"Everything from Dinah Shore to Dinosaurs": Bell Atlantic Helps Rural Libraries Access the Internet

Recently, the death of Dolly Parton has raised awareness about her Imagination Library -- a literacy effort that mails high-quality titles to more than 3 million children every month. Libraries and other community organizations enroll kids in the program and pay about $2.60 per child in postage costs. In return, families receive free books that they can keep for life. Spanning more than 30 years, Parton's philanthropy is comparable to Andrew Carnegie's library building program in terms of its reach, value, and longevity. 

Many people in my profession know about national giving programs like Parton's, but they may not realize that equally impactful efforts have taken place at the state level. For example, when we think of philanthropists that helped libraries bridge the digital divide, Bill and Melinda Gates usually come to mind. However, here in Pennsylvania, the Bell Atlantic Foundation (now Verizon Foundation) predated the Gates' Global Libraries initiative and enabled many of our rural institutions to provide public Internet access for the first time.

Bell Atlantic was a regional company created in 1984 in response to the U.S. government's concerns about AT&T's monopoly over telephone services. Serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, the company started to offer Internet access to its corporate customers in major cities in Summer 1996. It planned to reach smaller cities by the end of 1997. This timeline was a bit slower than some of the other "Baby Bells" -- Ameritech and U.S. West had already connected customers in Midwest and Western states to the World Wide Web. However, Pennsylvania may have presented unique challenges because of its widely-dispersed rural population. Fortunately, from the mid-1980s through 1997, the company was headquartered in Philadelphia. Thus we were beneficiaries of significant corporate philanthropy. Although the details are hazy to me, Bell Atlantic apparently had a "Pennsylvania Advantage" giving program which focused on economic development, education, health care, and information technology in the Keystone State.

From an early date, the State Library of Pennsylvania/Office of Commonwealth Libraries had been encouraging public library technological development, especially by using federal and state funds to purchase machinery for District Library Centers. Starting in the early 1990s, declining hardware costs and increasing user friendliness made it possible to extend some capabilities to dozens, even hundreds, more institutions throughout the Commonwealth. As luck would have it, in 1995, Bell Atlantic's President and CEO William "Bill" Harral communicated an interest in helping libraries to Michele Ridge, former Director of the Erie County Public Library and wife of then-Governor Tom Ridge. 

The possibility of a Bell-library partnership was relayed to OCL. Subsequently, Commissioner of Libraries Gary Wolfe and Director of Library Development Barbara Cole developed a proposal which resulted in the company giving $750,000 (equivalent to about $1.6 million in 2026) to enable the state to purchase complete Internet access stations for up to 300 libraries. A kick-off for the program took place at the East Shore Area Library in Dauphin County, where Ridge publicly received the check and demonstrated using the Internet. 

Dubbed "Online at PA Libraries," the purpose of the project was to demonstrate what could be accomplished using existing infrastructure to furnish the Internet to areas that didn't already have it. Because OCL was already planning to assist District Library Centers with access, it targeted rural local libraries for Bell Atlantic funds. All successful applicants had to have maintained the basic standards for state-aided libraries in the preceding year. District Library Center administrators and consultants performed preliminary vetting by commenting on applications' relevance to library development plans for their districts, and on each institution's track record for sending staff to district events. In addition, OCL juried applications based on:

• Service to a rural population (measured by number of people per square mile)
• Lack of public Internet workstations, or demonstrated use of existing workstations
• Ability to obtain affordable, reliable Internet access with a local telephone call 

In all, 188 libraries applied and all of them were accepted into the Online at PA Libraries program. After the project's costs proved to be lower than expected, OCL allowed 55 additional sites to join up. Given NCES statistics which indicate that Pennsylvania had 455 public libraries at the time, these 243 institutions represented more than half of those in the Commonwealth.

Schuylkill Intermediate Unit (IU 29), which had been providing Internet access accounts and trainings to schools and libraries within its area, was responsible for technical assistance. Over the summer, SIU ordered and configured all the computers. Each institution received a IBM equipped with a 14-inch color monitor, Pentium chip, internal modem, CD-ROM drive, soundcard, and HP Inkjet color printer, as well as Windows 95 and security software. 

Michelle Misiewiez of Schuylkill Intermediate Unit, Anna Cervenak of Bell Atlantic, and Theresa Kolonsky (seated) of Shenandoah Area Free Public Library with an Internet workstation obtained through Bell Atlantic. Image printed in The Standard-Speaker [Hazleton, PA], December 28, 1996. 

Mansfield University contributed a "Mansfield Cybrarian" website that libraries could use as a starting point for governmental, statistical, travel, and other reference information. For their part, participating libraries had to install dedicated telephone lines for their donated computers, and pay related phone bills and Internet service fees. Librarians also had to attend trainings provided by SIU, publicize the availability of web access, and maintain the service for at least 2 years. 

Mansfield Cybrarian website, 1996. Image courtesy of the Internet Archive.

In October 1996, SIU provided 1-day basic training sessions throughout Pennsylvania, informing attendees about the project's guidelines, how to set up their workstations, how to dial an Internet Service Provider, how to use Netscape, and acceptable library uses of the Internet. In April/May 1997, additional sessions focused on answering reference questions using search engines, "Cybrarian" web sites, and government resources.  

I haven't found a list of all the libraries that received computers through Online at PA Libraries, but my site research has uncovered participants in Blair, Crawford, Cumberland, and Montgomery Counties. I have also found news articles about the project's roll-out in Beaver, Franklin, Indiana, Montour, Northampton, and Washington County libraries. By all accounts, Bell Atlantic's generosity was  transformative to institutions that didn't offer Internet service previously. As Larry Mauro, a board member of the Donora Public Library put it, "you can research almost any subject imaginable ... everything from dinosaurs to Dinah Shore.'' Successful use cases abounded, and soon both children and adults were flocking to libraries to try the technology. 

