Patricia Realini KATIE: Hello. Welcome back. So, this is the

last talk before we all get to take a break and get a snack. Try to, like, resist the

urge to just go off to the pool and not come back because if you do it then I'll do it.

And then who is gonna introduce the speakers if I'm not here? No. So, our next speaker

is Patricia Ruiz  oh, gosh. My brain. I'm sorry. I just. Patricia Ruiz Realini. I got

that right, right? Yes. Okay. Cool. And Patricia, when I asked her about her fun fact in had

her first job for three years, she was a taekwondo instructor. And if you have a problem with

the bathroom policy, talk to her, not Brian. She'll set you straight. No, I'm sorry. She's

a lovely person and you're going to enjoy her talk. Everyone, give it up for Patricia.

[ Applause ] PATRICIA: Hi, everybody. I'm so excited to

be here. Thank you so much for coming to see my talk. I hope you're having a great first

day. I would like to begin by acknowledging that we're on occupied lands and offer respect

towards the people past and present. And I would also like to thank the organizers for

another year of JSConf US. It's already starting to be  it's already  it's off to a really

great start and I'm so grateful to be here. I have been wanting to give this talk for

a very long time. I used to live on the same block as the public library in my neighborhood

and I would go constantly to pick up books that I placed on hold. To co work in the summers

because I didn't have AC and to print out concert tickets because I didn't to want spend

my money on a printer and printer ink. And I got the experience of using the Internet

from the library and it made me curious about what it is like to depend on libraries around

the country for Internet access. Since then, I have made efforts to stop into public libraries

it compare the experiences. That was the impetus for this talk. If you walk past the computer

bay in a library, it becomes evident that when you don't own a device, personal computer

or have a personal broadband connection goes far beyond the physical limitations. 30% of

the rural US is closer to dial up speeds than broadband speeds. And urban broadband users

are on 3.1 megabytes per second. You recall users are lucky to achieve 500 kilobytes a

second. 162.8 million people do not use the Internet at broadband speeds. While the FCC

previously reported that broadband is not available to 24.7 million Americans, that

is stark in rural areas. For example, Microsoft found in Ferry County, Washington, they estimated

only 2% of people use broadband service versus the 100% that the federal government is said

so far access in that area. While many might focus on just the rural access, city broadband

access is also just as relevant. The University of Illinois of Chicago's digital excellence

in Chicago report found that 40% of Chicago residents, especially Latinx population, have

limited or in access to the Internet. Of that 40%, 35% have to use Wi Fi in public places

to get access. 25% of all Chicagoans do not use the Internet. Of those, people do not

use the Internet at all, while 15% only have limited access. And here on the map, we can

see those discrepancies based on geography and how that specifically happens in low income

areas. On the left you can see the percentage who have Internet access at home, and on the

right you can see the percentage who do not have Internet access at home because of difficulty

of availability. This has a real effect on people's livelihoods. The US bureau of labor

statistics employment data shows that the highest unemployment rates are frequently

located in the counties with the lowest availability of broadband. This is why the 16,700 public

library locations nationwide are so vital to the Internet. And on their own, are an

incredible source of information about our users. The Institute of museums and library

services 2019 report on the 2016 fiscal year found that for every 5,000 people libraries 

for every 5,000 people libraries serving a small population size offer 23.68 computers

versus  while only 4.04 library computers are available in libraries that serve large

populations. For example, 70% of Idaho's 103 libraries are the only source of free Internet

in Idaho's rural and remote communities. After significant investment from the broadband

technology opportunities program, the mean connection speed in Idaho libraries is still

only 12.8 megabytes per second. A steep drop from the national average of 57.4. The report

looked at the discrepancies in availability. And it does vary across states. Seven states

including Hawaii had fewer than four computers per 5,000 people. While two states, including

Vermont and Nebraska had more than nine. Most states had between 10 and 20 public access

