Arkansas libraries addressing connectivity issues
At a recent Arkansas Opportunity Online Broadband Summit in Little Rock, representatives of libraries from across the state met to develop a sustainable plan to "assure that adequate Internet bandwidth is available to all public libraries in Arkansas in the future."
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Speed Matters partners The American Library Association and Connected Nation organized the summit.
Twenty-seven library systems in Arkansas have one or more libraries with Internet connection speeds that don’t meet the demand of patrons.
The Baxter County Library System is one that is looking into ways that rural public libraries can better provide Internet access.
Director of the Baxter County Library Gwen Khayat explained why connectivity is so important, "Increasingly life is happening online, so those people without access to broadband will be left out of new opportunities."
Check out Speed Matters’ benefits section for more information on why speed matters to libraries.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – Libraries
Baxter Country Library helping people go online (Baxter Bulletin)
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