Project Title: RAPID: Understanding the Experiences of Public Internet Users during the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic

这个快速反应研究（Rapid）项目解决了那些依赖公共图书馆满足计算需求和宽带互联网接入的人所面临的挑战。我们认为这些人由于他们的生活环境而处于不利地位，他们是数字化的无家可归者。如果没有可以上网的住所，没有足够的带宽，他们的计算生活就会受到资源限制、短暂、不那么私密，而且比那些从住所上网的人更不安全。新型冠状病毒和COVID-19大流行给这些人的生活造成了前所未有的破坏，给他们的生活带来了新的挑战。从本质上讲，图书馆数月的关闭将这些用户赶出了他们唯一的宽带空间。这些人不能简单地在家工作或在线学习新技能，他们的孩子也不能转向远程学习。我们要解决的关键问题是，疫情对图书馆互联网用户有何影响？他们是如何适应设施关闭的？他们在哪里上网？图书馆如何帮助满足读者的需求？在当前大流行期间，更好地了解数字无家可归者的经历和需求，可以促进一些社会效益以及与社会相关和理想的结果。系统的科学知识将有助于制定更明智的战略和政策，以建立一个人人可用的安全可靠的网络基础设施。随着各州开始结束居家令和图书馆重新开放，pi正在收集定性和定量的回顾性信息，了解隔离期间发生的事情以及各州重新开放时发生的事情。他们正在征求当地研究站点的图书馆计算机用户的合作，以完成一项简短的调查，并邀请一部分用户参加实地访谈。他们还生成了美国图书馆系统的多阶段集群样本，团队成员通过电话或电子邮件与选定的图书馆联系，收集有关关闭经验的信息，他们如何或没有向公众提供开放的互联网接入，以及采取了哪些步骤来确保安全可靠的访问。研究人员正在对疫情期间和之后发表的新闻报道进行内容分析，这些报道涉及美国人在没有互联网接入的情况下的经历，以及他们在此期间的应对方式。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project addresses challenges faced by those who rely on public libraries for their computing needs and broadband Internet access. We see these individuals as disadvantaged by their life circumstances and as being digitally homeless. Without a residence from which they can reach the internet and have sufficient bandwidth, their computing lives are resource-limited, transient, less private, and less secure than those who access broadband from their residences. The novel coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to life and brought new challenges to the lives of these individuals. The months-long shuttering of libraries has, in essence, evicted these users from their only space for broadband. These people cannot simply work from home or e-learn new skills, nor can their children shift to distance learning. The key questions we address are, how has the pandemic affected library Internet users? How have they adapted to the closure of facilities? Where did they turn for Internet access? How did libraries respond to help meet the needs of patrons? A better understanding on the experiences and needs of the digitally homeless during the current pandemic advances a number of societal benefits and socially relevant and desirable outcomes. Systematic, scientific knowledge will contribute to developing more informed strategies and policies to build a safe and secure cyber-infrastructure that is available to all.As states begin the process of ending stay-at-home orders and libraries reopen, the PIs are collecting qualitative and quantitative retrospective information about what transpired during the quarantine and what is transpiring as states reopen. They are soliciting cooperation from library computer users at the local research site to complete a brief survey, and a subset to participate in field interviews. They also are generating a multi-stage cluster sample of library systems in the U.S. Team members are contacting selected libraries though phone or email to collect information on their experiences with the closures, how they did or did not provide open Internet access to the public, and what steps were taken to ensure secure and trustworthy access. The researchers are conducting a content analysis of news stories published during and after the pandemic regarding the experiences of Americans without internet access and how they coped during this time.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.