Donde Esta La BiblioTech?
Patricia Realini KATIE: Hello. Welcome back. So, this is the
last talk before we all get to take a break and get a snack. Try to, like, resist the
urge to just go off to the pool and not come back because if you do it then I'll do it.
And then who is gonna introduce the speakers if I'm not here? No. So, our next speaker
is Patricia Ruiz oh, gosh. My brain. I'm sorry. I just. Patricia Ruiz Realini. I got
that right, right? Yes. Okay. Cool. And Patricia, when I asked her about her fun fact in had
her first job for three years, she was a taekwondo instructor. And if you have a problem with
the bathroom policy, talk to her, not Brian. She'll set you straight. No, I'm sorry. She's
a lovely person and you're going to enjoy her talk. Everyone, give it up for Patricia.
[ Applause ] PATRICIA: Hi, everybody. I'm so excited to
be here. Thank you so much for coming to see my talk. I hope you're having a great first
day. I would like to begin by acknowledging that we're on occupied lands and offer respect
towards the people past and present. And I would also like to thank the organizers for
another year of JSConf US. It's already starting to be it's already it's off to a really
great start and I'm so grateful to be here. I have been wanting to give this talk for
a very long time. I used to live on the same block as the public library in my neighborhood
and I would go constantly to pick up books that I placed on hold. To co work in the summers
because I didn't have AC and to print out concert tickets because I didn't to want spend
my money on a printer and printer ink. And I got the experience of using the Internet
from the library and it made me curious about what it is like to depend on libraries around
the country for Internet access. Since then, I have made efforts to stop into public libraries
it compare the experiences. That was the impetus for this talk. If you walk past the computer
bay in a library, it becomes evident that when you don't own a device, personal computer
or have a personal broadband connection goes far beyond the physical limitations. 30% of
the rural US is closer to dial up speeds than broadband speeds. And urban broadband users
are on 3.1 megabytes per second. You recall users are lucky to achieve 500 kilobytes a
second. 162.8 million people do not use the Internet at broadband speeds. While the FCC
previously reported that broadband is not available to 24.7 million Americans, that
is stark in rural areas. For example, Microsoft found in Ferry County, Washington, they estimated
only 2% of people use broadband service versus the 100% that the federal government is said
so far access in that area. While many might focus on just the rural access, city broadband
access is also just as relevant. The University of Illinois of Chicago's digital excellence
in Chicago report found that 40% of Chicago residents, especially Latinx population, have
limited or in access to the Internet. Of that 40%, 35% have to use Wi Fi in public places
to get access. 25% of all Chicagoans do not use the Internet. Of those, people do not
use the Internet at all, while 15% only have limited access. And here on the map, we can
see those discrepancies based on geography and how that specifically happens in low income
areas. On the left you can see the percentage who have Internet access at home, and on the
right you can see the percentage who do not have Internet access at home because of difficulty
of availability. This has a real effect on people's livelihoods. The US bureau of labor
statistics employment data shows that the highest unemployment rates are frequently
located in the counties with the lowest availability of broadband. This is why the 16,700 public
library locations nationwide are so vital to the Internet. And on their own, are an
incredible source of information about our users. The Institute of museums and library
services 2019 report on the 2016 fiscal year found that for every 5,000 people libraries
for every 5,000 people libraries serving a small population size offer 23.68 computers
versus while only 4.04 library computers are available in libraries that serve large
populations. For example, 70% of Idaho's 103 libraries are the only source of free Internet
in Idaho's rural and remote communities. After significant investment from the broadband
technology opportunities program, the mean connection speed in Idaho libraries is still
only 12.8 megabytes per second. A steep drop from the national average of 57.4. The report
looked at the discrepancies in availability. And it does vary across states. Seven states
including Hawaii had fewer than four computers per 5,000 people. While two states, including
Vermont and Nebraska had more than nine. Most states had between 10 and 20 public access
Internet computers per a stationary outlet. DC having the most at 38.46. Libraries are
highly popular amongst adolescent and teenagers who want to spend time with other people their
age because they're open, accessible, free, and librarians make them feel welcome. In
many branches, they even assign areas for teenagers to be with one another. Compared
to the social space of the library with the social spaces of commercial establishments
like Starbucks or McDonald's, not everyone can afford to frequent them, and not all paying
customers are welcome to stay for long. Black and brown people, poor and homeless people
don't consider entering these spaces. They know standing outside a high end eatery can
make managers call the police. And I have been in restaurant using Wi Fi and ask police
ask a person who was coming from jail and was a homeless person, I watched them ask
this person to leave and say they were not welcome at the establishment because they
did not fit in. This is really limiting so much access for people that desperately need
it. So, where do they go? They go to the BiblioTech, of course. And not just during opening hours.
