We have the need, will, and now, funding

In 1996, only one in four United States public libraries had public computers. By 2006 nearly every library did. The definition of what patrons need and can expect was permanently changed as a result. This was partly due to a major cash infusion—$250 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—and partly to the larger societal evolution that took computer and internet access from a niche interest to a fundamental business, education, and social tool.

Today America is at a similar inflection point on home broadband, dramatically accelerated by the pandemic. Broadband became a necessity for working from home, remote schooling, telehealth visits, filing for unemployment, connecting to friends and family, signing up for a vaccine—and using library resources.

Meanwhile, library computers that acted as a safety net for those without home access were suddenly inaccessible or restricted to limited use. Public libraries did their best to boost Wi-Fi to parking lots, loan devices and hotspots, and even offer outdoor computer labs. They worked to get connectivity beyond the building via everything from parked bookmobiles to shelters. But these measures could not fully address the problem, only mitigate some of its worst impacts.

New America’s recently released report makes clear both that libraries’ efforts have successfully moved the needle toward greater online access during the pandemic, and that those efforts failed to fully close the access gap for those who need it most.

Now we have two major infusions of cash: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program, and $7.172 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, some of which will support libraries to purchase equipment to loan for home use.

The challenge for libraries is, first, to obtain and spend those funds, and second, to parlay that temporary help into a permanent paradigm shift. The new equipment will outlast the emergency. It is up to library leaders to document its ongoing impacts, so that when breakage and age take their inevitable toll, funders will find it unthinkable not to replace and upgrade the gear.

Beyond supplying hardware, there are more ambitious roles for libraries in getting us to broadband for everyone. For immediate action, advocates can submit comments on the implementation of the Emergency Connectivity Fund to the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau by April 5. In the medium term, the American Library Association has already thrown its weight behind universal broadband as a policy priority; lobbying at the national level to make the FCC benefit permanent, as well as expanding E-Rate, could yield tangible dividends. New America also suggests enabling municipalities to provide internet service as a way to lower costs for consumers. The public library is a natural lead agency for such a project.

Importantly, the New America report makes clear that devices and connectivity are only half the battle. Library workers already serve as tech educators and frontline tech support for their communities. As more people get broadband at home, the need for public computers in libraries may diminish somewhat, but the need for teaching and problem solving will go through the roof. Making training and troubleshooting an explicit application of the library mission will help make home broadband not only affordable but actually useable. (And measuring those efforts from the start will help counter the likely obsolescence narrative from anti-tax groups.)

Meanwhile, there is work to be done on the library offerings that new users will access from home. The New America report shows that users of color are more likely to report trouble using library systems and locating materials. This suggests that library websites, and perhaps third-party vendor products, would benefit from a more deeply inclusive user experience assessment process.

With a federal administration eager to support recovery and equity, the time is ripe for big goals. I hope in 10 years we can look back on today as 2006 did at 1996, as the beginning of a new era of democratized access to information, with libraries at the heart of the change.