from the Chicago sun times

                      Internet demand squeezes libraries

   February 23, 1998

   BY BECKY BEAUPRE SUBURBAN REPORTER

   Demand for the Internet is straining public library budgets in
   Chicago's suburbs and across the country--in extreme cases at the
   expense of new books or depleting savings.

   ``The public now really expects to go to the library and have the
   Internet, but I don't think the public has any idea what it costs,''
   said Judith Ream, special projects coordinator for the Wheeling-based
   North Suburban Library System. ``I think if you talk to any of the
   libraries, they would say they are struggling with this.''

   Libraries across the United States were expected to show $280 million
   in 1997 spending for providing Internet access alone, according to
   preliminary findings in an American Library Association survey that
   will be released in the next several weeks. All spending on technology
   was $500 million.

   That's more than $1,200 per library per month, said Aleck Johnson, a
   research associate at the association's Office for Information
   Technology Policy in Washington.

   In Chicago's suburbs, those costs can be particularly hard to bear
   because many libraries have to hold referendums to raise taxes.

   ``There isn't anything we can easily replace,'' said Marilyn Genther,
   executive director of the Mount Prospect Public Library.

   In Mount Prospect, Internet and technology costs have ripped into the
   library's yearly budget. The library has cut back on ordering books
   and other materials by 15 percent to 18 percent, and is still expected
   to run out of money by 2000 if it doesn't significantly cut services
   or persuade voters to approve a tax increase, Genther said. Since
   1987, three referendum proposals for library tax hikes have failed.

   ``This is very, very serious for us,'' Genther said.

   Internet access and the high-speed line the library uses cost a
   combined $2,075 per month. Unlike home users, who typically pay about
   $20 per month for Internet access through local telephone lines, the
   Mount Prospect library uses an expensive high-speed connection called
   a T-1 line that can also be used to access a variety of online
   databases.

   In addition, the library spends about $8,000 a year to replace and
   maintain computers and about $80,000 a year for two full-time and one
   part-time systems experts. All that is on top of the training needed
   for librarians, additional staff to answer patrons' questions,
   subscriptions to online reference tools, and supplies such as printer
   paper and toner cartridges.

   ``I don't think we have a choice,'' said Tim Loga, the library's
   director of computer services. ``These are mandatory offerings now.''

   In 1996, fewer than 28 percent of U.S. public libraries offered
   patrons access to the Internet. In 1997, that number had jumped to
   more than 60 percent.

   Local library administrators said the pressure to offer the Internet
   is especially strong in the north and northwest suburbs.

   In the west suburbs, a few libraries receive free Internet access from
   local cable television providers, said Pamela Brown, information
   technology services director for the Suburban Library System, which
   covers the south and west suburbs.

   And in the south, the demand for the Internet just isn't as high,
   Brown said.

   Many libraries will get some relief by this spring. Last month,
   federal legislation allowing public libraries and schools to receive
   discounts on Internet access went into effect. Many libraries could
   begin receiving discounts by April.

   But the discounts will cover only such things as Internet access,
   communication lines and server hardware, and not desktop computers,
   software, staffing or training, which account for the bulk of the
   cost, Johnson said.

   At the Grande Prairie Public Library, which serves Hazel Crest and
   Country Club Hills, access is offered through phone lines at two
   computers. Costs can run a couple hundred dollars a month--not
   including equipment purchases or extra personnel costs.

   ``The biggest strain on the budget is that it requires more staff,''
   administrative librarian Susan Roberts said. ``We'll start feeling
   that in the budget.''