E-Rate for Librarians

School and Public Libraries Benefit from the E-Rate Program

According to the director of the Barrington Public Library in New Hampshire, "the library is now an area where people come to e-mail friends and family, do business transactions over the Net and where students do research for classes. People who do not have computers use ours and learn to use them through courses we offer, and many older people have utilized the staff as teachers to learn more about the new technologies. One older gentleman used our computers to contact old World War II buddies he hadn't spoken to in years!"

The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library in New York, leveraged almost $700,000 in E-Rate discounts to acquire $950,000 in private grants from several sources, $300,000 in combined state and federal grants, and $4.1 million in local funding to update the technology in the local libraries. All 52 libraries in the county are now able to offer fast, reliable Internet access on modern computers, and the bookmobile is able to offer high-speed wireless access to patrons throughout the county.