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Library looks to improve internet infrastructure

Doug Harkness, technology manager, spoke about the information technology infrastructure during the James V. Brown Library board of trustees meeting on Thursday.

“All the internet equipment, not the computers themselves, but everything inside the walls that runs the data from computers to internet and back is almost 10 years old now,” he said. “Some of it has failed already, and I’ve had to call some cheap stuff just to band-aid it.”

He said the Wi-Fi also is lacking.

“So, I’m hoping that with E-rate, my plan is to get some top-of-the-line equipment because E-rate will pay 80 percent of it,” he said. “So getting $80,000 to $100,000 worth of equipment would only cost the library $16,000 to $20,000.”

E-rate is a Schools and Libraries Program that provides discounts of up to 90 percent to help eligible schools and libraries in the United States obtain affordable telecommunications and internet access.

“I’m working on getting some bids right now. As soon as I get the bids, I can see what it’s going to cost the library itself,” Harkness said. “It should future-proof it. The new equipment should last 10 to 15 years.”

In other business, Barbara McGary, executive director, said the original estimated budget for the One Desk project was $80,000, but the actual cost estimation came to $106,677.

The library received a Keystone grant for $40,000 and a Gage donation of $50,000. However, in order to move forward, the library board needed to accept the additional cost of $16,677 out of the capital improvement fund. The board voted unanimously in approval of it.

“Thank you very much. It is a wonderful opportunity to move forward with that project,” McGary said. “I really appreciate that.”

The project will renovate the service desk area into a more open, reachable environment for the library.

McGary also reviewed Gov. Tom Wolf’s plans on a state level as well as how it may impact libraries.

“There is a little bit of an increase for the State Library itself. It’s $83,000,” she said. “On the state level, what they’re telling us, is that there will be no increase of the public library subsidy unless there is a new revenue stream. So, they are not planning on reallocating money from the Department of Education or other places to increase the public library subsidy.”

She said there has been no significant increase to the public library subsidy since 2009.

“If you know a business is growing or dying, it cannot grow without state revenue,” she said.

She said it’s important to see the line items for where the money goes in the budgets. For instance, she said, cyber school transportation receives over $80 million while the whole public library subsidy for all public libraries in the state is $54 million.

“It’s spending more on cyber school transportation, and the idea of cyber school is that it’s online,” she said. “I don’t understand that, and I’m not trying to pick on anybody. Just look at the budget and look at where its allocated when you’re talking to elected officials. Libraries are more important than $54 million comparatively to the whole state budget.”

She said librarians are trying to advocate on a state level and talk to state officials about the importance of libraries, but that it’s important locally as well.

“This is the bottom line. Communities that do not support their own libraries do not have libraries and do not have outstanding libraries like we have,” she said.

In 2018, the library hopes to launch an advocacy campaign to help ask local officials to support the library with county tax dollars.

The next board meeting is scheduled for noon March 15 at the Lowry Room inside the James V. Brown Library, 19 E. Fourth St.

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