OLA Report on Connectivity in Ontario Public Libraries

• Introduction
• Survey Procedures
• Rate of Return
• Effectiveness of the Survey
• Conclusion
• Summary

INTRODUCTION

In late May, Industry Canada asked the Ontario Library Association to provide a library branch-by-library branch analysis of the internet capabilities of Ontario's public libraries. The Ontario Library Association is a 3,500 personal member organization whose members work in or support public, school, college and university libraries. The Association's ties to these members provided the grounds for anticipating that the very short time available to carry out this research might be managed.

Cited in the request was a need to determine the internet capability of public libraries in Ontario by:

• The connectedness of public libraries to the internet
• The level of that connectedness
• The type of connection involved
• The number of staff who have access
• The types of service to which staff have access.

Using these outcomes, the Association developed eight questions to address the request. The questions were submitted in the expected format to Industry Canada for reaction. The questions were modified to satisfy the changes suggested. Two librarians tried filling out the survey but there was no opportunity for a real test sample.

Because the Association's database has details on all library boards and all branch libraries, the surveys were pre-labelled to ensure that the questions were answered by each and every library in the province. The 957 pre-labelled forms were sent by Express Post to 387 library boards in the province. Accompanying the survey was an exhortation to all libraries and boards to answer the questions as completely and as expeditiously as possible.

Since the time frame for response was narrower than can be accommodated by the mails, all surveys were to be returned by FAX, by collect telephone call, or through the Association's web page by Thursday, June 4, at which time staff went on the phone to the libraries that had not answered.

By Tuesday, June 9, replies had been received from 328 main libraries and 492 branches, over 85% of the total mailed.

The response from the First Nations community was very low, partly because the questionnaire was difficult to answer from the band library viewpoint. The internet access is often in the Band administration rather than in the library where public access is being sought. Conversation nonetheless blends the two together making it hard to separate realities.

The Community Access Program was a source of praise by everyone who qualified to answer questions about it; there was not a single detractor and most acknowledge the program as the principal catalyst for their involvement. Most have managed to sustain their programs, many through quite creative community partnerships. However, CAP was also a source of confusion for those libraries coming into the program this summer, some not including their imminent connectivity and others including it.

On the other side of the coin, some libraries indicating that they are now connected are not sure whether their access to the internet will continue when the Southern Ontario Library Service withdraws its free internet access at the end of December. The Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation estimates that the program and position of almost 200 libraries may be affected when that happens.

In looking at the 15% of libraries that have not responded to this survey and whose hours, in many cases, have defied our making contact, it seems highly unlikely that these libraries are connected.

Although responses were still coming in on June 9, it was necessary to stop including them if this report was to be finished.

In entering the information into spread sheets, it has become clear that perceptions vary on some questions. There was no time to clarify questionable or incomplete answers, leaving some of the results inconclusive.

There was also no time to analyze the results in terms of the public being served, for example, the ratio of public work stations to the population in question, etc.

The survey focused on those who are connected, rather than on those who are not connected. That may be all right but does only provide half of the picture. For instance, hardly anyone claiming to be connected reported having long distance charges. Since those who identified themselves as unconnected did not need to answer that question, we do not know if long distance charges were actually a critical problem.

This report is, therefore, a snapshot in time, a portrait that will be different tomorrow, next week, next month and next year - both for the better and for the worse. It is an uneven and unsettled portrait but encouraging for the effort that it demonstrates is being made.

SUMMARY

TOTAL RETURNS:

Question #1: Ontario public libraries connected to the Internet

Of those not responding, 21 libraries are known CAP sites and are therefore connected.

Question #2: Type of connection used

Welcome to LibraryNet! plus 35 extra for Toronto Public Library

Of those using dial-up modems, 3 are still working with 1200 baud, 10 with 2400 and 14 with 9600. The majority are in the 28,800 (114), 33,600 (139) and 56,000 (78) speed.

Question #3: Long distance charges incurred

The communities indicating that they do pay long distance charges are Christine (Township of Seguin), Smooth Rock Falls, Perth East, Owen Sound, Norfolk, Mattawa, Humphrey (Township of Seguin), Honey Harbour/Georgian Bay, Colborne.

