BRATTLEBORO — Brooks Memorial Library asks your input in a survey to learn how community members use the library's computers and Internet connection, and how this service has made a positive impact on their lives.
This information, gathered through Sept. 21, will help the library improve its technology services and assess the value of providing free access to computers and the Internet here.
The survey, coordinated by the University of Washington Information School, is anonymous and is available in English and Spanish.
According to Library Director Jerry Carbone, public-access computers are vital to many in the community:
“Where do you go in Brattleboro if you do not own a computer or have Internet access? The library provides an essential service for job seekers and people needing health information by having the 20 public access computers in the building.”
Carbone added that, since 2011, library users have logged more than 47,000 hours and 116,000 sessions on Brooks terminals.
The wireless connection is also important, he explained: As part of statewide broadband project Vermont Fiber Connect, the library's Wi-Fi was upgraded to fiber speeds, accomodating nearly 3,000 sessions in July.
The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. There are incentives for participating: free beverages from downtown businesses and a chance to win an iPad mini.
Patrons can access the survey, at www.brookslibraryvt.org, from home, on mobile devices, or through the free public access computers at the library. Paper copies of the survey are available at the library circulation desk.
Carbone explained that the survey is the result of a successful research initiative from the University of Washington with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In 2009, the University of Washington Information School conducted “Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries,” which was the first large-scale investigation of how American library patrons use computers and the Internet at public libraries, why they use it, and how it impacts their lives.
Carbone said the study was instrumental in providing evidence that access to the Internet at public libraries in the United States has a profound, measurable impact on people and communities.