Since the E-rate program was established in 1997, the number of public school library media centers (SLMCs) with Internet access has increased from 14 percent to more than 95%. While the number of SLMCs and public libraries benefiting from the E-rate program has increased substantially, the demand for high-speed Internet access has increased much faster. Recognizing this dilemma, President Barack Obama recently proposed a new initiative, called ConnectED, that will allow the E-rate program to meet the growing need for high-speed broadband and wireless Internet access in public libraries and SLMCs. In response, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a sweeping revamp of the E-rate program, the first since the program was implemented 16 years ago. The E-rate program, formally called the Universal Service Fund Schools and Libraries Program, raises funds that will be used by public libraries and SLMCs to pay for broadband Internet access. The E-rate program was first established 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 percent of classrooms connect to the Internet (Wyatt, 2013). News Trigger My decision to investigate the E-rate program was born from two recent articles on the American program Library Association (ALA) Washington Office website, District Dispatch: the first examined how the federal government shutdown affected the response comment deadline for the E-rate program (Wright, 2013d); the second summarizes a recent Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition workshop, which took place during the shutdown (Wr...... middle of document ......r leap forward in goals E -installments); simplified program. ALAnews. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2013/09/ala-calls-leap-forward-e-rate-goals-streamlined-programWright, J. (October 2013). 5). Internet in libraries and schools is slow and outdated. So, what is the future? Retrieved from http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/10/internet-libraries-schools-slow-outdated-whats-next/. Wright, J. (2013 October 18). -postponed/Wyatt, E. (2013 July 19). FCC Backs Plan to Update Fund That Helps 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