Homeless Need to Pay $1 each day for wifi at all Amarillo library branches, Texas

Amarillo has 5 library branches and they all charge $1 per day for wifi access. It's not just a downtown issue.

The 2015 Library Board decided to implement this rule. There have been no evaluation of the progress since then. There also has been little money invested in improving the speeds. You are paying for a very slow (clearly throttled) connection at .76MBps Upload and the same Download. A 15 minute movie takes 1.5 hours. The fastest I have seen at other free libraries has been less than 5 minutes.

This fee is totally bogus. You are not paying for a good connection speed. This charge is clearly to attack the poor people and keep them out of all the libraries.

The Library Board didn't have a closed meeting to decide their $1 charge, but there are also no known records to evaluate the discussion they had that led to their decision.

The City owns the library and, I believe, approves the Library Boards decisions. Has there been any controversy and objections to this $1 charge? It has turned the library into more of a business, than a public building.

Also, the library will not allow people to pay the $1 fee for wifi access if they owe more than $5 in library dues. Perhaps this was also a way to get people to pay their fines as well.

The password is changed daily at closing time. Everyone has to reenter a new password daily to access wifi. This is a very severe measure as well.

Other libraries will unplug the modem when the library closes (Astoria, Oregon and many others). Libraries will code in a curfew while the wifi signal stays on (you just can't connect). Libraries will disconnect your access if you are too far away from the building (even if you have bars). One library makes you get a new password every 3 hours (Umatilla, Oregon). Libraries will block any "controversial" websites -including Instagram (most of Utah). Libraries will have separate access between children and adults.

Charging $1 each day is a first for me. How many other libraries charge money for wifi access?

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