Ensuring No One Is Left Behind: Community Digital Inclusion

John Carlo Bertot, iPACLarra Clark, ALA

Agenda

• Defining Digital Inclusion• Public Libraries and Digital Inclusion• Using New Survey Data• Potential Library Funding Opportunities• Concluding Comments

The Study Team

• The American Library Association (ALA)– Office for Research and Statistics– Office for Information Technology Policy

• The University of Maryland– Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC)

• International City/County Management Association (ICMA)

• Community Attributes• Paragon New Media

• Funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services

Digital Inclusion

• Digital inclusion brings together high-speed Internet access, information and communication technologies, and digital literacy in ways that provide opportunities for individuals and communities to succeed in the digital environment:– All members understand the benefits of advanced information

and communication technologies.– All members have equitable and affordable access to high-

speed Internet-connected devices and online content.– All members can take advantage of the educational, economic,

and social opportunities available through these technologies.

• IMLS, UW, and ICMA (2011)

Community Challenges & Opportunities

• Basic Needs• Health and wellness• Education• Economy/workforce• Arts and Culture• Neighborhoods and

communities• Environment

--Seattle Foundation (2006)

Sub issues◦ Transportation◦ Diversity◦ Growth◦ Broadband◦ Energy

New Era for the Public Good• Old

– Do more with more– Do more with less– Acceptance of a “public good”

• New– Challenge to the “public good”– Work smarter with what you have– “Smart government” leverages existing resources and

crowdsources solutions to community challenges, attain community priorities, and pursue new opportunities to create healthy communities

– PPP (Public-Private Partnerships)

New Era for the Public Good

• Real challenges remain for communities to solve– Literacies: digital and other– Workforce: creating a current and future

workforce with a range of relevant and employable skills (STEM)

– Health: obesity, diabetes, asthma, autism, healthy lifestyles

– Civic Engagement: e-government, open government, participatory government, open data, forums, and more

Constraints Remain

Public Libraries and Digital Inclusion

• Public libraries support digital inclusion in four essential ways:– By providing free access to public access technologies

(hardware, software, high-speed Internet)– By providing access to a range of digital content to their

communities– By providing digital literacy services that assist individuals

navigate, understand, evaluate, and create digital content using a range of information and communications technologies

– By providing programs and services around key community need areas such as health and wellness, education, employment and workforce development, and civic engagement

Community Access—Computers

• Public libraries report an overall average of 20 public computers—nearly double the number five years ago, with a range of 40.5 (city) to 10.1 (rural).

• In spite of this increase, about 36% of libraries report they experience daily wait times, with this true for 62% of city libraries.

Community Access—Broadband Public Library Locations Subscribed Download Speeds

1.5MBps or Less

1.6-10MBps 10.1-49.9MBps 50-99.9MBps 100MBps-1GBps GT 1GBps

City 2.3%(n=45)

28.2%(n=559)

26.3%(n=523) 16.0%

(n=318)

24.1%(n=478)

3.2%(n=63)

Suburban 6.3%(n=139)

33.6%(n=741)

28.7%(n=633) 16.2%

(n=357)

10.4%(n=230)

4.9%(n=107)

Town 11.6%(n=229)

42.7%(n=843)

33.9%(n=669) 5.2%

(n=102)

6.6%(n=129) -

Rural 18.6%(n=522)

50.9%(n=1427)

21.6%(n=606) 4.9%

(n=139)

3.4%(n=95)

*

Overall 10.4%(n=936)

39.8%(n=3570)

27.1%(n=2431) 10.2%

(n=916)

10.4%(n=932)

2.1%(n=185)

Weighted missing values, n=0*Key: - = No responses*Insufficient data to report** NOTE: A large percentage of libraries reported “don’t know” or “not provided by provider” to this question.

Digital Content

• 100% offer licensed databases• 97% offer online homework assistance• 96% offer online job and employment

resources• 90% offer ebooks• 55% offer online language learning

programs• 43% offer mobile applications

Digital Literacy

98% of libraries offer technology training53% offer new technology training◦Of those, 50.3% offer individual/by appt training

Public Programming• Education and learning

Almost all public libraries (98.4%) offer summer reading programs.

• Workforce

Nearly 80% of libraries offer programs that aid patrons with job applications, such as interview skills and resume development.

Public Programming• Civic Engagement

Nearly all libraries offer assistance in completing online government forms.

• Health & Wellness

Over half (56%) of libraries offer programs that promote the development of healthy lifestyles.

Digital Inclusion Survey

• Identify the impacts of public computer and Internet access on the community.

• Consider library public access technology services in terms of key community demographics.

• Identify gaps in public access technology services based on community needs.

• Support community conversations related to building more digitally inclusive communities.

Using the Data - Locallyhttp://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/content/interactive-map

Employment Health Education

Demographics

State Data and Map

State Level Map

Downloadable PDF

State Summary

http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/state-details

Using the Data - Locallyhttp://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/content/interactive-map

Live, interactive use with Q/A

Funding Opportunity: E-rate

• E-rate is the government’s largest ed-tech program for libraries and schools: approx. $2.5 billion/year

• Greater focus on broadband and wi-fi– 100 Mbps target for small libraries; 1 Gbps

target for larger libraries• Simplified administration and application

processes• New opportunity to seek support for

shared school-library networks

Funding Opportunity: E-rate

• 66% of libraries would like to increase broadband to better meet demand

• 30% of libraries report that the fact that city/county/other entity makes decisions regarding bandwidth is an important factor affecting their broadband capacity

• Public comment period now open regarding long-term program funding needs for library and school broadband

Funding Opportunity: Workforce Investment & Opportunity Act

• Allows public libraries to be considered additional One-Stop partners and enables access to federal funding for library job training and job search programs.

• Authorizes adult education and literacy activities provided by public libraries as an allowable statewide employment and training activity.

Funding Opportunity: Workforce Investment & Opportunity Act

• Nearly 100% of public libraries offer workforce development program and online job and employment resources

• Comments to Secretary of Labor should be sent now to support funding for libraries through rulemaking

Thank You!

Email: jbertot@umd.eduTwitter: @johnbertot

Email: lclark@alawash.org Twitter: @oitp

Digital Inclusion: http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu

Public Libraries Internet/PLFTAS: http://www.plinternetsurvey.org

Questions/Comments?

Additional Information…