O'Bannon announces library grant to help Hoosiers tap power of computers

INDIANAPOLIS -- Knowledge is power. And Hoosiers using Indiana's public libraries will be able to tap into more of that power, thanks to a $2.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to purchase computers, and provide Internet access and training for libraries serving low-income communities. Separately, Microsoft Corporation will provide a $2.5 million software donation, bringing the total to a $5.3 million donation for Indiana public libraries, announced today by Governor Frank O'Bannon.

State Librarian C. Ray Ewick had applied for the grant from the Gates Library Initiative, a program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to bridging the "digital divide"—the gap between those who have access to the power and knowledge of the Internet and those who don't—by bringing computers and Internet access to low-income libraries throughout the U.S. and Canada, O'Bannon said.

Public libraries in Indiana communities where 10 percent or more of the community lives in poverty (statistics based on 1990 U.S. Census) will be able to purchase computers and Internet access with the grant money.

In addition, public libraries in areas where less than 10 percent of the population lives in poverty will be entitled to buy computers at a discounted rate. What's more, all 239 public libraries in Indiana are eligible to receive donated software from Microsoft and technical assistance and training from the Gates Center for Technology Access, a division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the governor added.

"Information is the pathway to the future, and computers are the pathway to so much information," O'Bannon said. "I am grateful to Bill and Melinda Gates for their generosity, and to Ray Ewick for making sure it's available to libraries here in Indiana."

The Indiana State Library prepared the initial needs assessment to qualify the state for the overall grant.

Next, the Gates Library Initiative staff will hold workshops to help local libraries prepare and submit requests for their individual grants, O'Bannon noted.

"These grants will help libraries enhance and expand their information resources and help to equalize information access for all of the citizens in our state. These computers will multiply the impact of state grants for Internet access and use of electronic databases in the INSPIRE program," Ewick explained. INSPIRE makes an entire encyclopedia and more than 2,200 full-text magazines available by computer to patrons at any Indiana public library.