Job seekers without Internet access stretch libraries’ computers

Four in 10 Americans, has no computer at home in a country where nearly everything happens on the Web.

“Nowadays, if you’re not online, you’re way behind,” Alilat, a Northeast Portland resident, says. “It hinders my entire life.”

“The library is really a lifesaver for so many people in the community because they’ve never had a computer at home or can no longer afford Internet access,” says Cindy Gibbon, access services coordinator for the Multnomah County Library. “It is essential for so many basic life activities.”