The Colorado State Library, a division of the Colorado Department of Education, has launched an Internet access campaign to draw rural Colorado residents into local computing centers around the state.
“We are committed to providing Internet access, computers, support and training for the communities we serve through our libraries,” said Sharon Morris, director of library development for the Colorado State Library.
The Colorado State Library has teamed up with Sadler & Dorchester, a Denver-based marketing firm, to launch the program which is funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, passed in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The act gave funding to the states to develop computing centers in libraries or other community spaces.
Colorado officials and Sadler & Dorchester noted that Internet access is a high priority for the Obama administration because of “its power to change lives” through access to jobs and community services, connections to friends and family, and gateways to education and health information.
A study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation found that low income adults and those in rural areas have low Internet usage.
Officials said that with many Colorado residents falling below a mean household income level of $57,000 a year, the Internet program gives them an opportunity to improve their quality of life through Internet access.
The Colorado State Library began work with Sadler & Dorchester in January. Over the course of four months, the team researched, developed and delivered more than 93 communications kits for 76 Colorado computing centers.
According to Sadler & Dorchester, the team tested creative concepts with target audiences throughout the state, and the resulting kits included both online and traditional communications tactics designed to draw new Internet users to the computing centers.
The campaign uses messages like “Connect with Jobs”, “Connect with Families,” and “Connect to the World” to highlight the benefits of Internet use.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
