Get Connected - Fall 2007 - (Page 4)

Fulfilling a Vision of Lifelong Learning: ENA Brings Seamless Network Services to Indiana Libraries “Those of us in the field, those working face to face with patrons, trying to aid them in their missions of learning, get great comfort knowing that we’re working with … highly trained experts that see the big picture—our big picture. I can’t say enough about the account service managers and engineers at ENA. I can’t afford to bring employees onboard with ENA’s degree of expertise … I must outsource that expertise to fill the gap and with ENA we’ve hit gold.” —Beverly Martin, Library Director, Johnson County Public Library System, Indiana diana State Library’s Library Development Office. “Not just the technology, but the meeting space of the library itself has evolved and made libraries centers of their communities. The old resources of a library as a book-lending institution remain, but libraries now provide other kinds of resources. For instance, a lot of libraries aspire to be a leader in their communities for economic development. There are so many stories from across Indiana about libraries really stepping up to the plate when the major employer in the county has shut down. The library is there for their community helping getting people retrained, helping them get their resumes together, providing mentors, whatever it takes to get people back on their feet. In many parts of the state, the library is the only accessible place for high-speed Internet service.” She explains that every library system is different, serving unique communities that make unique demands of their local libraries. Some are ahead of the technological curve; others are further behind. “Indiana’s library systems are independent and autonomous, and they know their own communities better than anyone. Our job at the State Library is to support them in the ways they see fit to make the lives of their patrons better.” Today, many of the farmers in Martin’s county access sophisticated agricultural databases that the library makes available to them over the Internet. Individually, many of these farmers and other types of businesspeople couldn’t afford to buy or subscribe to these kinds of informational resources, but thanks to the library they can access them for free —without ever leaving the comfort of their homes or offices. This incredible new access to information has forever transformed and enhanced the role of the library in the community. The cutting edge of technology vs. “the bleeding edge” In her twenty-year tenure with Indiana’s Johnson County library system, Library Director Beverly Martin has witnessed a lot of change. At six, seven and eight percent population growth in recent years, this county and its county seat Franklin, located just 20 miles south of Indianapolis, is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. What once was farmland is now residential and retail development. The library of today: a “virtual service” But the bigger change, to her mind, is how her chosen profession has transformed. “The library today in many ways is a virtual service,” she explains. “Ten years ago, people came to the library to find staff that had the tools to find the answers to their questions. Now most services are patroninitiated. Patrons come with their own tools and need the staff to assist them, to expedite their efforts, put them in the right directions, to verify that they’re finding credible, accurate answers. And many patrons only come to the library to pick up items, having already searched the catalog, requested holds and made renewals all by themselves online.” “Libraries have evolved,” agrees Wendy Knapp, planning consultant with the In4 Of course, all of this technological wonder and convenience comes at a price. And the price isn’t purely financial. It exacts a high cost in expectations as well. “I always tell people that you’ve got to be on the cutting edge of technology, otherwise you’re on the bleeding edge,” says Martin. She found herself on that bleeding edge before ENA installed her burstable DS3 Internet connectivity that delivers 15 Mbps but is capable of 45-Mbps “bursts” on days or times of heavy demand. “Our two old T1s were bottlenecking badly and we had unhappy patrons.” Many of her patrons would come to the library to complete coursework and take tests online. Those extended online sessions and high-volume information traffic require a reliable, robust connection. “In our smaller bandwidth days, these patrons sometimes experienced technical difficulties. We are not in the business of creating disgruntled customers,” Martin states emphatically.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Get Connected - Fall 2007

Get Connected - Fall 2007 NSBA Social Networking Study A Letter From the President Network Services for Libraries 25th Annual TETC Conference Partnership for 21st Century Skills E-mail Archiving Social Networking 101 Ramp Up for E-Rate Season News From HECC Notes From the CTO

Get Connected - Fall 2007

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