An evaluation by John Carlo Bertot (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and Charles R. McClure (Syracuse University) estimated that by the close of the project, 500,000 Pennsylvanians were accessing the Internet through their public libraries. According to their survey of library directors, more than 88% of the participating institutions would not have been able to install their workstations without Bell Atlantic's financial support. In the administrators' views, the most important benefits were expanding reference resources, augmenting their libraries' collections, and drawing in new customers. Surveys of library Internet users found that about 1/2 were new to getting online, about 1/3 had no other way to access the Internet, and more than 1/4 were new to the library altogether. Most found the Bell Atlantic stations easy to use, and they were able to find material that was valuable to them, even if they had little prior training. 

Technology evolved quickly in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and I've found that some institutions  replaced donated computers just a few years later -- especially once Gates Foundation grants became available. While the machines themselves may not have been as long-lasting as one might hope, one of the project's long-reaching results was that it shifted public libraries' roles, making them key players in addressing technological inequity. Although libraries have often been early adopters of innovative office and inventorying systems, library staff -- especially in administrative, cataloging, and circulation departments -- had been the primary users and beneficiaries. However, Online at PA Libraries put telecom and machinery in users' hands, and fostered expectations that public libraries would continue to provide cutting-edge tech to their constituents. The libraries' ability to do so, however, wasn't a given. Bertot and McClure noted that even after training, librarians continued to feel inadequate in maintaining connectivity and providing support to users. Also, funds for monthly costs and future upgrades were unlikely to come from local governments. Significant thought also had to be given toward integrating traditional and online services, with attendant impacts on standards, long-range planning, coordination/collaboration, professional education, staffing, and facilities. Bertot and McClure concluded that at least some of these issues had to be carefully considered and addressed at the state level. 

At this point, I can't say whether Online at PA Libraries was the first-ever effort of its kind. I also don't know how much it influenced, or may have been influenced by, other actions of governmental and private entities. While the project was taking place, the 1996 Telecommunications Act deregulated the telecom industry and expanded the concept of Universal Service to encompass high-speed Internet access. State initiatives such as Link-to-Learn were bringing connectivity to educational institutions. Within a few years, the E-rate Program evolved to help schools and libraries with service costs, and there was also a overhaul of the Commonwealth's state aid program for public libraries. However, there's no doubt that Bell Atlantic provided essential means for many libraries to build Pennsylvanians' first on-ramps to the Information Superhighway.  

For more about Bell Atlantic and the Online at PA Libraries program:

• "Bell Atlantic Connects Ashland, Shenandoah Libraries to Internet," The Standard-Speaker [Hazleton, PA], December 7, 1996, 25. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/59824723/.
• "Bell Atlantic Offers Internet Access," The Bulletin [Latrobe, PA], April 11, 1996, 9. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/449821464/.
• Bertot, John Carlo, and Charles R. McClure, "Impacts of Public Access to the Internet through Pennsylvania Public Libraries," Information Technology & Libraries, vol. 16, no. 3 (September 1997), 151-164. 
• Bertot, John Carlo, and Charles R. McClure, Linking People to the Global Networked Society: Evaluation of the Online at PA Libraries Project, Public Access to the Internet through Public Libraries (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, School of Information Studies, 1997). ERIC, https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED413924. 
• Carroll, Jim, "New Technologies a Boon for Libraries," The Times-News [Erie, PA], January 26, 1997, 1. Available through Access World News. 
• Comings, Karen, "Two Profitable Partnerships," Computers in Libraries, vol. 16, no. 8 (September 1996), 24-25. 
• Conrad, K. D., "Local Library Now Boasts On-Line Service," The Standard-Speaker [Hazleton, PA], March 26, 1997, 20. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/65719571/.
• "Danville Library a Source for Tax Forms," The Press-Enterprise [Bloomsburg, PA], January 5, 1997. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/818975393/.
• "First Lady Unveils Public-Private Partnership to Expand Internet Access at Public Libraries," PaLA Bulletin, June 1996, 3. 
• Fogarty, James S., and Michelle Misiewiez, "Online at Pennsylvania Libraries," Rural Libraries, no. 2 (1998), 34-38.
• "Grant Presented to LV Library," The Bulletin [Latrobe, PA], March 20, 1997, 6. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/449884942/.
• Hay, Brian, "Nazareth to Introduce Internet Access Tomorrow," The Morning Call [Allentown, PA], February 5, 1997, B4.  ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/docview/392816060. 
• "Internet Comes to Indiana Library," The Gazette [Indiana, PA], December 11, 1996, 9. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/526356526/.
• "Libraries Offer Internet Training," The Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh, PA], February 13, 1997, C-3. 
• Light, Mia, "Shenandoah Library Offers Free Access to the Internet," The Standard-Speaker [Hazleton, PA], December 28, 1996, 14. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/61604107/.
• Miller, Matt, "Libraries Pack Them In With Free Internet Access," The Patriot News [Harrisburg, PA], January 21, 1997, 14. Available through Access World News. 
• "Pennsylvania Study Reports Internet Essential to Libraries," Library Journal, February 1, 1998, 14.
• Pihl, Karen, "Local Libraries to Join Technological Revolution," The Public Opinion [Chambersburg, PA], October 14, 1996, 3. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/449996782/.
• Zuchowski, Dave, "Grants Help Libraries Pay for Computers," The Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh, PA], December 22, 1996, W-5. Available through Access World News.