Libraries need to Grow2Gig+

As many of you know, the American Library Association is a founding member of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, which was created in 2009 to advocate for community anchor institutions as part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. I also am proud to serve on the SHLB board of directors and to share the new “Connecting Anchor Institutions: A Vision of our Future” report and Grow2Gig+ campaign.

While public library broadband speeds have steadily improved over the last five years, less than 5 percent of libraries have yet reached the 2020 gigabit goal outlined for community anchor institutions in the National Broadband Plan. With growth in digital media labs that enable creation and sharing of content, video teleconferencing that collapse geographical distances, and the proliferation of mobile devices streaming more and more digital content from our virtual shelves, libraries need to Grow2Gig+. The new vision paper includes a section dedicated to library broadband that features insights from ALA President Sari Feldman, Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Executive Director Dan Cohen and Bibliotech author John Palfrey (among others) talking about eSHLB’s new #Grow2Gig campaign and “Connecting Anchor Institutions: A Broadband Action Plan” provide new and needed resources to make the case for the robust broadband capacity needed to best serve our communities. The ALA will use these documents as a foundation for our work preparing for the upcoming Presidential transition, and we look forward to our continued collaboration with SHLB and its diverse members around the nation to achieve our common goals and vision.