Gates Gives Millions To Library Foundation

Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda French Gates, are giving $200 million to a nonprofit group they have formed to improve library computer services.

Microsoft is chipping in an equal amount in software for the Gates Library Foundation for a total start-up commitment of $400 million, the company announced Monday.

“Since I was a kid, libraries have played an important role in my life,” Bill Gates said.

“Bill and I are excited to be helping libraries ensure that children and adults from all walks of life will have access to the wealth of information and understanding that computers and digital information make possible,” Melinda Gates said.

The foundation will expand on the work of Microsoft’s community affairs initiative, Libraries Online, an 18-month pilot program in which $17 million in cash and software was given to more than 200 libraries in the United States and Canada.

The foundation’s goal is to provide community access to the Internet through public libraries in low-income communities.