The future of Internet connections for Kansas libraries in Kansas was the focus of a conference of library, government and private business officials Wednesday.
Public libraries access educational and genealogy databases for free through the KanEd Internet network. The network isn’t fast by today’s standards — at just more than 1.5 megabit-per-second speeds, it pales to the 35 megabits per second available through commercial connections, such as Cox Communications.
“The program that funds KanEd has been defunded over the last two years,” Iola Public Library Director Roger Carswell said. “In December all libraries in southeast Kansas will lose connection to the network.”
The main topic Wednesday was coming up with a solution for public libraries unable to find an alternative to KanEd.
The problem isn’t as dire in Iola.
“For part of our network, we use Cox Communications,” Carswell said. “The real downside for us is that the additional traffic would eat up a lot of bandwidth and make the connection slower overall for everyone.”
Bill Manes, district representative for U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, is looking for alternative funding sources.
“We had one of these meetings in Emporia a little while back,” Maness said. “I think that progress is being made. We have the right people in the room talking about the issues we need to be discussing.”
The process is still in the beginning stages, so no serious decisions were made. But a strong dialogue and beginning point have been established, Carswell said.
“The solution won’t come fast but we’ll keep working on it,” Carswell said. “It’s just a question of what libraries can afford.”
Fittingly, the conference was broadcast via Internet to-and-from Iola and six other communities across the state. Representatives from Iola, Chanute, Pittsburg, Eureka, Garnett and Burlington broadcast from the Iola Public Library.
A grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was secured to help pay for the conference.
