Forget about beauty, wealth and thinness. For libraries, it's all about bandwidth. You can't have too much internet bandwidth in this day and age. As this ad from Hong Kong points out. You don't have to understand Chinese to get the point.
I am concerned that too many Montana public libraries may be trying to squeeze by with inadequate bandwidth - sticking with whatever they got when they signed up for DSL or cable broadband service several years ago.
And the internet has changed a lot in the last couple of years! All public libraries should be looking at AT LEAST T1 speeds (1.5 Mbps) for the upcoming funding year. And if you have more than just a couple of internet access computers, you should be looking at higher speeds. I recently upgraded my home service to 7 Mbps.
The trend is toward more and more video and audio content - streaming and downloaded. And for that you need higher bandwidth. Have you ever tried to watch a webinar and had it stop every few minutes because the bandwidth wasn't keeping up with the content? It makes it hard to follow. So, talk with your ISP and find out what's currently available. If it's not good enough, find out what it would take to get your service to an acceptable level.
And, E-Rate will help you pay for it!
If you've been applying for E-Rate for just POTS for the past few years because you haven't wanted to deal with tech plans or CIPA requirements, it might be time to take a fresh look at the program. It's really not that difficult to put together a tech plan that will satisfy SLD requirements. Really! And there are free, relatively hassle-less filtering options that will satisfy CIPA.
We'll be talking about using E-Rate to help your library meet current and future needs at Fall Workshop at Livingston this year. Come join me, your E-Rate peers and even some E-Rate wannabes and we'll get you on the right track!
Get more information about and register for Fall Workshop.
