monies and significant budget flexibility to libraries. ? Although the processes and procedures for obtaining E-rate awards was often described as "onerous and abnormally time consuming," most participants were willing to spend staff time to obtain the awards. ? There is considerable interest in ensuring that these programs (or additional/replacement programs) continue so that libraries can fund future upgrades and program development. In short, researchers found that the unique relationships among the various funding programs, and the fact that the programs were all available at the same time, benefited libraries immensely. To get a copy of the OITP report, go to the OITP website: http://www.ala.org/oitp/telcom/telcom_pub.html. And for additional information, please contact OITP at (800) 941-8478. In addition to the OITP study, the U.S. Department of Education also recently completed its initial data analysis of E-rate program data for libraries and schools. To review this study, go to: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/eval/elem.html#technology. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Mary Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet and Claudette Tennant. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Jennifer Hendrix, Carrie Russell and Saundra Shirley. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.