Internet computers per a stationary outlet. DC having the most at 38.46. Libraries are

highly popular amongst adolescent and teenagers who want to spend time with other people their

age because they're open, accessible, free, and librarians make them feel welcome. In

many branches, they even assign areas for teenagers to be with one another. Compared

to the social space of the library with the social spaces of commercial establishments

like Starbucks or McDonald's, not everyone can afford to frequent them, and not all paying

customers are welcome to stay for long. Black and brown people, poor and homeless people

don't consider entering these spaces. They know standing outside a high end eatery can

make managers call the police. And I have been in restaurant using Wi Fi and ask police

ask a person who was coming from jail and was a homeless person, I watched them ask

this person to leave and say they were not welcome at the establishment because they

did not fit in. This is really limiting so much access for people that desperately need

it. So, where do they go? They go to the BiblioTech, of course. And not just during opening hours.

The 2016 usage and engagement report found that 7% of Americans age 60 and overuse the

library Wi Fi signal outside when libraries are closed. A lot of the main reasons for

Internet usage in public library are similar to a lot of our own basic Internet needs.

Checking email, doing research in many cases on personal health and outside of these uses,

the most different are taking classes and getting certifications. For example, getting

a food handling license to work in a restaurant is a process that takes about three hours

online and is one of the most common certifications out there for people in low income positions.

Historically, this disproportionately affects black, Latinx, homeless and immigrants the

most. With 58% of new American arrivals using the library Internet on a rate of once a week.

Kids under the age of 16 and also highly effective. Seven of ten teachers now require homework

with Internet access. Yet a third of kindergartners and others are unable to go online from home.

Some in Coachella and Huntsville, Alabama, require buses that have Wi Fi. They are sometimes

parked overnight and can connect and continue studying. In Detroit and New Orleans, as many

as one third of homes do not have broadband, children crowd libraries and other areas to

use free hot spots. Broadband limitations don't just change when and where you use the

Internet, but how. Google's 2011 state of interactivity report shows the difference

in usage based on broadband speeds. Here we can see people with limited access tend to

download and rely on offline more than the cloud because they have higher access to broadband

speeds. Specific to the library experience, there are a few standout considerations. Time

outs are frequently out of the control of librarians on PC reservation software and

it is a huge barrier for systemically oppressed people. Because when your identity contingencies

generate social pressure, and the result of this being stereo type threat, it means people

are less likely to speak up and ask for help when they need a longer session on the computer.

And in most cases, there are many library locations where the librarians are not familiar

with how to make the changes or have the administrative access to do so. When I visited the San Francisco

public library, with a 25 guest pass I had 15 minutes. With 5 minutes to start up the

reservation system. And the last 5 minutes, bombarded that it will end soon. Imagine trying

to take a three hour certification course that cannot be returned to under those conditions.

The Chicago public library requires people to show through ID that they are not Chicagoans

to access guest pass. Some charge due to low budgets and limited numbers of biases. And

you can see the biased co worker below, people like this are highly likely to accelerate

charges on overdue materials and limit and bar people from Internet action access and

the library. On the technical side, Windows 10 is the most prevalent operating system.

While just in 2018, just last year, many librarians reported they're still in the process of moving

from Windows 8 to Windows 10. Sorry. That's a little  I can't see the rest of my speaker

notes. I'm trying  so, there's also a lot of device and Wi Fi hot spot lending that

libraries do, but most of the time this is at a fee. They usually charge about $5 to

check out a Wi Fi hot spot and take it home. And in some cases, if they're lucky, they

have access to remote device management software that allows them to turn these devices off

if they're overdue. But the charges can be up to $150 for not returning a Wi Fi hot spot

to the library. With these charges, with device remote management software that librarians

use to throttle data so they don't have to pay high charges, we see that a lot of libraries

have difficulty offering these services without grants and subsidies that are highly needed

in their communities. Being barred usage of the Internet in libraries is much more common

than you think. In Seattle, patrons who $20 are blocked from borrowing, and $25, they

are sent to collection agencies. Even in prosperous Seattle, 20% of accounts are blocked due to

debt. This should be changing soon as Seattle just had a vote in August 6th of this year

where they passed prop 1 which is going to eliminate the fine system at the Seattle public

library which is fantastic news. But  and we see that this is also happening in DC,

Salt Lake and Baltimore. The San Francisco public library has 5% of accounts blocked

due to overdue fines, but in low income areas, the rate is as high as 11% and they are currently

also going through a proposal to go fine free as well. And this is important to know because

fines aren't even a significant revenue for any libraries. Salt Lake went fine free in

2017 after finding that late fees accounted for just .3% of the city library's total revenue.

