Libraries : Free lane on the info highway. An editorial in today's New York Times (free registration required) discusses the promise and failures of WiFi to bridge the digital divide. It focuses mainly on private users' provisions of wireless access and the disposition of these nodes on Manhattan. The author compares WiFi's potential to bridge the digital divide to the public library system--claiming "WiFi holds the promise of bridging America's much discussed digital divide — if we make it ubiquitous and free to use, like the public library system. After all, just as roads and bridges were among the most important public investments in the industrial period, wireless access to the Internet is arguably the most crucial public investment of the information age." [LISNews.com]  4:31:20 PM   [Feedback ]