Talk a little about the technology setup of your current library?
What are you looking to get out of spending a bit of time here today?
About Me
Me, my background, and building the network around the network.
About WiscNet
Membership organization made up of libraries, schools, colleges, and universities
What is a statenet?
The evolution from Internet Service Provider to a membership organization that provides services.
A Few Disclaimers
I'm trying to learn from you. What does this look like through the lens of a public librarian? I have no idea.
The closer we get to how this stuff actually works, the more I sweat. I'm going to paint with large brush strokes today. Some medium strokes. Of course, this is all relative to how you admire the art.
The real value in today's conversation isn't me talking to you and vice versa. It's you talking to you.
I not sure whether I have an hour's too much or an hour's too little material here. :o)
Why Big Bandwidth is Important for Wisconsin's Libraries
This past May I was a part of the COLAND (Wisconsin Council on Library and Network Development) strategic visioning summit on the future of Wisconsin libraries. http://blog.uwgb.edu/coland/.
Strategic Directions for the Future of Wisconsin Libraries
One card - any library. (Wisconsin libraries and all they contain will be universally accessible through a single library card available to all residents in the state.)
Robust bandwidth. (Libraries and educational institutions must have access to robust and succificent broadband network services.)
Libraries as "anchor store". (Promote libraries as community development engines, providing knowledge resources and community gathering spaces to the community.)
Universal literacies in all forms. (Launch a state-wide campaign that puts libraries at the center of developing a "literate" citizenry in Wisconsin.)
Embedded librarians. (Bring the library's resources to the people who need them by embedding librarians in community & institutional planning groups.)
Discussion #2 - What's Your Situation?
What types of services currently use that Internet connection?
What are some of the possibiliteis that you aren't able to take advantage of?
Do you have some good "patron stories" about Internet access?
Trends in Working With Networks in Libraries
What are some of the trends related to networks & Internet access in libraries that we should be aware of?
Bandwidth Capping & Net-Neutrality
The Internet, by design, is intended to be neutral, but increasingly Internet Service Providers (ISP) are twisting the term “neutrality” to mean, “If you pay a premium, then we won’t throttle your network connection.” Things like BitTorrent is a good example. This technique exploits the Internet making file transfers more efficient, but ISPs want to inhibit it and/or charge more for its use.
Wireless
Do whatever you need to do in order to provide easy to use wireless access to patrons. Then market the living heck out of it.
Building Your Networks around the Networks - Social Networking in Libraries
A very abbreviated history of the Internet in Wisconsin.
Milepost #1: Way back in the early 1990's... UW Madison needed to get on this "Internet" thing.
Milepost #2: As an extension of that, UW System was interested in connecting the other campuses.
Milepost #3: In the mid-late 1990's, K12 school districts started getting into the mix along with municipalities, libraries, technical colleges, etc. WiscNet becomes a "K20" network.
Milepost #4: In the early 2000's, the ISP starts adding different types of services. Email, web hosting, learning management systems, etc.
Milepost #4: As the "consumer" Internet becomes more popular, private corporations begin building out their network infrastructure...first in larger communities...then in smaller communities...and the competiton gets interesting.
Milepost #5: It's time to start thinking strategically.
Community Area Networking (fiber networks in communities)
The Small Picture of How Libraries Play
We'll flip this around and take a look at what it's like from the perspective of an individual WiscNet member organization.
Story #1: Understanding Transport & Transit
Transport: P stands for "pipes". 1.5, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100mb connection. Pipes are provided by tellecommunications providers. AT&T, CenturyTel, Charter, Time Warner, MediaCom. The State of Wisconsin has a "state contract" rate available through AT&T called the BCN (Badgernet Converged Network) that provides these circuits. Another state program called TEACH subsidizes the cost of those circuits
Transit: This is the traffic that goes through the pipes. Traffic is managed by WiscNet. We push the bits and bytes through the pipes as fast as possible.
Drawing time.
Story #2: What is enough? (SETDA Recommendations)
The State Educational Technology Directors Assocation published a report this past summer. Their recommendation: 10MB pipes per 1000 students in your school. Five years down the line they suggest 100mb pipes per 1000 students.
Example: Antigo School Distrct has approximately 2600 students. 26mb connection recommended now, growing to 260mb over the next 5 years. They currently have a 10mb circuit.
We'll talk nuts and bolts about what this stuff physically looks like in your organization. We can also talk about a few basic troubleshooting tips that are common among our members.
NRG is a basic graphing application that shows bandwidth usage. It can identify bandwidth allocation, congestion, and can (sometimes) help identify virus activity on your network.
The MySpeed Test is a simple web-based tool designed to give a reading of the current speed you are connected to the Internet with. It's best used during a non-peak time as close to the "edge" of the network as possible.
IPERF is an application-based network testing tool. It's slightly more accurate and robust than MySpeedTest.
Big question: All is nice and well, but...
What's the future? Am I just preaching to the choir? What can I do working through WiscNet to help libraries?
Questions, Answers, Discussion
Finally, we'll play a bit of question and answer. We can hammer away at anything that's left uncovered and have a big conversation. My main goal here isn't to be "you have questions, we have answers", but instead to let us all talk to each other and hopefully build some connections between everybody in the group.
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Bandwidth and Beyond: Technology Network Fundamentals
This past May I was a part of the COLAND (Wisconsin Council on Library and Network Development) strategic visioning summit on the future of Wisconsin libraries. 
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