Jun 3rd, 2003
Enough already about Italy! A
Enough already about Italy!
A short while back our good buddy Michael over at Tame the Web uncovered an article about how “the Italian government is putting in place some laws to encourage public wifi”. He logically wonders who will foot the bill and then suggests that libraries should get free access. It?s a very good question and a good idea too. While I am far from an expert on the situation, my recent experience in country indicates that there is little chance of free wifi in PLs there. You can’t even get in the public library unless they buzz you in. In addition I heard story after story about kick backs and levels of unnecessary governmental bureaucracy and middle men.
Even here in the states it has been my experience that the way most Public Libraries come to offer non-traditional (but important) services like this is to have innovative, forward thinking staff member(s) initiate the plan themselves. I seem to recall hearing of a state or two out east requiring wifi access for patrons of their Public Libraries, but that may have just been wishful thinking. Does this sound familiar to anybody or was it just a sweet, sweet dream?
Some days you might imagine reporting Library news like this would provide more solid answers than comments like, ?You can’t even get in the public library unless they buzz you in? or ?I seem to recall hearing?? . Questions like these make me want to work in a big academic library to have ready access to all of their databases and records. Hmmm, maybe I should go get a PhD?
Along this line:
blogging vs. writing
In other news:
http://www.librarygeek.com/ is kaput.
An Interview With Super Cool “Activist Librarian Jessamyn West”
7 Responses to “Enough already about Italy! A”
Someone should set up a mirror site for the library timer. Libraryman, I’m looking in your direction . . .
Well, here in Maine the state is granting 50 wireless networks to libraries around the state. That’s not exactly the same thing as requiring them to have wi-fi capability, though…
There are quite a few libraries around the country doing it, there was a library in WI that I trained in that went wireless with the grant from the Foundation. Here’s one of the articles I was going to use for posting about wireless on TB… but haven’t:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-05-16/pols_feature10.html
Maine and Wisconsin sound familiar. I occasionally trained in Libraries with wireless too, Steph, though not that often. Happily it is becoming more common, though not a requirement supported broadly. When you consider that most libraries were only wired for Internet in the last several years, I’m glad we can even talk about wifi at this point.
I’m really really hoping that my library is one of the ones getting the wi-fi grant. We should know next week if the application was accepted.
Of course, the whole impetus behind the wi-fi grants was to give the state’s 7th and 8th graders another place to use their state-granted laptops, and now I find that program might be axed.. http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,52743,00.html
OK, I overreacted. That budget cut was LAST year. The laptop program is safe for this year.
Ahh, the mystery of cause and effect. Is it just me or does it seems fairly normal for budgets to get slashed, making people panic and get in a fuss, only to find out that months later every thing turns out fairly well. Why make people wig out and get upset? It just causes extra work for Librarians. I mean, why not just realize you can’t cut library funding and have people be happy (usually)? If only it were so simple, eh?