<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1I3dGm_1GoYnErf00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1I3dGm_1GoYnErf00" width="1200" height="600" >TIPTON, Iowa (KCRG) — A proposal in Washington could change how that library pays for its internet.The Federal Communications Commission is weighing whether to end or limit E-Rate, a 30-year-old program that helps libraries and school districts pay for internet service. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has cited concerns about kids’ screen time.E-Rate is funded through fees on phone and internet bills. It provides 20% to 90% discounts on broadband coming into schools and libraries and Wi-Fi equipment inside. Nationally, the program totals about $2.6 billion a year.The Tipton Public Library has stood since 1903. The library serves Cedar County, and staff say internet access is one of its most essential services.“Just in, like the past year alone, we had over 4,000 folks come in here and use our Wi-Fi,” said Director Kate Hefner, the library’s new director.Federal data from the Universal Service Administrative Company shows Tipton’s library was approved for up to $2,610 in E-Rate support this funding year. That covers 60% of its internet bill.“If we didn’t have E-Rate, we would have to pay for that cost out of our book budget or out of other budgets,” Hefner said.The FCC is weighing cutting E-Rate entirely or limiting it to rural organizations exclusively. USAC records show about $21.5 million committed to organizations across Iowa this funding year.“So as library workers, I think we’re incredibly concerned about finding that service, right, in a private entity, if E-Rate goes away,” said Sam Helmick, immediate past president of the American Library Association. Helmick is Community and Access Services coordinator for the Iowa City Public Library, which does not use E-Rate.Helmick said librarians hearing about the proposal are facing tough calls:“When you have to decide between, does the director actually get paid to be full time of this town of 12,200 or do we give access to the entire community to the web?”For libraries like Tipton’s, the question isn’t just whether the Wi-Fi stays on. It’s what else gets cut to pay for it.The FCC hasn’t said when it will decide. It’s also unclear how the agency would define which organizations count as rural. Reply comments to the FCC are due Nov. 12.</div></body>

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TIPTON, Iowa (KCRG) — A proposal in Washington could change how that library pays for its internet. The Federal Communications Commission is weighing whether to end or limit E-Rate, a 30-year-old program that helps libraries and school districts pay for internet service. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has cited concerns about kids’ screen time.

FCC weighs cuts to program that helps Iowa libraries pay for internet

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TIPTON, Iowa (KCRG) — A proposal in Washington could change how that library pays for its internet. The Federal Communications Commission is weighing wheth

FCC weighs cuts to program that helps Iowa libraries pay for internet

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