Press Information: 4th February 1997

INFORMATION FOR ALL'S MILLENNIUM BID REJECTED

The Millennium Commission has rejected Information for All's £50m bid to give every UK citizen free access to the Internet through public libraries.

"We're obviously disappointed" said Sir Charles Chadwyck-Healey, chair of Information for All. "Surprised too, because this was one bid that had the potential to benefit everyone in the UK, bridging the gap between the information rich and information poor in a way which would be of huge benefit to our educational, economic and cultural life."

But Information for All thinks the vision of connecting communities to the new knowledge networks through their local library is too important to be lost to Britain, especially as public library involvement could play a major role in delivering the Government's IT for All strategy.

The company will now be working to achieve that vision through other sources of money. The directors are heartened by the all party support the bid has attracted, support which they believe will not evaporate because the case for putting free Internet access into libraries is so strong.

Information for All and The Library Association are now eagerly awaiting publication of The National Library Public Policy Review, which has taken two years to complete, where the Government will decide the future role of libraries in society. "If we want a healthy, economically competitive society we need to produce well informed citizens" says Julia Neuberger, one of Information of All's directors. "John Major has talked about the importance of training everyone to make the best use of computers - we think our 4200 public libraries are the best place for that training to take place. They are used by 60% of the population, they have a comfortably neutral, democratic atmosphere and staff who know how to help people to navigate all kinds of information".

Information for All is a not for profit company set up in 1996 to give everyone an equal chance to play a full part in a society increasingly reliant on electronic information. At a think tank seminar on February 5th, local authority chief executives, senior librarians and prominent members of the business community will explore ways of moving things forward.

Further Information:

Please contact either Miranda McKearney (01962 865102); or Andrew Baiden (0171 465 7720), Stuart Yeardsley (0171 465 7745) or Lisa MacLaren (0171 465 7739) at The RED Consultancy.

Note for Editors

1. Information for All was established by the Library Association & the Library & Information Commission. The Library Association represents the library profession. The chief executive, Ross Shimmon, is a member of Information for All's board. He can be reached on 0171 636 7543.
2. Over 100 MPs have expressed support for Information for All's bid. They include the Rt. Hon. Kenneth Baker, MP; Rt. Hon. Norman Fowler, MP; Rt. Hon. Paddy Ashdown, MP; Rt. Hon. Jack Cunningham, MP; David Blunkett, MP; Mark Fisher, MP.

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Last revised 06-Feb-1997

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