Bill Gates - national and International

Bill Gates ­ national and International

Keywords: Canada,Donations, IT, United Kingdom

Since 1995, Microsoft has donated $3.5 million in cash and $7 million in software. In 1997, the Gates Library Foundation was established, which is not answerable to the Microsoft shareholders. In a first round of grants, the foundations donated $20 million for computers, technical assistance, and training. Microsoft donated software with an estimated retail value of $14 million. After a meeting with Gates,British Prime Minister Tony Blair took interest in the (British) Library and Information Commission's People's network report. However, if Gates makes any investment in the UK it will probably focus on deprived areas rather than a larger plan. Carol Erickson, the foundation's international library programs manager, has already had a fact-finding session at the Library Association's headquarters to discover the extent of deprivation in the UK.

The Gates Library Foundation has launched a Canadian grant program to provide libraries in low-income communities with "access to computers, the Internet, and technical training." The Canadian program is identical to the program in the States that Gates initiated in 1997. The Foundation's goal is to teach 10,000 libraries in the USA and Canada within five years. As of June 1998, over 1,000 US libraries had received grants and there are over 300 libraries that are currently undergoing the review process.

Eileen Fitzsimmonsis Development Editor, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, NY