Posted: July 22, 2009 |(0) Comments

The Brown Deer and Whitefish Bay libraries will receive Opportunity Online grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, allowing both to purchase additional computers for the libraries over the next two years.

Joe Rice, director of the Brown Deer library, said the library will purchase a total of 12 computers, six each in 2010 and 2011. Martha Berg, president of the Whitefish Bay Library Board, said they will purchase three in 2010 and three in 2011 using their grant.

Both grants require the libraries to match 25 percent of the cost. Rice said he expects 2010 to be a difficult year for the budget but he will find the $3,100 needed. On average, the foundation pays $1,625 per computer.

"We just have to do this," Rice said.

The grant includes technical support and may also be used for the purchase of software and printers.

Old computers 'drop dead'

In Brown Deer, older computers running on Windows 98 will be replaced.

"They drop dead three times a day," said Rice, pleased with the opportunity to provide newer computers for patrons.

The foundation uses a formula based on population, poverty level and a technical analysis to award the grants.

Brown Deer has eight computers for the public, while Whitefish Bay has more. Berg said the Whitefish Bay library replaced 12 computers this year with its own funds and plans to purchase six computers for its youth services area in 2010. The library also has 16 laptop computers for the public.

"This is very good news," Berg said. "Computers have a certain life and replacing them is tough this year. We are replacing computers that were installed when the library was built in 2002."

Rice said he hopes to install some of the new computers in the children's area of the Brown Deer library, which does not have computers.

Computer usage up

Both libraries have seen an upswing in the number of patrons coming in to use their computers.

Elka Saylor, a librarian in Whitefish Bay, said her observation is that many more people use them.

"I have no idea what people are doing when they log in, although some come in to play games and check e-mail," she said.

Rice said Internet usage is up at the Brown Deer library.

In June the library logged 2,294 Internet user sessions compared to 1,694 sessions in June 2008. Librarians are helping more patrons with online job applications and searches of job Web sites, he said.