Libraries and the Digital Divide

Apple releases new and “advanced” iPhones each September like clockwork. Samsung Galaxy releases several models of smart phones each year. Apple, Sony, Hewlett-Packer, Dell, ASUS, and others release competitive laptops annually. For individuals interested in computer gaming, there’s branded technology to help you build your own customizable computers. The amount of technology, seemingly available at our fingertips, can be overwhelming. These devices can handle a wide variety of activities, that we even need to research before buying to see if it’s best value for what we need it for. Marketing has us believe that everyone is keeping up with their tech advancements. While more places appear with free Wi-Fi, patrons still need to bring their own devices. Areas dedicated to the understanding and use of this technology are being left far behind. Libraries are tenets around educating and sharing in the information that technology can provide, but many of them are understaffed, under-qualified, or over budget to be able to keep up with one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

Public libraries have provided internet-access and technical training since the mid-1990s (Real, Brian, et al., 7). Libraries provide value to their communities by acting as a cultural and technological center for the community to gather, share ideas and concepts, and develop skill sets. Programs are created to help the community come together for children, teens, and adults to continue learning. When a library is unable to maintain with advancements, the services they can offer their community will fall short.

The shortcomings may occur for a few reasons:

1. Lack of resources
2. Lack of training
3. Lack of infrastructure

*Note. All libraries face different struggles. The most common problem is lack of funding.

Lack of Resources

As first mentioned, the first thing that may come to mind is the technology itself. Purchasing a set of computers, DVD players, 3D printers, Artificial Intelligence, Phonetic Spelling Software, Screen-Magnification Software, Braille Embosser, and more can quickly overtake a budget. With tight constraints, librarians are forced to choose which technology is in higher demand for their location. Slimming these decisions to once or twice a year, it can take a library several years before it is able to catch up on technology. Library missions are often factored around accessibility of information, requiring assistive technology to be the more prominent choice when selecting a new large purchase. In a 2007 survey, a majority of librarians felt a lack of funds for new materials was a greater problem than low pay. (Flatley, Wyman)

Resources extend to availability of staff, too. Having the technology is great start, but without a trained staff ready and able to help patrons, it may end up a dust collector. Libraries struggle with being understaffed and under paid. However, states like Tennessee offered a limited degree program for rural librarians to get trained, “on strong technical competencies, service evaluation, grant writing, and other courses of particular relevance to the rural environment” (Real, Brian, et al., 13).

Lack of Training

Staff members already stretched thin on their duties, are the ones to introduce patrons to new technologies. Idaho was able to find a short-term solution to this problem by creating a program for digital literacy coaches out of high schoolers and college students. While this program is great for a college student home for the summer to introduce Grandpa Joe to Google, this program offers some roadblocks too. When staff are less engaged with the hands-on, it is hard to qualify the patron’s reception to the technology and monitor how the introduction is being made. For assistive technology in particular, it can be challenging to gauge if the tech bought is adding value and offering assistance the way patrons need it to.

Lack of Infrastructure

Not to be confused with the Highway Act of 1956, this infrastructure is referring to the digital highways that the internet takes us on for every search.

Chart taken from 2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey (PLFTAS),

The internet is the largest technological tool we have. Without the proper connections, many townships are being left behind simply because they cannot connect.

“By analyzing data from the 2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey (PLFTAS), rural libraries, on average, have weaker technological infrastructure (such as fewer average numbers of computers and slower broadband connections) and are able to offer fewer support services, such as training classes, than urban and suburban public libraries. . . This disparity is due in large part to the greater difficulty and cost of creating the infrastructure to support broadband Internet access in more sparsely populated areas. With broadband access provided primarily by for-profit companies, little profit motive exists to expand services to areas where the infrastructure cost would not allow for a quick and efficient recouping of costs” (Real, Brian, et al., 2).

The U.S. Government has implemented a $7.2 billion broadband improvement grant to help close this gap, as well as offer loans to libraries in need. These steps taken by state and federal government to remove the stress (of training, of purchasing, of staffing) are all steps in the right direction. Technology inclusion and education for all patrons is a right, it is a matter of bridging the gap between libraries who have and libraries in need.

Real, Brian, et al. “Rural Public Libraries and Digital Inclusion: Issues and Challenges.” Information Technology & Libraries, vol. 33, no. 1, Mar. 2014, pp. 6–24. EBSCOhost, doi:10.6017/ital.v33i1.5141.

Admin. “U.S. Public Library Internet Connectivity.” Tools, Publications & Resources, 18 July 2017, www.ala.org/tools/research/initiatives/plftas/previousstudies/0809/connectivity09.

Flatley, Robert & Wyman, Andrea. (2009). Changes in Rural Libraries and Librarianship: A Comparative Survey. Public Library Quarterly. 28. 24-39. 10.1080/01616840802675283.

Ahill. “Assistive Technology: What You Need to Know Library.” Association of Specialized, Government & Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA), 5 Sept. 2019, www.ala.org/asgcla/resources/tipsheets/assistive-technologies.

Idaho Department of Labor, and About Idaho Department of Labor. “Idaho Youth Find Work Experience as Digital Literacy Coaches and in Summer Jobs.” Idaho@Work, 9 Mar. 2012, idahoatwork.com/2012/03/09/idaho-youth-find-experience-as-digital-literacy-coaches-and-in-summer-jobs/.