Further, as part of the Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, this statement appears: "The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that `the right to receive ideas follows ineluctably from the sender's First Amendment right to send them. . . . More importantly, the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient's meaningful exercise of his own rights such as speech, press, and political freedom' Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853, 866-67 (1982) (plurality opinion)."
Clearly, reception and sending of ideas is a First Amendment issue. Oral, written, and electronic speech must be equally protected so that democracy may flourish.
Public libraries also provide "free" services, though in fact the costs are just deferred. Taxes, state aid derived from taxes, federal aid derived from taxes, and private funds all pay for the "free" services at public libraries. Public libraries may be thought of as Information Management Organizations (IMO's), similar to Health Management Organizations, where patrons/patients contribute before they need information/health care, so that when they do need it, librarians/doctors are available to render aid.
Why NREN in the Public Library is a bad idea
On the surface, the public library looks like an excellent place to drop Internet/NREN connectivity. Libraries are veritable temples of learning, intellectual freedom, and confidentiality.
However, most public libraries lack what computer experts call infrastructure. If there are computers, they may be out of date. Staff may not have had time to learn to operate them, and the computers may literally be collecting dust.
There may be no modems, no phone line to share, no staff with time to learn about the Internet and its many resources. Money to update equipment, hire staff, and buy training is out of the question. Public libraries face slashed budgets, staff layoffs, reduced hours, and cutbacks in services.
Many of these drawbacks are noted in the recent study by Dr.
Charles R. McClure, called Public Libraries and the
Internet/NREN: New Challenges, New Opportunities.
Public librarians were surveyed about their attitudes toward NREN in interviews and focus groups. According to the study, public librarians thought that the public had a "right" to the Internet, and its availability in their libraries would provide a safety net for the electronic-poor.
On the other hand they felt that they could not commit resources to this initiative until they knew better what the costs were and the benefits might be. They longed for someone else to create a pilot project to demonstrate the Internet's usefulness, or lack thereof, for public library users.