The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a grant of $6.9 million that will go toward launching a pilot broadband initiative in a handful of U.S. states' libraries.

U.S. libraries find it increasingly difficult to keep up with the costs of infrastructure, faster Internet access, and new computers. The seven states included in the Gates Foundation's pilot grant program include Arkansas, California, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Virginia, and the money has been awarded to two separate organizations.

Gates is giving $6.1 million to Connected Nation, a non-profit broadband Internet advocacy group that will help these states to gather and activate various public library leaders and officials who can support broadband Internet in each state's libraries.

More than $850,000, will go to the American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy to help state library agencies run broadband plans.