Saskatchewan Public Libraries receive grant worth $950,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

REGINA, Saskatchewan -- Saskatchewan public libraries have received a grant of $950,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide increased access to computers, the Internet and digital information to library patrons in low-income communities. Separately, Microsoft Canada will donate software with a retail value of $400,000 to libraries receiving Foundation grants.

Grant funds will be used to purchase personal computers and Internet connections for 114 public libraries throughout the province. Additionally, an 11-workstation training lab will be established at the Saskatoon Public Library.

"Coming at the conclusion of the Industry Canada/Government of Saskatchewan Every Library Connected Project, which saw a total of $1.7 million spent on computers throughout the province, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant will enhance the Internet accessibility of public libraries and ensure that the most disadvantaged persons in the community will have an opportunity to benefit from these resources," said Zenon Zuzak, Director of the Saskatoon Public Library.

In a July 1999 study of Internet use by households, Statistics Canada noted that while computer use has increased nationwide, there is a wage gap between those with access to technology and the Internet and those without. Individuals in the highest-income households are nearly five times more likely to use computer communications than those in the lowest-income households.

The grant to the Saskatchewan public libraries is part of the Gates Library Program, a $200 million commitment to provide public libraries throughout the U.S. and Canada with computers, Internet access and technical training, with the goal of improving the lives of people by providing increased access to information.