In the news this week, Gordon Brown's plan to ensure all family homes have a broadband connected computer. Whatever the ins and outs of the plan may be (and there is much debate about ongoing support and sustainability costs - sound familiar?) I do wonder where it would leave the people's network of public PCs in libraries.
With most authorities currently puzzling out how to fund replacements for their public computers and some authorities in England already charging for access, this development is going to be an interesting one.
Incidentally Welsh public libraries have made free access to computers a core entitlement for all users as part of the new "entitlements".
1 comment:
He was probably prompted after popping along to a Swansea Library to see if he could buy back any lost goverment laptops containing confidential documents, which had found their way onto eBay.
Once there, he may have found that he couldn't get on a PC because they were all being used by urchins watching music videos. When he did get on one, he probably found that it crashed every few minutes & that many of the sites he wanted to use could not be accessed properly, seemingly because the PC used programs which were out of date & a very possessive Firewall.
Personally, I think public libraries offering free internet access has huge potential. And giving this project the investment it clearly needs would save the greater expense & environmental impact of putting a PC in every home & giving the nation government-funded access to porn. I had hoped that I could use public libraries for all of my internet needs so I could make my home a safe haven from the temptations of Facebook but sadly, it is not practical as things stand at the moment.
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