🥇 Library Champion Newsletter #51 | Your small-town library is doing big things!
Library Champion,
Philadelphia Inquirer journalist Julia Terruso visited Mifflin and Juniata counties in mid-August to see how the area managed with the internet services available to it. Julia visited McClure, Mifflintown and East Waterford and found that the internet services available are not robust and in some areas are not available at all.
READ: People in rural Pennsylvania are desperate for internet. Biden’s infrastructure bill could help.
[A technician installs equipment to bring broadband internet to a home in central Pennsylvania's Mifflin County. Biden’s infrastructure bill could expand rural broadband. (The satellite dish is inoperable, and belonged to a previous resident.)
TOM GRALISH / Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Photographer]
In her visit, Julia met with a family in McClure to see how their internet handled the demands of their entire family, which included multiple devices simultaneously doing schoolwork, streaming TV shows, and browsing the internet. Next, she visited the Juniata Valley Winery & Wilson House Bed & Breakfast and spoke with their owner George Hazard about how the availability of the internet provider Centre WISP improved his family’s quality of life overnight.
In the middle of her trip, Julia visited our library. It was pouring rain and she stopped to take a break from her travels. While inside she noticed the mobile hotspots that we lend out and became curious. She asked to speak to whoever was in charge and she and I spoke for about 20 minutes about the hotspots.
We currently have 26 hotspots that anyone can borrow for either 2-weeks or 4-weeks. These devices let you get Wi-Fi internet wherever there is cell phone service. These devices are one of the most sought-after services we offer and have been popular since we began lending them out in 2017.
I gave Julia my business card and she said she would be in touch. I didn’t think much of it until I saw in a newsletter I receive a mention of an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about internet access in rural Pennsylvania. I clicked on the link and found it was the article by Julia. As if couldn’t get any better, the article made the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer the next day (August 18th.) My parents, who live just outside of Philadelphia, were very proud to see my name and a short blip about our library in a major newspaper.
Your small-town library is doing big things. We understand that quality internet is essential to the lives and well-being of our community. The internet allows everyone to access our free digital library, which includes over 20,000 free books that can be read on a tablet or listened to on a smart device. Our community is made better when everyone can access what they need on the internet.
READ: People in rural Pennsylvania are desperate for internet. Biden’s infrastructure bill could help.
What I’m currently reading
The Last Place by Laura Lippman.
Here is a new book you should check out!
Is it me or is CBD everywhere? When I am pumping gas, I see an advertisement for CBD products on the gas pump handle. The digital screen at the gas pump advertises for CBD products. When I am at checkout at most stores, even some Mennonite stores, there are CBD products for sale.
I honestly don’t know much about CBD. I thought having a book that explained what CBD is would be helpful to all of us since it seems to be everywhere.
Is your library card current? If you have to think about it, it’s time to renew it! Click here to get started. It’s one of the most powerful things you can have.
You can make a donation to the library in under 2 minutes. Click here to do just that.
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Thank you for being a library champion. You make a difference each day!
–Vince Giordano
Librarian and Director of the Juniata County Library.
P.S.- You don’t need to create an account or jump through a bunch of hoops to be a library champion. I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true. You can make this happen in less than a minute. Just click here.