What is a Library...?

As the country and the world at large attempt re-openings, what new and unexpected issues may arise? What are the opportunities and even obligations of public libraries to support the monumental task of school openings this fall? Have the public budget crunches started landing yet?

And perhaps most urgent, how to provide neighborhood library access stations as drive-up or walk-up hotspots for those lacking other connections? And that’s only the starting point for a raft of usability /skills questions. Millions more new users will need training and ongoing support.

* Cindy Auden, WA State Librarian, returns with an update on a state-wide hotspot project and other happenings since her last appearance on Friday: 4/3 (recording)

* Mark Colwell, Director of Telecommunications Strategy at Voqal will give us a high level view on how libraries and other anchor institutions can utilize and preserve precious spectrum in the 2.5 GHz range known as Educational Broadcast Services (EBS) to affordably expand broadband coverage to their communities. Federal Broadband Strategy at an Inflection Point

* Jon Sallet, Sr. Fellow with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, will give an updated perspective on his groundbreaking report Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s from just a few months ago, now in the context of the pandemic.