Question #4: Average monthly costs incurred

Although this question yielded uneven results, some patterns did emerge.

ISP expenses:
A large number pay nothing. There is much mass buying. Many are connected through their municipality. Some have received donations from local providers and Lion's Club-type agencies in the community.

Where libraries were paying, they were averaging about $25 per month. In the large urban libraries, there was higher commitment. More was expected and more was paid for full-time higher speed connections. There was some confusion in determining the real costs where a CAP project was in a branch and not in the primary library.

Long distance charges:
The nine who are paying long distance charges showed no pattern in their monthly spending: Honey Harbour, $450; Humphrey, $37; Mattawa, $20; Norfolk, $85; Perth East, $15; Smooth Rock Falls, $45.

We were told that in a number of county branch libraries, modest long distance charges are actually being incurred. Since they are in the main library's budget and not separated out branch-by-branch, they do not show up in the branch response to this question.

Phone line costs:
Standard line for modem averaged $48-55. An ISDN line averaged $100. Lines with greater capacity were likely shared with the municipality or were split so many different ways that they cost the library roughly the same as an ISDN line would. Even so, larger urban systems using wider bandwidth reported paying a distinctly higher price. Some libraries had difficulty costing out shared lines within a system and determining whether or not they were dedicated lines.

Number of lines:
Surprisingly, few libraries paid for more lines than they needed to. Those communities paying for three lines or more are: South Fletcher/Brampton, Ingleside/Caledon, Casimir, Cosby, Mason & Martland, Elliot Lake, Engelhart, Lanark, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Orillia, Owen Sound, Port Colborne, Prescott, Red Lake, Schreiber, St. Catharines, St. Marys, Timmins.

Question #5: Location and use of internet connections in libraries

Public work stations for public internet access: 1238.
These stations are located in 520 distinct libraries and offer web access (487), e-mail access (196), on-line services (193) and interlibrary loan (12). Web and mail access is obviously the popular combination.

Public work stations with internet access used primarily by staff: 187.
92 libraries utilize this setup and offer web access (79), e-mail (66), on-line services (34) and interlibrary loan (23).

Reference service desk stations with internet access for staff use: 386.
Of the 205 libraries that use this method, 190 use the web, 166 access e-mail, 130 access on-line resources and 54 use it for interlibrary loan.

Work stations with internet access in administrative areas: 942.
30 libraries use these stations for web access (266), for e-mail (260), for interlibrary loan (80) and for other on-line services (167).

Work stations with internet access in alternative areas: 140
e.g., area schools, town halls, community centres. These are primarily examples of co-operative partnerships, often CAP-inspired, such as at Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library where internet access instruction for community members is provided by the library in the school facilities.

Question #6: Staff competency in using the Internet

Unlike question 5, this question did not explicitly say that the number of people in each category was being looked for. The result was that many answered this question by checking the category rather than providing an actual figure. The total numbers of staff in each category are therefore unavailable.

The answers show that very few libraries see their staff as being highly trained. Most view them as competent or learning, a very large need for training being visible. It is also evident that the kind of work being done with the internet is seen as requiring a more trained person generally. Volunteer staff are not identified as users by anyone in the survey.

Question #7: Value of Community Access Program

Some of the communities that are just coming on, answered 'no' to this question when, in fact, they may be within two or three weeks of opening a CAP centre.

For those who answered 'yes', there was overwhelmingly positive reaction to the value of the Community Access Program. Almost all said it was the main catalyst in developing internet services in their library.

For those who said 'no', the reasons cited for not having a CAP site were:

• Do not know the program, 29
• Have been turned down, 17
• Need help in developing an application, 17
• Lack of partners, 17
• Do not have time, 19
• Another agency is providing access, 35
• Other barriers, 25

CAP Centres no longer operating:Chatham, Cochrane, Lansdowne/Front of Leeds, Waubashene/Tay Township, Oakwood.

Question #8: Plans for getting connected:

Most libraries who are not connected have some plan for introducing internet services. Those that have no plans are typically from one of the following categories:

• Book deposit stations
• Open less than 12 hours per week
• Service is available elsewhere in the community.

Prepared by Jefferson Gilbert of the Ontario Library Association
100 Lombard Street, Suite 303
Toronto, ON M5C 1M3