The grants are part of the foundation's U.S. Library Program, which is working to increase computer, Internet, and digital access to low-income patrons. "Although New Hampshire ranks second in the nation in households with computer access, 10% of children in the state live in abject poverty and do not have computers at home. This grant is a very important supplement in providing public libraries access since public libraries receive all of their funding on the local level," said Janet Eklund, State Library Administrator, who serves as contact person for the program.

"We greatly appreciate the assistance that the foundation is providing to New Hampshire libraries," said York. "This generous gift will help many of our libraries provide Internet access to their patrons. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art training lab New Hampshire receives will greatly enhance technology education opportunities for librarians."

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $250 million to public libraries nationwide and expects to provide 40,000 computers to nearly 10,000 libraries by the end of 2003. The program, which started in 1998, prioritized states based on per capita income. New Hampshire is part of the fourth round of applications.