Get Connected - April 2008 - (Page 13)

with over 40 different carriers to deliver service in the four states in which we operate, and very often we have to use a mix of carriers, even in one district, to competitively deliver optimum service to all sites. Despite the fact that we may involve multiple carriers to deliver our service to you, we bring their connections together in our backbone so that your experience is no different and often better than if we were able to use only one carrier. Moreover, we also serve as your single point of contact and accountability, and we continuously demand excellent service from all of our partners in behalf of you our customers. 3 No one technology can reach all sites. Our ultimate goal is to deliver 100 Mbps connectivity to all of our network member locations using fiber optic links. These fiber links provide virtually limitless capacity and capabilities that will allow us to meet your current and future service needs. However, the cost to deploy fiber optic links into the far reaches of our service territory requires us to be flexible and use alternate means to achieve high-bandwidth connectivity. ENA currently delivers high-bandwidth connectivity using wireless (licensed and unlicensed spectrum) as well as copper-based wide area ethernet. Each of these technologies have their tradeoffs: wireless links can experience weather and other environmental limitations such as tree growth in the path and troubles with rain; copper-based wide area ethernet can only achieve high-bandwidth capacity over relatively short distances. ENA evaluates each installation to deliver the most reliable and cost-efficient solution. So, now that it is 2008, how are we doing towards achieving our vision? The quick answer is exceptionally well: • We have brought all of our newer network members in Payette, ID, and Orange County (Orlando), FL, on board with greater than 10 Mbps connectivity to virtually all of their locations—that’s over 200 sites. • We are actively increasing our 10 Mbps and greater presence throughout Indiana through agreements with seven new carriers, and in Tennessee we have successfully deployed 10 Mbps or greater connectivity to sites in 75 of 95 of the counties in the state. • ENA’s 10 Mbps and greater service availability has increased steadily in major metropolitan and suburban areas and we currently deliver fiber-based 100 Mbps connectivity to schools in all of our major metros. • We have also spent significant time to expand our presence in rural areas throughout Indiana and Tennessee, and an example of that expanded presence is that we now deliver (or are in process of completing orders for) 10 Mbps or greater connectivity to 53 of the FCC’s 71 designated rural counties in Tennessee. For the rural districts that we serve in Tennessee, we provide 85 percent with bandwidth greater than 10 Mbps service versus other service providers who serve less than 34 percent of those counties with 10 Mbps of service. While we are pleased with our progress to date, we continue to diligently work to provide cost-effective, 10 Mbps or greater service to even more of our network members. I look forward to continuing to provide our network members enhanced services as we work together to achieve our shared vision. Not Your Average Library: New Carlisle-Olive Township Library Is Wired for Success Continued from page 5 play in the toy area while her older sevenyear-old sibling plays video games on one of the dedicated computers, and it’s all within what Boggs calls the “visual control” of the parents. There’s a family restroom nearby complete with a built-in baby-changing station and a rocking chair for nursing mothers. “The children have a chance to roam a bit, yet parents can easily keep an eye on their wee ones here,” says Boggs. Should a child still manage to wander off, there’s another safety net. Kids must pass two circulation stations prior to exiting the building, and parents appreciate that feature. If this doesn’t sound like the kind of space you’d like to disappear into for some solitary quiet time, Boggs suggests that “you go grab your cappuccino or hot chocolate, find your book or magazine or check out a laptop, and go curl up in front of the fireplace in the adult area of the library on the opposite side of the building. It’s quiet over there.” “We’re here to serve,” sums up Boggs. “We’re a small community, and we know the people we serve. If someone has a problem, we’re here to help. If you’re supposed to take an online test, and your computer has died, give us a call. By the time you arrive, we’ll have a laptop with Internet connection set up in one of the private study rooms. If you can’t physically get to the library, just call us up and we’ll mail you audio books. If you’re on the go, and would prefer to IM us with questions about resource availability or an event time rather than call, shoot us an IM and we’ll answer you that way too.” Goals aren’t meant to be realized So what’s next for the New Carlisle-Olive Township Public Library? For starters, they’re going to purchase another Nintendo Wii and another big-screen television, this time for seniors. The library hosts a group of senior citizens called TOPS, for Takes Off Pounds Sensibly, that meets once a week to discuss exercise and healthy eating. “They’re going to play tennis and golf on the Wii because it’s low-impact yet still exercise,” explains Boggs. “These people can’t afford to trip or fall doing the real thing, so the Wii is perfect.” Soon, the library will begin subscribing to Xbox Live so that the teens can play Xbox over the Internet. There are now two New Carlisle-Olive Township Public Library blogs, but Boggs hopes to increase the chatter on those and would like to see some library footage, photography and information on YouTube, Flickr and MySpace. He even plans to put a camera on the roof so that natives can go online and get a glimpse of home no matter where they happen to live or be traveling. Choose your own library definition “You just never know what you’re going to find unless you get in here,” quips Boggs. Then he expands, this time on a more serious note. “Our goal is to serve our community,” says Boggs. “You can never fully satisfy a goal. You can satisfy an objective, but we don’t want to ever fulfill our goals. Because of that, we’re always improving.” His very definition of a library isn’t finite or precise. He offers keywords. “Inspirational and educational. Entertaining and comforting. A place for curiosity and socializing. Take those and build your own definition.” It’s a challenge for his patrons—and for any other library that’s maintained what he would describe as a traditional mindset. One thing’s for sure. Building their own definition of the library is certainly the tactic his patrons employ each time they walk through New CarlisleOlive Township Public Library’s doors. 13

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Get Connected - April 2008

The End of a Bottleneck: OCPS’ New Network Contents A Letter From the President Not Your Average Library: New Carlisle, IN New Consortium Program Launches May 1 Hands-on Education Education Leaders Decry EETT Cuts Much More Than E-mail: Gaggle’s Other Apps Notes From the CTO

Get Connected - April 2008

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