Since the E-rate program's inception in 1997, the number of public school library media centers (SLMCs) with Internet access has increased from 14 percent to more than 95 percent. hundred. While the number of SLMCs and public libraries that have benefited from the E-rate program has increased significantly, the demand for high-speed Internet access has grown much faster. Recognizing this dilemma, President Barack Obama recently proposed a new initiative, called ConnectED, that will enable the E-rate program to address the growing need for high-speed, wireless Internet access in public libraries and SLMCs. In response, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a sweeping overhaul of the E-rate program, the first since the program was implemented 16 years ago. The E-rate program, officially called the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, collects funds that will be used by public libraries and SLMCs to pay for high-speed Internet access. The E-rate program was first created in 1997, when only 14% of public school classrooms in the United States had access to the Internet (Wyatt, 2013). Today, the E-rate program provides $2.3 billion in financial assistance to help more than 95% of classrooms connect to the Internet (Wyatt, 2013). Library Association (ALA) Washington Office website, District Dispatch: The first examines how the federal government shutdown affected the comment response deadline for the E-rate program (Wright, 2013d); the second summarized a recent Schools, Health, and Library Broadband (SHLB) Coalition seminar, which took place during the shutdown (Wr...... middle of document......r Leap Forward in E-Rate Goals ALAnews Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2013/09/ala-calls-leap-forward-e-rate-goals-. streamlined-programWright, J. (October 2013). Internet in libraries and schools is slow and outdated. So what's next? Retrieved from http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/10/internet-libraries-schools-slow-outdated-whats-next/. Wright, J. (October 18, 2013). Consequences of the closure: electronic rate filing date postponed. Retrieved from http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/10/shutdown-aftermath-e-rate-filing-date. -postponed/Wyatt, E. (July 19, 2013). The FCC is supporting a project to update a fund to connect schools to the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20. /business/media/fcc-backs-plan-to-update-a-fund-that-helps-connect-schools-to-the-internet.html