Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries

"The U.S. Impact Public Library Study is among the first to substantially measure how individuals use Internet access at libraries. The report associated with that study, Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, relied on a telephone survey, nearly 45,000 online surveys at public libraries, and hundreds of interviews. In 1996, only 28% of libraries gave patrons access to the Internet. In comparison, 169 million people visited public libraries, and 45% of those individuals connected to the Internet via the library computer or wireless access even though these same individuals had Internet access at home, work, or elsewhere"