Providing digital opportunities through public libraries: the Canadian example

This article describes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work in providing grants to public libraries in low‐income communities above the 60th parallel in Canada. Through its Canadian Partnership program, the foundation granted $18.2 million to 1,466 libraries throughout the country, funding the purchase of over 4,000 computers, 27 training labs, and 16 laptop training labs. The area described in the article includes some of Canada’s most remote regions and required unique efforts to bring Internet access and information technology to low‐income communities in the territories of the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The computers helped many residents with literacy skills, increased job opportunities, and provided a host of other advantages. The foundation’s experience proved that the long‐range benefits to communities are only truly seen when such initiatives are community‐driven.