The downturn in the economy has hit everyone hard, especially in rural areas like Russellville, Alabama.

Because of budget cuts, the local Russellville library almost had to stop offering Internet service to its patrons. The county mandated that the Internet connection be filtered, but there was no money in the budget to pay for the filters. In good economic times, perhaps this would have represented an inconvenience, but to many of the residents of Russellville who were out of work, the library’s Internet connection represented their best chance at landing a job.

Though the amount of money needed was small, the county simply did not have the funds to purchase the filters. Deborah Barnett, the director of the library, was told that if Russellville was given more money than the normal budget allowed, then the county would have to do the same for all of the county’s libraries.

Barnett estimates that 30-40 people use the Russellville library’s Internet connection every day to look for work. The closest alternative is a career center more than 20 miles away.

“I saw the google alert about the library having to shut down its Internet connection and saw an opportunity for our company to help, albeit in a small way,” says Shane Kenny, President and COO of InternetSafety.com.

“I want to thank InternetSafety.com for their donation of Internet filters to the Russellville library,” wrote director Barnett. “Many schools and libraries will be prorated this year, meaning that we will lose substantial funding. With donations we can continue to provide quality and current information to our patrons.”

Filed under: Internet Safety News