Research shows overdue fines do not ensure materials end up back on the shelves. And

fine free have not seen an increase in late returns. One library saw the late return rate

drop from 9% to 4% following fine elimination. Some of the most pressing needs when it comes

to Internet access in libraries are PC reservation compatible access, accessibility shortcuts.

Most notably access to changing signs of text on the screens. Because some PC reservation

software obfuscate access to any kind of visual controls. Also, the text to speech access

and just most of the accessibility shortcuts on our computers is obfuscated by the software.

And they're often limited to select locations, making access even harder. And with low broadband

speeds, performance is also a super paramount issues as well as authentication and anti

surveillance measures that we'll get a little bit deeper into. the Google need for speed

report found that 53% of website visitors leave with f a website doesn't load in 3 seconds.

The average load is 9 seconds on a 3G connection. That's as long as it takes to sing the alphabet

song. And 14 seconds on a 4G connection. When surveyed, they found one out of two expect

it to load in less than 2 seconds. And faster sites had session lengths 70% longer and bounce

rates that were 35% lore. 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site that they

had trouble accessing and 40% will visit a competitor's website instead. Mobile sites

that loaded in 5 seconds earned almost double the revenue websites that took 19 seconds.

And you can boost conversion by 27%. Part of the problem is ads on mobile. Mobile ads

take an average of 5 seconds to load. About double the time as it takes for desktop ads

to load according to the media ratings council. Sorry.

Email and online  and then another issue past performance is authentication. Recently

there was this Twitter thread a few months ago which made me sad that it happened after

my talk and not before. Because I was excited to tell you about this. But email and online

messages SMS services like WhatsApp are truly the modern catch 22. You need an email to

get a phone number. And you need a phone number to get an email. So, especially for people

struggling with homelessness, this is a huge barrier for them to escape this oppression.

And I personally think that this problem is ripe for password managers to find a solution

to. I would love to see authentication stations in libraries utilizing authenticator app technology

and having access base on a librarian's approval. For users that are not web literate, dealing

with sensitive materials like paying bills and sharing photos. An example of handling

this is making sure that we detect in f a device is a new device and it's the first

time logging on. We can offer alerts and messaging like GDRP and communicating with them and

what to do before working on computers that may be insecure. Another security factor is

surveillance. Facial recognition software is creeping into libraries starting in academic

libraries today. The most prevalent threat, however, to intellectual freedom is section

215 of the patriot act. The government can demand the library records with a secret can

court order and without probable cause. They can block the librarians from revealing the

request, and it doesn't only cover the books, but Internet check ins, and hard drives from

library computers. Libraries took action to protect patrons. Posting these within view

of computer stations. In fall of 2002, the library research center at the University

of Illinois surveyed 1500 libraries and found that of the 444 libraries that had been subject

to law enforcement requests for information about patrons, 225 had not cooperated but

219 had. Librarians in Santa Cruz demonstrated their opposition by taking drastic measures

and shredding all historical information including computer usage or a daily basis. In 2005,

four Connecticut librarians going under the modicum of John Doe with the help of the ACLU

sued the US attorney general to lift the gag order that the librarians were subject to

produce records. By 2006, the FBI dropped the defense of the gag division. It was expired

in May of 2015, but the US freedom act, the expired parts of the law with the exception

of the gag order were reported broadly as restored and renewed and come up for expiration

this year in December. But there's a lot of success stories too. Libraries are still the