Charlotte

It is no surprise to Pat Ryckman, new technologies manager at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC), that residents from all over come to the library for the latest in computer technology and telecommunications. "People can't just automatically make full use of [the Internet], they need guides, and librarians are perfectly trained to help them. . . . Libraries have been in business for 100 years providing information and the staff to support it-accessing the Internet is part of the project."

The PLCMC, however, goes far beyond providing a handful of public Internet access terminals. In partnership with the community and through the work of Charlotte's Web, the PLCMC is integrating computer technology and telecommunications into the social, economic, and political fabric of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County as well as providing a working example of the public library's potential as a full-fledged community information center. The library provides the office space and-through its branch libraries-22 of the more than 45 public access sites in the region. In addition, library patrons are equipped not only to browse the Internet through a direct connection, but also to work with scanners, printers, CD-ROM titles, and a software collection that would earn the envy of a multimedia professional.

Charlotte's Web (www.charweb.org) began in spring 1993 as an idea in the mind of the arts editor for the Charlotte Observer, Steve Snow. Interested in finding a partner to begin a community-based computer network, he visited several institutions in the Charlotte area, including the university, the community college, and, of course, the public library. The PLCMC, recognizing the potential of such a network and offering the best resources, agreed to become the main partner. According to Snow, the partnership with the library offered both tangible benefits (space and a 486 computer) as well as intangible benefits: "The library partnership offered a metaphor that people could understand. We had a terrible time explaining what we were trying to do." Having a computer in the library, Snow explains, suggested an "electronic library" as a metaphor for what a community computer network really is. The partnership "redefined my idea of a library as a convener of the community rather than just a depository of information."

Several months after meeting with the library director, a town meeting was organized to determine local interest in a community network. Riding on the enthusiasm of the 80 volunteers who turned up and expressed approval for the plan, grant writing began in earnest and lasted through winter 1993-94. Finally, on June 17, 1994, Charlotte's Web went online as a text-only, dial-up bulletin board service. The response from the community was overwhelming. By January 1995 "Fern," the 486 development machine originally running the web, was joined by "Wilbur" and "Avery," two new Sun Sparc 20s. And Steve Snow, David Ramsey, and Carolyn Felton formed the full-time staff as, respectively, project director, systems administrator, and volunteer coordinator. Several months later, Charlotte's Web made the transition from a gopher-based text-only bulletin board to a World Wide Web-based system.

Meanwhile, use has skyrocketed (during early 1995, nearly 100 percent per month). Charlotte's Web has expanded from the four phone lines installed when the system went online to 40 lines currently hooked up. September 1995 saw 9,300 dial-ins, and the average time online rose from 15 minutes to 40 minutes. This rapid increase should come as no surprise considering that over the first six months of 1995, the amount of information available on Charlotte's Web grew by more than 300 percent.

The mission statement of Charlotte's Web promises to enhance the community socially, culturally, and economically. Toward this goal, the network has forged numerous partnerships with local organizations that extend ownership of the program to as many people as possible. In addition to the library, Charlotte's Web has enlisted the partnership of Smith University, an historically black university, Central Piedmont Community College, and WTVI, Channel 42, the only community-owned public television station in North Carolina.

Furthermore, Charlotte's Web is connecting numerous other organizations through remote access sites. As of August 1996 Charlotte's Web had free public access terminals going into all of the public library branches and 12 park and recreation sites. In addition, mini-hub networks (see sidebar) were set up in Dillehay Courts, three Salvation Army boys and girls clubs, the men's homeless shelter, the women's and children's shelter, Charlotte Emergency Housing, and the Johnston YMCA. For each site, training and ongoing support is provided.

Mini-hubs

Software found on the Internet and configured by David Ramsey, the system administrator, enables Charlotte's Web to configure a 286 computer with nothing more than a floppy disk, a modem, and an Ethernet card to act as a TCP/IP router. This computer can then connect many workstations simultaneously and directly to Charlotte's Web, a technique that allows up to four computers to access the web at the same time using only one phone line. Since the software is free (from the Internet) and 286s are often donated, this solution provides an extremely inexpensive and relatively hassle-free method for providing access stations. Documentation on Charlotte's Web provides instructions on how other networks can set up similar arrangements.

In another type of partnership, Charlotte's Web has trained several organizations to publish their own information over the network. With the help of a grant from the National Library of Medicine, for example, health care professionals have designed and created their own World Wide Web pages for AIDS/HIV information. Thanks to the training from Charlotte's Web, they will continue to maintain and update these pages. As Steve Snow remarked, "to me what's important, aside from providing the information to the community and the rest of the world, is that some people who didn't have prior knowledge about [telecommunications] learned how to do it and did it, and suddenly they are providers of information." Charlotte's Web has taken on the responsibility both of providing access to information and of ensuring an equal opportunity for people to contribute information, thus fostering a greater degree of ownership and involvement.

Like other public libraries and community networks, Charlotte's Web addresses civic issues. A collaboration with the Education Foundation launched a community-awareness campaign concerning the school board. With elections approaching, there was not a great deal of knowledge about school board members, their responsibilities, the campaign issues, and other basic information necessary for a legitimate election. Charlotte's Web agreed to place this material, as well as similar information from the League of Women Voters, on the web. Now the community will have access to this information simply by stepping into the library or another public access site and dialing into Charlotte's Web.

