Report: The Federal Program Keeping Libraries Online? the FCC Might Gut It

From the Indianapolis Star:

Under the atrium at the Indianapolis Public Library, a woman is busily typing away on her laptop.

Another patron seated at the Central Branch is charging their device while streaming music through earbuds as they read quietly between the stacks.

Free Wi-Fi allows Hoosiers a cozy and safe place to access the internet at all 26 library locations across Indianapolis. Potential cuts, however, by the Federal Communications Commission have put that access at risk, advocates warn, and not just in Indiana, but for millions of people in libraries and public schools across the country.

The FCC recently put into question whether a 30-year-old program that helps keep libraries online should be changed, left alone, or end.

No decisions have been reached, but librarians are concerned about what it could mean for their funding.

In late June, the FCC issued what appeared to be a benign notice addressing child safety under one of its service operations. Buried within the 86-page document were eight words that sent shockwaves among librarians and educators alike: “Should the E-Rate program be limited or sunset?”

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“This definitely caught us by surprise,” said Jamar Rahming, president-elect of the Public Library Association and CEO of Cuyahoga County Public Library in Cleveland, Ohio. “E-Rate has been just such a fixture in our public library institutions and communities.”

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Filed under: Funding, Libraries, News, Public Libraries