A user can roam around the library with his or her ow

1
Laptops Unleashed

• Going Wireless in Your Library
• Carol Frost
• Peninsula Library System

2
What is Wireless

• Allows a user to connect to the Internet or other
  networked resources without having to be plugged
  in to the network by a cable.
• It uses radio waves, much like a cell phone
• A user can roam around the library with his or
  her own laptop. All they need is a wireless card
  on their laptop.
• The library purchases wireless equipment.

3
Who is Using Wireless

• Number of hotspots in.
• 4968 - US cafes
• 1692 - California Cafes
• 1037 - California shopping malls
• 682 - California hotels
• 882 - California restaurants
• Source San Jose Mercury News

4
Who is Using Wireless?

• Seattle and the Bay Area are the most unwired
  cities in the United States top spots for
  computer junkies who send e-mail and surf the Web
  at restaurants, libraries or public plazas.
• San Jose Mercury News, June 7, 2005

5
Who is Using Wireless?

• An East Bay transit agency is looking to
  install free wireless Internet service on its
  transbay buses as early as this fall, a move that
  could make it one of the first mass transit
  agencies to provide the service to
  commuters.half of its fleet of transbay buses,
  about 40 buses focusing on commuters and
  rush-hour riders, will have WiFi access..
• San Jose Mercury News, July 5, 2005

6
Libraries and Wireless

• 98.9 of all public libraries offer public access
  to computers and the Internet
• 18 of public libraries currently offer wireless
• Visits to public libraries have more than doubled
  to 1.2 billion annually in the past 12 years
• 21 plan to implement wireless in the next year
• Source American Library Association

7
Silicon Valley Library System Wireless
Inventory (9/2005)

• Los Gatos Library no
• Mountain View Library no
• Palo Alto Libraries in process
• San Jose Public Libraries
• King library SJSU students, full w/
  authentication
• Public at King only library resources, like
  databases
• Pilot project at 2 branches
• Santa Clara City Library - yes
• Sunnyvale City Library - no
• Santa Clara County in process

8
Why Wireless?

• More demand for the Internet than can meet with
  wired network
• Not just to provide free Internet libraries
  want patrons to use their many services, such as
  great databases like Morningstar and Consumer
  Checkbook for free
• Inability to wire in old buildings
• Staff wireless for roaming

9
Why Patrons Like It

• Dont have to wait for a terminal
• Feel safe when performing personal tasks, such as
  online banking or reading email no one else will
  use their computer
• Can do research on sensitive topics without
  someone looking over their shoulder
• Can work on any document on their laptop
• Its comfortable can sit anywhere in library
• Its free - most cafes charge by the hour
• Its quiet
• The network is fast

10
Pieces and Parts

• Wireless antenna for laptop
• Wireless access point for library
• 3. Access to Internet
• can be via local network
• can bypass local network by purchasing access
  from outside provider

11
A Typical Setup For Wireless
12
How Wireless Internet Access Works

• Patron turns on laptop
• Wireless signal goes to wireless access point
• Wireless request is transmitted on librarys
  wired network to server
• Patron receives a temporary network address on
  library network
• Library server forwards patron request to
  Internet
• Web page is returned to server
• Server passes web page to patron over wireless
  network

13
Considerations

• What is your budget?
• What is your current network setup?
• Can your current configuration support increased
  network traffic?
• Do you have someone who can monitor the wireless
  network and troubleshoot it?
• Do you have a technology staff?
• How will you fund this both the one-time and
  recurring costs

14
Different Philosophies of Wireless for Libraries

• Wireless is a basic service and should remain
  free and open to the public. There is no charge
  or authentication needed for a patron to use
  wireless.
• Wireless is a resource which should be limited to
  patrons. Patrons need to authenticate using their
  barcode when logging onto the library wireless
  network.

15
Peninsula Library SystemBackground

• PLS is a joint powers, formed about 30 years ago.
  
• There are 32 libraries, who all share one
  catalog. Libraries include public, 3 community
  colleges.
• Network is shared with the San Mateo County
  Community College District.
• Network decisions are made in collaboration with
  the College District.
• One IT Department for the entire network which
  makes technology decisions system-wide

16
PLS Wireless Nuts Bolts

• Use Cisco wireless product with advanced
  management features
• 1-4 access points needed per library
• 420 wireless users per month at large libraries
• Patrons have unrestricted access to Internet
• Wired and wired network bandwidth usage is
• monitored
• limited

17
Santa Clara County

• 8 libraries in County network from Los Alto to
  Gilroy
• One IT Department for network
• Considering Blue Socket and Cisco
• Will use external DSL line for the network
• Patron will need to validate with barcode
• Childrens room will be filtered (per their
  Internet policy)
• Will limit by bandwidth and feature such a mass
  uploading

18
General Issues About Wireless in Libraries

• Metal bookshelves may interfere with connectivity
• Older buildings may present challenges with thick
  walls
• Library budget reductions for last several years
• May use City IT staff. Librarys projects may be
  lower priority than those of other city
  departments

19
Staff Benefits

• Use handheld devices to walk into stacks
• Use for inventory
• Roaming catalog access to help patrons

20
Future of Wireless

• More libraries will deploy wireless
• Libraries will need to get creative in funding
  wireless
• Libraries with less technological expertise will
  need to look to cities or other partner to help
  with design
• Some library vendors are beginning to provide
  out of the box solutions for wireless
• Less than 10 public libraries in the US that
  charge for Internet. This could change if
  libraries partner with commercial wireless vendors

21
Promote New Services

• Libraries will continue to offer unique services
  loaning laptops, free wireless
• First libraries offered the Internet, and now
  wireless. What if libraries created a home page
  for the wireless customer that listed all their
  databases?
• Libraries will need to decide where the return on
  investment will be with the public, or with
  their staff.