Internet Gains Ground In Libraries

Do the kids have the computer at home tied up? Then head down to the local public library, the number one alternative to accessing the Internet, according to the MCI Foundation’s [NYSE:MCIC] second annual LibraryLINK study.

The study found that the number of people who access the Internet from their public library increased 86 percent since January, 1997, and more than 500 percent since 1996. And for the second year in a row, the study showed that the public library is the number one alternative point of access outside home, work or school.

Of 8,921 public libraries across the country, 72.3 percent are connected to the Internet, up from 44.4 percent in 1996. And the percent of libraries that offer Internet access to their patrons increased at an even greater rate, to 60.4 percent today from 27.8 percent in 1996.

The study was based on Internet research from the CommerceNet/ Nielsen Media Research Internet Demographic Studies.

While the percent of Americans who access the Internet increased 100 percent since 1996, the use of all alternative points of access experienced a more than 350 percent increase, the study found. The use of a public library for Internet access, however, increased at an even greater rate, growing more than 500 percent since 1996.

The study found that, while 16 percent of all Internet access comes from alternative points, including libraries, the home still remained the central Internet access point, with 69 percent of the study’s respondents tapping in Web addresses in their den or living room. Some 49 percent access the Internet from work, while 29 percent said they access at school. Respondents were allowed to give multiple answers.

Of the alternative access points, though, libraries were used by 45 percent of the respondents, followed by ten percent using retail outlets, eight percent accessing from a hotel or motel, three percent from a museum or recreational facility, and one percent from a government facility or a church.

Diane Strahan, executive director of the MCI Foundation, said that MCI LibraryLINK at http://www.librarylink. com and the MCI Cybrarian of the Year at http://www.mci.com/cybrarian "aim to level the playing field to help more people gain access to the wealth of information on the Internet." Since 1995, the programs have donated $1.5 million to public libraries and librarians nationwide, she said.

(Contact: Julie DiCarlo, MCI, 202-887-2840)