In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a number of other national civic organizations, The Pew Internet & American Life Project served as research advisors for a new report finding that public libraries have helped close the digital divide by providing free, public access to computers and the Internet, particularly for people without access at home or work.
The report, “Toward Equality of Access: The Role of Public Libraries in Addressing the Digital Divide”, also identifies significant challenges libraries face in sustaining and improving this service and recommends the public and private sectors work together to ensure that libraries can continue to provide this vital access to technology for years to come.
“Toward Equality of Access” is available online at the Gates Foundation Website.
When I first became aware of the “digital divide” it seemed only logical to want to “bridge” or close that divide. But the more time I spend using the internet, the more aware I become of the steadily degrading signal to noise ratio in the information available on the net. My inbox full of spam is evidence that information entropy is increasing rapidly.
Maybe the divide’s there for a reason and we should leave it alone!