On any given day, visitors stop by the Muskogee Public Library reference desk wanting to use the computers or connect to WiFi as a guest. They need to email friends and family about the road trip, the family funeral, wedding, job interview, furlough, appointment … that brought them through Muskogee and to the library’s door.

A few may become residents, new library members, your neighbors. Some become repeat visitors, dropping in the next time they drive through. Many we may never see again. But, this visit is our moment to shine, because internet access and providing assistance locating digitally-delivered resources is an important aspect of our service to the community.

According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, internet access is the most sought-after public library service and is used by more than half of all visitors. “We know that more than 100 million people do not have broadband access at home,” IMLS Director Susan H. Hildreth said in September.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project report, released in March 2011, indicates that 30 percent of all library users seeking information online are use both their cell phones AND computers to access information from their public library — WiFi and broadband. Using these technologies to gain authoritative information reflects one aspect of the changing role of the public library and its relationship to its users.

Thanks to funds awarded to the Oklahoma Department of Libraries by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Broadband Technology Opportunities program, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009), and funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Muskogee Public Library will benefit from increased broadband speed and capacity in the future.

Overcoming existing infrastructure and ensuring our ability to sustain this investment and the demand for access is imperative. Improved technology, access and service by knowledgeable, capable staff are our goal. Our visitors and MPL patrons-in-the-know understand that the Public Library as an institution is a universal constant.

The Public Library serves as conduit for information, as facilitator to access, respite, diversion, home away from home. Its doors are open and all are welcome.

The newspapers are current, the reference collection is reliable, the books are relevant, and audio, video and ebooks are accessible, whether on a physical or digital shelf, just a click away. Library users know that information is at the ready and that professional librarians are dogged problem-solvers, so they ask:

Where do I find …? How do I …? Who should I talk to about … ? Do you have a book about …? Can you recommend an ebook for …? Could you help me learn, locate, copy, fax, email, post, print, …?

Of course we can. We are the public’s library.