Small Town Library, Big Tech Problems: Rural Digital Equity
Rural libraries face the worst digital divide but get least vendor support. Solutions exist - but they require asking vendors the right questions and building regional infrastructure together.
Why I wrote this: I drove 90 miles to test a branch's Wi-Fi and saw how our 'solutions' fail rural patrons.
Urban bandwidth assumptions kill rural services - ship low-tech options alongside the shiny tools.
You're a library director in a town of 8,000 in rural Montana. Your library serves a population 45 minutes from the nearest city. You have a $200,000 annual budget. $5,000 of that goes to technology.
- Rural libraries face infrastructure barriers: inconsistent broadband, aging facilities, limited digital resources. Yet expected to deliver same digital services as urban counterparts with 1/10 the budget.
- Broadband access isn't universal in rural areas. "Free WiFi at library" means little when community lacks stable home internet. Libraries become subsidized ISPs for critical services (government applications, job searching).
- Tech adoption barriers: staff in small rural libraries lack advanced tech training; vendor systems assume baseline digital literacy users don't have; devices (computers, tablets) are expensive relative to per-capita funding.
- Solutions require funding: rural library consortiums for shared tech support, device lending programs, local tech training partnerships, and broadband infrastructure investment beyond library scope but needed for library equity goals.
Your bandwidth? 3-5 Mbps satellite internet. Your staffing? You and one part-time person, one doing everything. Your competition for tech talent? Nothing - there are no tech jobs in your town, so anyone with skills left a decade ago.
Meanwhile, the urban library 100 miles away with a $2 million budget has 500 Mbps fiber, 10 IT staff, and vendors lining up to support them.
This isn't a hypothetical. This is rural libraries in 2026.
The Rural Reality
Let me be specific about the constraints rural libraries face:
| Constraint | Rural Library | Urban Library |
|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth | 5-25 Mbps (satellite, fixed wireless) | 100+ Mbps (fiber optic) |
| Monthly bandwidth cost | $2,500-$3,500 | $500-$1,000 |
| Tech budget | $2K-$10K/year | $100K+/year |
| IT staff | 0-1 person (often librarian doing IT as side job) | 5-20 dedicated IT staff |
| Vendor support | "We don't optimize for rural" | "We have dedicated support team" |
| Public computers | 2-5 (often 10+ years old) | 20-50 (regularly updated) |
| Cost per patron | $15-30/year for tech | $5-10/year for tech |
Translation: Rural libraries pay more and get less.
The vendors aren't malicious. They just optimize for economies of scale. When your service area has density, you can afford to optimize. When it's dispersed, you can't. So vendors skip rural entirely and focus on urban/academic/large systems.
What Vendors Actually Do (and Don't)
| Vendor Type | What They Optimize For | What Rural Libraries Get |
|---|---|---|
| Large systems (ProQuest, EBSCO) | Big libraries, high bandwidth, multiple locations | Heavy JavaScript, streaming-only, no offline support |
| Cloud platforms (most modern) | Constant high-speed connection, modern browsers | Doesn't work reliably at 5 Mbps, breaks on older devices |
| Discovery systems | Fast networks, modern devices | Loads slowly, search doesn't autocomplete, timeouts |
| Ebook lending | Streaming (requires constant connection) | Doesn't work offline, unusable on metered connections |
The honest answer vendors give? "We don't optimize for rural. If bandwidth is below 50 Mbps, our platform may not perform well."
Translation: We built for urban. You're on your own.
Vendor Negotiation: Demand Rural-Appropriate Solutions
When evaluating vendors, ask these specific questions:
1. Do you have a low-bandwidth mode?
- What they might say: "We optimize automatically for bandwidth"
- What to ask: "Can you demo this at 5 Mbps? How many requests does search make?"
- Why it matters: "Automatic optimization" often means "gives up and times out"
2. Does your platform work offline?
- What they might say: "It's cloud-based"
- What to ask: "Can patrons download content when internet is available, then use it offline?"
- Why it matters: Rural internet is unreliable. If you need connection constantly, system fails
3. How much does your platform rely on JavaScript?
- What they might say: "It's built on modern web standards"
- What to ask: "Does core functionality work without JavaScript enabled?"
- Why it matters: JavaScript breaks on slow connections and old devices (which rural libraries have)
4. Do you support local caching?
- What they might say: "We sync data in real-time to cloud"
- What to ask: "Can we cache data locally and sync when bandwidth is available?"
- Why it matters: If you lose connection, system should still work (library hours aren't affected by internet outages)
5. What's your support model?
- What they might say: "Phone support 9-5 Eastern"
- What to ask: "Do you offer email/ticket support for off-hours issues?"
- Why it matters: Rural librarians often work solo and can't wait on hold
Consortium Power: Negotiate as a Bloc
Stop negotiating alone. Rural libraries together have leverage.
