Spicewood Library goes high speed
SPICEWOOD ─ The Spicewood Community Library has announced completion of testing an all-new, high-speed broadband Internet capability and is now making it available for all patrons.
In addition, new patron computers and monitors have been purchased, with everything available free for use to the community.
Free library Internet use is an important, essential asset for community residents who do not have their own Internet access and for those who have unreliable Internet service. Internet access is now one of the most used library services in the country.
Spicewood Community Library, celebrating its 10th year in operation this month, can now provide much faster service than before.
The Broadband Initiatives Program, a part of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 and administered by the Rural Utilities Service, “supports the expansion of broadband service in rural areas through financing and grants which fund projects that provide access to high speed service and facilitate economic development in locations without sufficient access to such service.”
Getting high-speed Internet to the library involved collaboration with the Marble Falls ISD and the Tocker Foundation. The library linked its network with Spicewood Elementary School’s fiber optic connection to piggy-back access to Marble Falls where it connects to the Internet provider.
“Marble Falls ISD was interested in supporting the project because it allowed the district to add the library as one of its Chromebook Access Points, giving students free Internet service throughout the district,” explained Jim Lamar, president of the Friends of Spicewood Community Library.
The funds used to construct the link to the school and to purchase necessary hardware needed to make the connection came from a grant.
“The Tocker Foundation provided a grant for this project as a way to support a national growing interest in improving access to broadband in rural areas,” stated Lamar.
A philanthropic organization that focuses its support on the needs of small, rural Texas libraries serving populations of 12,000 or less, the Tocker Foundation saw a way to assist the Spicewood community through this project.
“Greater broadband means greater access to today’s digital worlds and in rural areas the library represents the greatest access point for the community,” said Darryl Tocker, executive director of the Tocker Foundation. “We are proud to have played a part in helping the Spicewood Community Library improve free, unfettered access to information.”
By using fiber optic links, the library is now able to offer Internet access at speeds up to 70 MB/second. The speed now available at the library is a dramatic increase in capability of up to 20 times previous service.
Sandi Pinkowski, a Pflugerville teacher and Spicewood resident, has been very happy with the change in speed.
“I’ve used the Spicewood Library’s network for a number of months and recently noticed an awesome increase in speed and performance,” she stated. “I was about to give up on the library’s Internet until this recent change. I can now use the service to prepare for the next school year.”
By pairing the new speeds with all new computers, printers, a scanner, copy machine, fax capabilities, and notary services, the Spicewood Community Library is becoming a true technology island in this rural area. Spicewood Library patrons can use the Internet inside the library during library hours, or in the parking lot at any time.
The library, located at 1011 Spur 191 in Spicewood, adjacent to the Spicewood Elementary School, opened in July 2010 in a manufactured mobile home on one-and-a-half acres of land donated by Spicewood resident Linda Wall. The donation honored her parents who were educators. A grant from the Tocker Foundation purchased library furniture in the original building.
In 2011 Friends of the Spicewood Community Library spearheaded the construction of a new addition to the library, using private donations, fundraising proceeds, and a grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). A second grant from the Tocker Foundation purchased library shelving, a circulation desk, computer chairs, and conference room furniture.
In 2015, volunteers built a thrift store which helps fund daily operations, and the Burnet County Commissioners Court voted to provide support to the library by funding a part-time paid position to staff the library.
Other free services offered to the community include “Lawyer in the Library” in association with Texas RioGrande Legal Aide, Inc., an adult Book Club, free notary public, and free vision screening offered by the Spicewood and Highland Lakes Lions’ Club. The conference room is also available for community use.
The library is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays; 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
For more information, contact the Spicewood Community Library at (830) 693-7892 and at spicewoodlibrary@gmail.com.
