Opportunity Online grants will help public libraries improve quality of free computer access used by millions of Americans

SEATTLE (OBSNews.com) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today $6.5 million in grants to help public libraries in 11 states increase and sustain free, quality public access to computers for their patrons. These Opportunity Online hardware grants will help libraries upgrade and add public computer workstations for patrons in communities with high concentrations of poverty and where a library’s public computers are at risk of becoming outdated with limited capacity for users.

Despite the fact that most libraries (73 percent) are typically the only provider of free Internet access in their communities, many do not have adequate funding to maintain quality computer and Internet services, and to meet growing community demand for these technology tools...