The Middle MIle: The Role of the Public Library in Ensuring Access to Broadband

Visser, Marijke and Mary Alice Ball. “The Middle Mile: The Role of the Public Library in Ensuring Access to Broadband.” Information Technology and Libraries 29, no. 4 (Dec 2010): 187-195.

This article discusses the role of public libraries in providing access to broadband telecommunications. The authors emphasize the importance of that access and elaborate on the concept of tiers of users. They talk about the "early adopters," those who embrace and adopt new technologies as they become available, the second tier users who "appreciate the availability of online resources and use a mix of devices to access Internet content but vary in the extent to which they try the latest application or device" (187), and the third tier users who "have generally not embraced [the Internet's] full potential, from not seeking out readily available resources to not connecting at all" (187).
The authors, Marijke Visser and Mary Alice Ball, seem to see an unrecognized urgency in making broadband communication universally available. However, they offer little in the way of suggestions to make that happen. On the other hand, they do offer valuable insights into the barriers to broadband access (price, availability, perceived relevance, and technical skills of users. Their main focus seems to be on how libraries can provide the training necessary for users to be able to adopt broadband use.

This article had limited useful material for my purposes, but offers interesting insights and quotable material on the roles that public libraries and play in helping people use the Internet. The authors also offer a strong case for libraries taking a leadership role in discussions about local, state, and federal information policies. The draw heavily on the work of Bertot, McClure, and Jaeger.