As I administer public access Internet grants to small, rural public libraries, I have several observations. 1) It is not as hard for rural libraries to get connected these days. Yes, I do have to arrange for 800 number surcharge access in 5 of 25 grants being given out in September. But, in the other cases, it is a local call. And, as Steve Harmon, Senior Investment Analyst for iWorld pointed out in his column (http://netday.iworld.com/stocks/column.shtml) on August 16: "In short, like local newspapers and trade magazines, the presence of same-town businesspersons offering net access and services has been largely ignored by most analysts covering this industry. Anecdotal evidence: More than 7,000 ISPs in the US this year compared to about 6,000 in 1995. Clearly, Ma Bell and her offspring haven't--yet--made the dent most thought they would." One of the vendors, Teleport (http://www.teleport.com) in Portland, OR, offers a 50% discount to libraries with a letter to their Nonprofit Coordinator (nonprofit@teleport.com). Other local Internet providers have said they would not charge the library if it went over the regular number of hours per month for an account. 2) There was a concern expressed earlier about libraries selling Internet services. Seattle Public Library has been very successful selling Internet services and helping to foster an active community network. Salem Public Library in Oregon received a grant from NTIA to offer Internet to the public (http://www.open.org). There was some concern expressed by a local commercial Salem Internet provider, and the library adjusted its business rate. 3) Oregon has established a statewide Telecommunications Forum under the auspices of the Governor (http://www.das.state.or.us/otf/). Several guiding elements for that forum state: ...Include all telecommunications stakeholders, including providers, consumers*, and regulators (*such as: urban, rural, business, residential, health care, education, libraries, law enforcement, etc.) ...Actively encourage partnerships among public, private, and non-profit entities. ...Provide the basis for linking state strategy with federal policy. 4) As an aside, public libraries offer videotapes in their circulating collections. Local video stores continue to do business, the Discovery Channel is successful on cable and Sesame Street does well on television and videocassette. Story hours and children's reading programs are offered by public libraries. Blockbuster and Hollywood Video continue to "circulate" videos. 5) Oregon EdNet provides Internet on a self-sustaining basis through the state Department of Administrative Services to libraries and other government entities throughout Oregon. It puts local dialup POPs in some libraries in exchange for service to the library. From the library's perspective, EdNet was the only way to get local dial and 56K service in Pendleton, OR through December, 1995. In January, 1996, two commercial providers came to town. Summary: We have to be careful to include various existing Internet public library efforts with consideration of discounted library service. In my experience, cooperation already exists. Libraries can contribute to local economic development as well as provide public access to members of their community. Rushton Brandis, Network Development Consultant Library Development Services, Oregon State Library State Library Bldg, Salem, OR 97310-0640 503 378 2112 x 224 voice; 503 588 7119 fax rushton.g.brandis@state.or.us <http://www.osl.state.or.us/oslhome.html>