Public Access Technologies in Public Libraries: Effects and Implications

Bertot, John Carlo. “Public Access Technologies in Public Libraries: Effects and Implications.” Information Technologies and Libraries 28, no. 2 (Jun 2009): 81-92.

For this article, the author draws on the data collected in the Public Libraries and the Internet Studies with which the author has been involved since 1994. The focus here is on the implications of public libraries providing public-access technology (PAT). He summarizes changes in Internet connectivity and number of workstations available for public use, then discusses how providing these services is straining public libraries in terms of maintenance and management, staff, finances, and building.

In addition to the data from the Public Libraries and the Internet Studies, the author collected data from site interviews conducted separately from the Public Library studies.

Although this article is interesting, it addresses issues outside the scope of my project and is more useful as a source of ideas for further research, such as whether or not public libraries can continue to provide free access to the Internet in the face of the public’s growing appetite for more and faster access.