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  15.       
City Council Regular Meeting
Meeting Date: 12/08/2020  

BACKGROUND
This is an update on the progress of miscellaneous Library projects begun in 2020.

ESC Fiber20 Project (Completed)

In April 2020, the City of Schertz entered into an Interlocal Agreement with Educational Service Center Region 20 to participate in the Fiber20 consortium. The consortium was created to build a new fiber ring network in order to provide high speed Internet access to public schools and libraries across 20 counties. 

New fiber was installed by the contractor in front of the library along Schertz Parkway in April. The connection to the library was completed in May. The Internet service provider began providing service in late July/early August. The City's IT department tested the new network during September before completely switching over to it in late October/early November.

Participation in this consortium provides us with Internet speeds between 1-10 Gbps, depending on our equipment capabilities, while lowering our monthly service costs from $515/month to only $170/month. Previous Internet service from Spectrum was for a much slower 50 Mbps connection.

Bexar County BiblioTech Hotspot Project (Completed)

As part of the Federal government’s response to the COVID emergency, CARES grant funds were made available to state and local governments to help manage the effects of the pandemic. Because of the shift to remote work, schooling, health and other services, Internet access has become a necessity in this crisis. At the same time, the digital divide has worsened due to the loss of income from furloughs and business closures. Libraries traditionally fill the gap with public Internet access but all libraries in the area were closed. To help fill the need, BiblioTech Library applied for and received funds to purchase mobile hotspots to make Internet service available to all in Bexar County who needed it. To help distribute the hotspots, BiblioTech partnered with other local public libraries. In July 2020, the City of Schertz signed an Interlocal Agreement with Bexar County and BiblioTech to circulate hotspots through our library. The Library received 100 hotspots, processed them and made them available for circulation to any Schertz library cardholder, just in time for the return to school. Since August, hotspots have circulated over 200 times, and approximately half of them are checked out at any one time. According to feedback from customers, they are mainly being used to help alleviate bandwidth problems for households with multiple children involved in remote schooling, but others are using them for business purposes. One customer checked one out to use when meeting with clients in outside venues. He could meet outdoors with them and still have online access to his businesses web page. There is also at least one instance of a homebound customer using one to gain access to the Internet. He never had Internet service before, but was able to use the hotspot for entertainment and keeping in contact with others during COVID restrictions. 
 
Workforce Solutions Alamo (WSA) Memorandum of Agreement (In Process)
Workforce Solutions Alamo (WSA) is the governing board for a 13-county regional workforce system—a network of service providers and contractors that brings people and jobs together. At the beginning of FY 19-20, WSA approached the Library about housing one of its job seeker computer kiosks to make it easier for people in the immediate area to apply for jobs, receive mentoring and set up childcare. Work on the project was delayed for a number of months because of the pandemic, but a Memorandum of Agreement solidifying the partnership was signed in July 2020. Under the agreement, the Library will house WSA's computer kiosk in a room that previously housed a print release station. As part of the agreement, the City added a door to the room to provide privacy to kiosk users. WSA will supply all equipment, furniture and their own dedicated Internet service to the space. The door installation project was completed in September, and WSA has scheduled Internet installation the first week in December. The kiosk should be installed shortly thereafter, with the kiosk available to the public at the beginning of 2021. The City has completed all assigned tasks on this project and is waiting for WSA to complete the furnishing of the room.

TSLAC CARES Grant (In Process)
In April 2020, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) received a portion of Texas' CARES funds to help Texas public libraries manage the effects of the pandemic. Two million dollars was made available to libraries through two rounds of reimbursement grants. Schertz Public Library applied for funds during the first round of grants in May 2020. In August, the Library received word that we would receive $24,702 in grant funds, one of only 38 libraries to receive funds in the first round. The funds are to be expended by July 1, 2021.

The grant request included different projects to help the Library provide services during the pandemic, including:
  • Equipment to help staff share computer desktops with customers in order to provide technology help 
  • Equipment to create videos for virtual programming
  • A new educational online service called Niche Academy which provides tutorials and online learning tools
  • A new online tool for the business community and job-seekers called AtoZ Databases
  • A new online crafting database called CreativeBug
  • New e-books and e-audiobooks for our cloudLibrary and Overdrive platforms
  • The addition of a mobile check-out module to our circulation system for easy, contactless check-out for customers who need to limit their exposure to people and surfaces
The first five projects in the bulleted list have been completed. The equipment has been installed and staff are using it to provide computer help from a distance rather than stand next to the customer. The video equipment is being used to create online content. AtoZ Databases, Niche Academy and Creativebug are all available on our electronic resources web page as of November 25. 
The first round of reimbursement requests was submitted October 1; the second round on December 1. 

The purchase of additional digital content is scheduled for February 2021. Work has begun on the mobile check-out module, but is not scheduled for completion until after the beginning of 2021. All grant projects are on schedule and should be completed well before the grant deadline. 

Library Operation During COVID
Library operations have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. The attached document highlights the ways we've successfully adapted our operations.
 
Attachments
Library Information for Council

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