The 2016 usage and engagement report found that 7% of Americans age 60 and overuse the
library Wi Fi signal outside when libraries are closed. A lot of the main reasons for
Internet usage in public library are similar to a lot of our own basic Internet needs.
Checking email, doing research in many cases on personal health and outside of these uses,
the most different are taking classes and getting certifications. For example, getting
a food handling license to work in a restaurant is a process that takes about three hours
online and is one of the most common certifications out there for people in low income positions.
Historically, this disproportionately affects black, Latinx, homeless and immigrants the
most. With 58% of new American arrivals using the library Internet on a rate of once a week.
Kids under the age of 16 and also highly effective. Seven of ten teachers now require homework
with Internet access. Yet a third of kindergartners and others are unable to go online from home.
Some in Coachella and Huntsville, Alabama, require buses that have Wi Fi. They are sometimes
parked overnight and can connect and continue studying. In Detroit and New Orleans, as many
as one third of homes do not have broadband, children crowd libraries and other areas to
use free hot spots. Broadband limitations don't just change when and where you use the
Internet, but how. Google's 2011 state of interactivity report shows the difference
in usage based on broadband speeds. Here we can see people with limited access tend to
download and rely on offline more than the cloud because they have higher access to broadband
speeds. Specific to the library experience, there are a few standout considerations. Time
outs are frequently out of the control of librarians on PC reservation software and
it is a huge barrier for systemically oppressed people. Because when your identity contingencies
generate social pressure, and the result of this being stereo type threat, it means people
are less likely to speak up and ask for help when they need a longer session on the computer.
And in most cases, there are many library locations where the librarians are not familiar
with how to make the changes or have the administrative access to do so. When I visited the San Francisco
public library, with a 25 guest pass I had 15 minutes. With 5 minutes to start up the
reservation system. And the last 5 minutes, bombarded that it will end soon. Imagine trying
to take a three hour certification course that cannot be returned to under those conditions.
The Chicago public library requires people to show through ID that they are not Chicagoans
to access guest pass. Some charge due to low budgets and limited numbers of biases. And
you can see the biased co worker below, people like this are highly likely to accelerate
charges on overdue materials and limit and bar people from Internet action access and
the library. On the technical side, Windows 10 is the most prevalent operating system.
While just in 2018, just last year, many librarians reported they're still in the process of moving
from Windows 8 to Windows 10. Sorry. That's a little I can't see the rest of my speaker
notes. I'm trying so, there's also a lot of device and Wi Fi hot spot lending that
libraries do, but most of the time this is at a fee. They usually charge about $5 to
check out a Wi Fi hot spot and take it home. And in some cases, if they're lucky, they
have access to remote device management software that allows them to turn these devices off
if they're overdue. But the charges can be up to $150 for not returning a Wi Fi hot spot
to the library. With these charges, with device remote management software that librarians
use to throttle data so they don't have to pay high charges, we see that a lot of libraries
have difficulty offering these services without grants and subsidies that are highly needed
in their communities. Being barred usage of the Internet in libraries is much more common
than you think. In Seattle, patrons who $20 are blocked from borrowing, and $25, they
are sent to collection agencies. Even in prosperous Seattle, 20% of accounts are blocked due to
debt. This should be changing soon as Seattle just had a vote in August 6th of this year
where they passed prop 1 which is going to eliminate the fine system at the Seattle public
library which is fantastic news. But and we see that this is also happening in DC,
Salt Lake and Baltimore. The San Francisco public library has 5% of accounts blocked
due to overdue fines, but in low income areas, the rate is as high as 11% and they are currently
also going through a proposal to go fine free as well. And this is important to know because
fines aren't even a significant revenue for any libraries. Salt Lake went fine free in
2017 after finding that late fees accounted for just .3% of the city library's total revenue.
Research shows overdue fines do not ensure materials end up back on the shelves. And
fine free have not seen an increase in late returns. One library saw the late return rate
drop from 9% to 4% following fine elimination. Some of the most pressing needs when it comes
to Internet access in libraries are PC reservation compatible access, accessibility shortcuts.
Most notably access to changing signs of text on the screens. Because some PC reservation
software obfuscate access to any kind of visual controls. Also, the text to speech access
and just most of the accessibility shortcuts on our computers is obfuscated by the software.
And they're often limited to select locations, making access even harder. And with low broadband
speeds, performance is also a super paramount issues as well as authentication and anti
surveillance measures that we'll get a little bit deeper into. the Google need for speed
report found that 53% of website visitors leave with f a website doesn't load in 3 seconds.