One of the most successful outreach efforts has been enlisting the help and expertise of the community in running the operation. Starting in January 1995, Carolyn Felton, the volunteer coordinator, took down a list of 71 names of potential helpers. During the next six months, volunteers worked 4,250 hours, for a total labor donation equaling $88,000. A record 132 people were actively involved in July. Volunteers have contributed everything from clerical work to Unix systems programming. They have gathered and reviewed content, provided publicity through the Speakers Bureau, and trained users and new volunteers. Frada Mozenter and Mark Little, for example, collaborated to create Navigating Charlotte's Web, a training manual for information providers. Thomas Hendrickson and Russell Callaway, former IBM employees, have been doing inventory and repair work on donated equipment. Recently, 50 volunteers agreed to work two to four hours per month as trainers in the library. According Carolyn Felton, "It is the active involvement of citizens from all over our area, contributing skills and information, that brings this project life!"

About the same time Charlotte's Web was getting started, a new space opened up at the PLCMC that provided an opportunity for a new library program-a "virtual library." Opened April 3, 1995 (and located next to the offices of Charlotte's Web), the eight Macintosh PowerPCs and 12 PCs provide access to full multimedia production tools, a direct connection to the Internet, a wide range of software applications, and both black-and-white and color laser printers.

Virtual Library resources

All workstations are equipped with 16 MB RAM or more and a double-speed CD-ROM. They are networked into the Virtual Library LAN, which connects to two file servers, 28 CD-ROM drives, three laser printers, and the library's T1 connection to the Internet (providing a direct connection to the Internet with full graphics, video, and audio support). The workstations are loaded with 70 software applications. In addition, three of the Macintosh workstations are connected to scanners (two black-and-white and one color).

The Virtual Library has entered Phase Two, which involves dividing the computers into groups of five "pods" devoted to specific functions. Pod one is committed to drawing and animation applications as well as virtual reality, 3D, and morphing. These computers will be loaded with software such as Corel Draw, Freehand, Morph, Animator Studio, and Vision 3D. A second pod is devoted to desktop publishing and OCR Scanning. Complete with QuarkXpress and Adobe PageMaker, these computers are also connected to two black-and-white scanners. Pod three is dedicated to imaging and multimedia. Patrons using computers in this pod can access the color scanner (and Adobe Photoshop) and also use the library's digital camera, enabling them to manipulate their work with software such as Adobe Premiere, and to output to videotape, CD-ROM, and even Syquest drives. The fourth pod is for exploring the library's 300+ CD-ROM titles. The fifth and final pod houses a variety of new technologies, including GIS (Geographic Information System), Borland dBASE, keyboards and software enabling patrons to digitize and compose music on the computer, and AutoCad programs. This area is also the place to explore new programs and hardware which are designed to assist computer users with vision and mobility impairments.

Although the sophistication of the equipment might confuse even experienced computer and multimedia users, it hasn't stopped the librarians at the PLCMC from doing their job. According to Pat Ryckman, the librarians picked up the manuals, experimented on the computers, and asked questions until they became knowledgeable and experienced navigators. From there, they have launched an ambitious workshop schedule designed to impart their knowledge to the community. All of the workshops are free, last between one and three hours, and are taught by library staff (with help from Charlotte's Web volunteers). Titles include "Surf the Internet," "Introduction to Microsoft Word," "Government Documents on the Internet," "Introduction to AutoCAD LT," and "Before You Buy a Computer."

As with Charlotte's Web, community involvement has been extensive. Groups as diverse as the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation, International Black Writers, and Work First (a works skills training program for unemployed women) have all been trained and use the Virtual Library.

Jane Grau, a freelance writer and English teacher, for example, organized a training session at the Virtual Library for Women in Communications (an organization of women involved in the information professions). She thinks of the Virtual Library as an inseparable component of the main library. "We use the library as a resource to get information and the computers and copiers and scanner help us process that information in myriad ways." Knowledge is power, Grau points out, and the Virtual Library "expands our capabilities so that our power is limited only by technical skills."

Another participating group, the Shepherd Center, supports programs of continuing education for older adults through volunteers. According to Nancy Hiley, the program director, "the public library has always been helpful in many ways-helping us put programs together for education series, participating in the downtown 'Explore Charlotte' tours, and many other projects." When she heard about the Virtual Library, she jumped at the opportunity to expand their education program to include computer and Internet navigation. The first two-hour workshop received such a positive response that a second workshop was scheduled to accommodate the overflow. Hiley remarks that the program has been "enormously exciting, it certainly has broadened our ability to reach older folks."

The success of Charlotte's Web and the Virtual Library is providing a powerful engine for their expansion. Charlotte's Web is setting up new remote access sites; training more volunteers and organizations; expanding content; and, most recently, looking for a sponsor for the "WebMobile," a traveling van equipped with laptop computers and cellular modems capable of reaching remote areas. The PLCMC is exporting the most successful applications of the Virtual Library to the branches.

The community-library partnership provides a remarkable antidote to the stereotype that computer technology will compartmentalize and fragment society. As the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County demonstrates, technology and telecommunications, if developed by a community-based institution like the library, can bring people together.

Last updated: 3 June, 1997 mrl
http://www.benton.org/Library/Libraries/charlotte.html