Temples of learning
Millions visit Texas libraries that need faster internet hookups to remain relevant.
One of the first major innovations to the library system took place in 1876 when the Dewey Decimal System gave librarians the ability to find tens of thousands of books within minutes. Now the average smartphone owner can find millions of books with a few clicks — that is, unless you’re at a Texas public library. There, you might be stuck watching the spinning wheel.
If Texas libraries don’t upgrade their internet access, they’re not going to stay relevant to consumers. Currently, 94 percent of patrons do not have access to adequate internet speeds at their public libraries. To make matters worse, libraries are the only source of public internet access for 60 percent of our communities, according to the Texas Library Association. This means the delays affect rural Texans and the poor the hardest.
High-speed internet access can cost between $24,000 and $48,000 per year, per location, but the federal government has funds available to help public libraries to secure discounts. The challenge is that the application for this federal funding is complicated and cumbersome. As a result, only 23 percent of Texas public libraries participate in this program, compared with 65 percent of all U.S. public libraries.
To remedy this situation, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, TSLAC, has requested $1 million in state funding to contract with an expert to assist up to 100 libraries in applying for the federal discount and to provide one year of support for expanded broadband access.
More than 73 million Texans visit public libraries annually and more than 26 million internet sessions are conducted there. While many searches are curiosity-driven, visitors also use library computers to support job searches, homework, distance learning and consumer health. By facilitating faster internet connections for Texas libraries, the Legislature is building the infrastructure to help more Texans help themselves.
The Texas Library Association — with almost 7,000 member librarians — supports the TSLAC request as well as another worthy budget item regarding digital STEM materials. Consortiums of public libraries band together to share print and electronic materials and purchase online resources. The TSLAC is asking for $8.4 million in this tight fiscal year to allow these consortiums to purchase more STEM resources for use by public libraries around the state.
This is a hefty price tag, but the consortiums are able to gain access to quality information at about one-tenth the cost of purchasing the materials locally. The Texas Education Agency has created academies that focus on improving instruction and performance in science and mathematics-related subjects. But Texas’ 6 million students along with the 24 million Texans served by public libraries and the 1.4 million students and faculty at more than 200 institutions of higher learning need up-to-date STEM digital resources to further their education.
The Legislature has a number of big-ticket items on the agenda this session, including fixing Child Protective Services and Texas’ broken public school finance system. But investments in libraries are investments in human capital, as well.
Libraries are one of the few spaces in America in this politicized environment that still provide common ground for all Americans. The critical services that libraries provide to individuals and families at the lower end of the economic spectrum serve as a lifeline.
“Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future,” said noted science fiction author Ray Bradbury. In this digital age, libraries can’t help people prepare for bright futures without up-to-date technology and resources.