The average load is 9 seconds on a 3G connection. That's as long as it takes to sing the alphabet
song. And 14 seconds on a 4G connection. When surveyed, they found one out of two expect
it to load in less than 2 seconds. And faster sites had session lengths 70% longer and bounce
rates that were 35% lore. 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site that they
had trouble accessing and 40% will visit a competitor's website instead. Mobile sites
that loaded in 5 seconds earned almost double the revenue websites that took 19 seconds.
And you can boost conversion by 27%. Part of the problem is ads on mobile. Mobile ads
take an average of 5 seconds to load. About double the time as it takes for desktop ads
to load according to the media ratings council. Sorry.
Email and online and then another issue past performance is authentication. Recently
there was this Twitter thread a few months ago which made me sad that it happened after
my talk and not before. Because I was excited to tell you about this. But email and online
messages SMS services like WhatsApp are truly the modern catch 22. You need an email to
get a phone number. And you need a phone number to get an email. So, especially for people
struggling with homelessness, this is a huge barrier for them to escape this oppression.
And I personally think that this problem is ripe for password managers to find a solution
to. I would love to see authentication stations in libraries utilizing authenticator app technology
and having access base on a librarian's approval. For users that are not web literate, dealing
with sensitive materials like paying bills and sharing photos. An example of handling
this is making sure that we detect in f a device is a new device and it's the first
time logging on. We can offer alerts and messaging like GDRP and communicating with them and
what to do before working on computers that may be insecure. Another security factor is
surveillance. Facial recognition software is creeping into libraries starting in academic
libraries today. The most prevalent threat, however, to intellectual freedom is section
215 of the patriot act. The government can demand the library records with a secret can
court order and without probable cause. They can block the librarians from revealing the
request, and it doesn't only cover the books, but Internet check ins, and hard drives from
library computers. Libraries took action to protect patrons. Posting these within view
of computer stations. In fall of 2002, the library research center at the University
of Illinois surveyed 1500 libraries and found that of the 444 libraries that had been subject
to law enforcement requests for information about patrons, 225 had not cooperated but
219 had. Librarians in Santa Cruz demonstrated their opposition by taking drastic measures
and shredding all historical information including computer usage or a daily basis. In 2005,
four Connecticut librarians going under the modicum of John Doe with the help of the ACLU
sued the US attorney general to lift the gag order that the librarians were subject to
produce records. By 2006, the FBI dropped the defense of the gag division. It was expired
in May of 2015, but the US freedom act, the expired parts of the law with the exception
of the gag order were reported broadly as restored and renewed and come up for expiration
this year in December. But there's a lot of success stories too. Libraries are still the
most helpful resource for learning about the Internet and web literacy classes are the
most highly requested programming at libraries. Because library staff need to be totally up
to date on their digital skills, they learn these things just in time and turn around
and immediately start teaching them to patrons. My favorite resource are the zines by read
me and they host crypto parties. And there are libraries offering some of the most high
tech access rout there. The Los Angeles library has the Octavia Butler space. It's at the
location that's great for families to toy around with 3D printing and all kinds of other
high tech gadgets. And the Austin public library, the laptop stations with computer users and
up to date technology. All you have to do is scan your library card and unlock one of
these laptops much like you would unlock a bicycle out in a rideshare program and you
can use the laptop anywhere you want in the library. The biggest tax credits, grants and
subsidies only go so far to support public library Internet access. All the most robust
results are the public private partnerships. We as a community should be doing everything
we can to encourage the companies we work for to get involved and help build partnerships
to get better hardware, software and help. Overreliance on the federal broadband stimulus
program has tied censorship to funding and the future has the potential to be bleak as
we have seen how the patriot act affected usage of the Internet in the libraries. And
there was the initiative that has harnessed the unused channels known as white space.
It's unused spectrum below 700 megahertz. Using UHF signals. This is sometimes called
super Wi Fi. It behaves like regular Wi Fi but uses lower channels to cover greater distances
than Wi Fi hot spots. It's less populated in remote regions. And imagine the capacity
for urban areas where people don't have personal access at home. Where their kids need to stay
on buses to be able to use Wi Fi to finish their homework. If your company can't get
involved, volunteer for a crypto at your library. Organize your next meetup at a library
computer lab to give more access to people outside of your own personal circle. So,
thank you so much for coming and hearing about what it's like to use the Internet at the
library. I hope next time you stop by a library and check out what it's like to use their
computers and not just your fancy Macbooks. Thank you.
[ Applause ] KATIE: All right. Thank you so much, Patricia.
And how freakin' awesome is the themed slide presentation. Yes. So cool. It matches my
new scrunchie. All right. So, it is time for a snack break. So, we will be back here in
this room or the other room what time again? At 4:15. So, we have quite a bit of time to
go out, have a snack, relax and we'll see you at the next talks. Take care.