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Hot Spot Keeps Library ConnectedSome sixth-graders in the Minneapolis area are carrying their school-issued laptops to libraries for wireless access. Now there's a statement you don't hear often, or, for that matter, at all. But nearby Baytown, MN, Oak-Land Junior High is among the first schools in the country to issue free laptops to students -- and to have full Wi-Fi library access for kids, as well.Computer-savvy seventh- and eighth-graders are also toting their trendy wireless notebooks to Bayport Library, which spent $2,400 of its own funds to make Wi-Fi a reality. The reasoning behind this new idea, agree library officials and parents alike, sprang from the obvious need for teens to have a safe place in which to be able to connect, without going to local coffee shops or hanging around in the school parking lot trying to pick up Wi-Fi signals. As the saying goes, you can't lead a horse to water if the pond is dry. So, when the school issued 1,044 notebooks last year, the library jumped in and made it a wireless paradise. Sure, they play games. And of course every teen isn't assiduously doing homework ALL the time; but, they are getting their class work completed, in a pretty comfy pad, too -- boasting four fireplaces and bright, sun-filled rooms, Bayport's become the newest "hangout." Of course, under an Internet child protection law, libraries receiving federal money must apply for filters for patrons younger than 18. But Bayport Library and its community didn't want such tight restrictions, so they financed the program on their own dime, offering Internet filters at special, "kid-friendly" stations, allowing parents to decide what level of information access to provide for their kids. When a library becomes "the cool place to be," you know you've done SOMETHING right. Thursday, February 24, 2005 |
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