CONNECTING PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS TO THE INTERNET

A Review of the Literature

Prepared for the
Kansas Task Force on Internet Access

Prepared by:

David Burress, Research Economist
Jeff Livingston, Research Assistant
Patricia Oslund, Research Economist

October 1996
Report No. 229B

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• As of Fall, 1995, 50 percent of U.S. schools were connected to the Internet, up from 35 percent a year earlier. However, only 9 percent of instructional classrooms are connected.

• Schools are using the Internet for administration, professional development, and instruction. Professional development uses predominate at present. Perhaps more important, the Internet allows students to seek and integrate information that is otherwise unavailable.

• As of 1994, 21 percent of U.S. public libraries had Internet connections. Far fewer had connections that could be used for direct public access. More recent data show that about 28 percent of the public libraries in large urban areas provide publ ic Internet access.

• Libraries most often use the Internet for administration and reference. Libraries also serve as a location where patrons can conduct their own Internet information searches. Sometimes, libraries give patrons email accounts and other communication s capacities. Online catalogs can allow patrons to check holdings remotely and avoid fruitless trips.

• Costs and funding are the most serious barriers to Internet connectivity in U.S. schools and libraries. Other major barriers include training and technical support. Difficulties in controlling access to sensitive materials by young people are viewed as a less serious barrier.

• Both costs and benefits for Internet connections are highly dependent on the capacity or "bandwidth" of the connections. Low bandwidth approaches such as dial-in are not very suitable for multiple users, for searching the Internet for source data , or for accessing detailed pictures; they are completely unsuitable for video. High bandwidth approaches generally require construction of a local area network, "LAN," and/or a wide area network, "WAN."

• Dial-in approaches using ordinary telephone lines provide inexpensive start-up costs and simple implementation. Nevertheless, many sources argue that it is better to proceed immediately to create area networks and direct connections though they are technically more complex. They further argue that dial-in approaches are not cost-effective when usage increases beyond a minimum.

• There is every indication that explosive growth in use of the Internet will continue for some years into the future. The numbers of users and of wired computers are growing rapidly; the number of monthly uses per user is growing rapidly; and the amount of bandwidth used per use is growing rapidly. Planning should be based on the assumption of continued rapid growth.

• Internet technology also continues to change rapidly. Planning should be based on up-to-date technology and allow for future change. A key planning decision is the life cycle for replacing equipment.

• Several states, including Nebraska and Missouri, are well ahead of Kansas with respect to planning and implementing statewide Internet connectivity in schools and libraries.