Speaking Out: Conquering the Digital Divide

On Behalf of Internet 'Haves and Have-Nots'

Washington Times, December 20, 1998

In the dawning days of our nation, Thomas Jefferson called a measure promoting "the diffusion of knowledge among the people" the most important issue to come before the legislature.

"No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness," he stated.

Now, as we enter the 21st Century, Jefferson surely would be proud of the key role his state has played in the growth of the computer age's medium for "the diffusion of knowledge among the people" - the Internet.

Born in Virginia nearly 30 years ago as a Department of Defense research project, the Internet has exploded into a broad-based consumer research tool that enables access to information on a scale undreamed of in Mr. Jeffersons time.

Virginia is the crossroads of this global information highway: much of the world's Internet traffic passes through our borders, and we are home to an avant garde industry that has made the Internet a hot-bed of evolving technology.

Technological abilities are becoming critical to economic success. The Northern Virginia Technology Council predicts that by the year 2000, 60 percent of all jobs will require skills with technology and 75 percent of all transactions between individuals and government will take place electronically. They conclude that "people without technology skills or access to electronic communications will be at a considerable disadvantage."

But here in Virginia, as in the rest of the nation, our geographic and economic diversity places us at risk of becoming a state of "Internet Haves and Have-Nots."

In a survey of Internet availability, the Benton Foundation found that "80 percent of families making more than $100,000 have computers. By contrast, of those families making less than $30,000 a year, only 25 percent have computers. Of people with an undergraduate degree or higher, 53 percent or more use the Web while only 19 percent of people with a high school education or less are Web users."

While the Internet is widely proclaimed to be free and open to all, equipment and service costs put it out of reach for many Americans. And "being connected" is not enough for universal access to be meaningful: becoming an informed consumer of Internet information requires practice and, at times, expert guidance.

According to a recent MCI study, 46 percent of the people who access the Internet outside of home, school or business, do so at the public library. Virginia's public libraries are struggling to fulfill their role in providing universal access, but 188 of the Commonwealth's 350 public library outlets do not have public Internet access.

And many others do not have adequate hardware to access the World Wide Web. Not all costs associated with providing adequate Internet access can be met by local communities.

To meet these challenges, the Library of Virginia has come forward with a comprehensive strategic plan for Virginia's public libraries, "Infopowering the Commonwealth."

The proposal will help local public libraries acquire the equipment they need to access the World Wide Web and establish a content-rich Electronic Resources Library website, hosted by the Library of Virginia - a sort of "Cyber-Reference Room."

In addition, the strategic plan addresses the issue of potential access to pornographic and obscene materials through public libraries' Internet terminals.

Public libraries, in coordination with their local governing authorities, will be required to develop and adopt an acceptable Internet use policy, containing provisions that prohibit use of a library's equipment or online services to access obscene content (including child pornography) and content harmful for minors.

This common-sense, community-based approach will enable our libraries to deal with a major challenge of the new technology while upholding the principle of broad access to information that is a cornerstone of our public libraries.

Governor James Gilmore has called Virginia "the launching pad for defining the information technology revolution; just as Columbus bravely opened new frontiers in 1492, we in Virginia will open the door to the frontier of technology in the next century."