What a Rural Consortium Can Do
- Collective bargaining: "We're 15 libraries. If you want any of us, you need rural-appropriate solutions."
- Shared infrastructure: One regional server instead of 15 individual servers saves $100K+
- Shared ILS: Instead of each library buying separate systems, one Koha/Evergreen instance for all
- Shared tech support: One IT person serves multiple libraries instead of none of them having adequate support
- Group ISP contracts: Better rates when negotiating as consortium vs. individually
Real example: A 7-library rural consortium negotiates a ProQuest contract. "We need low-bandwidth mode or we walk." ProQuest suddenly finds engineering resources to build it because they're losing 7 libraries.
State Broadband Funding Access
Rural libraries can access federal and state broadband funding. These are real resources:
- IIJA Broadband Grants: Billions for rural broadband infrastructure. Libraries can be anchor institutions (apply through library system or state)
- State broadband office grants: Every state has a broadband director's office. Contact yours about rural library funding
- IMLS grants: Institute of Museum and Library Services supports rural library tech projects
- Community broadband grants: Regional broadband nonprofits often have rural library programs
Action: Contact your state library director + state broadband office. Ask "How can our rural libraries access broadband funding?"
DIY Solutions When Vendors Won't Help
Open-Source ILS
Koha or Evergreen work well on limited bandwidth and older hardware. You trade "vendor support" for community support, but you own your system and pay near-zero licensing.
Budget: $20K-$50K setup, $5K-$10K/year for hosting/support (vs. $50K+ annually for ProQuest)
Static Websites Instead of Cloud Platforms
Most library websites don't need JavaScript and cloud complexity. A well-designed static HTML site loads in seconds on 5 Mbps, works offline, requires zero IT support.
Email-Based Services
Can't implement a chatbot that requires constant connection? Try email. Patrons email questions, librarians respond. Low bandwidth, works everywhere.
USB/SD Card Delivery
Instead of streaming ebooks, download them and put on USB drives patrons can take home. Low-tech but it works.
Board/Director Talking Points
"Rural patrons deserve the same access as urban patrons - we just need different tools."
Equity lens: The digital divide isn't about rural people being less deserving - it's about infrastructure. Fix the infrastructure, access improves.
"Vendor lock-in hurts us worst. We're exploring alternatives."
Feasibility: When you can't afford vendor pricing, open source becomes attractive. Frame as cost-saving, not anti-vendor.
"Group purchasing with other rural libraries reduces costs dramatically."
Practical: Show the math. "As a consortium of 7 libraries, we negotiate 50% better pricing than individually."
The Honest Reality
Rural libraries aren't getting better vendor service because vendors make no money on rural. The fix isn't waiting for vendors to care - it's rural libraries deciding they deserve different tools and building them together.
Consortium approaches, open-source alternatives, shared infrastructure, and demanding rural-appropriate solutions from vendors work. They just require asking for something different instead of accepting what's designed for urban markets.
Your rural patrons deserve the same access as urban patrons. It just requires more creative thinking to build it.
See Also
- Digital Divide Is a Library Problem, Not a Patron Problem – How tech decisions affect marginalized communities
- Surveillance or Service? AI Privacy for Vulnerable Patrons – Data privacy concerns for vulnerable populations
- Hiring for Tech Roles: Breaking the White Male Pipeline – Building diverse teams
- Small Library Tech Stack Essentials – Budget-conscious tech choices
Sources & Further Reading
For information about how these sources were selected and verified, see How I Research Library Tech.
- Federal Communications Commission (2024). Broadband Deployment Report: Rural and Urban Access Data. Data on bandwidth availability and cost by region.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services (2024). Public Libraries Survey: Rural Library Statistics. Staffing, budget, and technology data for rural libraries.
- U.S. Census Bureau (2024). American Community Survey: Rural Population and Broadband Access. Demographics and connectivity in rural America.
- American Library Association (2024). Rural Library Toolkit: Technology and Infrastructure Solutions. Professional guidance for rural library tech.
- Federal Reserve Banks (2024). The Economics of Rural Broadband: Cost and Impact Analysis. Financial analysis of rural connectivity challenges.
- Broadband Now Project (2024). Rural Broadband Infrastructure Report: Gaps and Solutions. Detailed analysis of rural broadband shortfalls.
- Berkman Klein Center, Harvard (2023). Rural Broadband Adoption and Library Services. Research on library access in underserved areas.
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration (2024). State Broadband Grant Programs: Funding and Access Guide. Overview of available state-level broadband funding.
- Koha Community (2024). Open-Source Library Management System: Implementation Guide. Technical resource for Koha deployment in resource-constrained environments.
- EDUCAUSE (2024). Infrastructure Challenges in Rural Education and Libraries. Broad analysis of rural connectivity challenges across sectors.