LIBRARIES STRAINED BY INTERNET USE

Public libraries are straining to keep up with the demand for Internet access from students and job seekers who don't have it at home.

"The study, Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007, reported on a survey of thousands of public library branches and library focus groups held in Delaware, Maryland, Nevada and Utah.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and ALA, the study found that more than 73 percent of libraries say they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities."