Cost of providing Internet Access

[Joe Schallan]

On 7-06-98 David Burt wrote:

>Does anyone have any figures on the cost of providing public Internet
>access?


David and list,

I don't recall seeing, in Web4Lib's traffic,  a citation to Karen Schneider's
recent article on this subject, so here goes.  Apologies for any
repetition.

Schneider, Karen G., "The Tao of Internet Costs,"  <I>The Bottom
Line--Managing Library Finances<I>, Volume 11, Number 2, 1998,
pp. 52-64.  (ISSN 0888-045X)

Abstract: "Using data from *The 1997 National Survey of US
Public Libraries and the Internet*, listserv postings [that would
be us!], and the author's own research and consulting
experiences, [this article] explores the current financing of
US public library Internet connectivity and services. [The
author] asserts that analyzing the costs of Internet services
in libraries is different from any previous services offered by
libraries. [The author] begins to establish a concise
vocabulary and framework for understanding Internet costs
in libraries."

I would specifically direct David and others interested in
costing each public station to Figure 3 in the article, which
lays out one-time and recurring costs for each component
of connectivity.  Following this framework, I think David
can probably arrive at a figure reasonably close to the
one he is looking for.
---
Joe Schallan
Reference Librarian, Website Editor, Factotum
Glendale Public Library
Glendale, Arizona USA
jschall at glenpub.lib.az.us
  Visit the City of Glendale at www.ci.glendale.az.us