Thanks to Bernadine Joselyn for sending me testimony from David Burdick, Director Public Library of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County to the US Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on the State of Broadband in Arkansas.

Mr. Burdick speaks eloquently on the need for broadband in public libraries. Simply said, for many people the library is the only place they can access the Internet. To provide them with dialup, frame relay, or other sub-standard access is almost doing them a disservice. One in three people who walk into Burdick’s libraries use a computer.

Some may argue that really people need computers at home to have ready access. That’s true – but not always possible and for some not even desirable. The library is there is fill the gap for travelers, for folks who cannot afford computers, and for those who choose not to get computers.

In answer to a question from Commissioner Copps, Burdick says:

As of January, 2007, 10 (ten) Libraries were still on dial-up, 137 were on DSL, and 38 were on Cable. It is unknown how many are on dedicated 56k lines. The rest are on T-1 or partial (386) T-1 lines.

Living in Dublin, I have learned first hand how important access in the library is. When we travel around I bank/hope for access in local libraries. When my broadband is inadequate, I go to the library. For my kids – the library is the one place where they can use their “own” computer.