THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508290128
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Norfolk library users now can travel the information highway for free, thanks to a partnership between the Norfolk library system and the local public broadcasting station, WHRO.
For the first time in Hampton Roads, the public is being provided free access to the Internet, a worldwide computer system that includes thousands of national and global data bases.
``Anyone can come (to the library) and go to a terminal and enter cyberspace for free,'' explained John Morison, president and general manager of WHRO, at an Aug. 24 news conference inaugurating the launch of the service, called Community Link. ``We're linking the community to public services in our area as well as to the whole world. This goes to the very heart of what WHRO is all about.''
The project came about through a $110,000 community networking initiative grant from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and another $50,000 from Bell Atlantic. In addition to offering access to the Internet, Community Link provides users with a home page on the World Wide Web that provides electronic communications and local information services.
As part of its offering, the Internet site organizes information on 22 area city agencies, nonprofit organizations, cultural groups and other community organizations throughout Hampton Roads. The American Red Cross, Chrysler Museum, the 4th Judicial District Court Service Unit, SEVAMP, Norfolk Public Health Department and a organization of minority students are just a few of the groups already on line. More are expected to join later.
So far, library patrons can log on at only two computer terminals - one at Kirn Memorial Library in downtown and another at the Blyden Branch Library on East Princess Anne Road.
Blyden was chosen as the first branch to receive the service because it already has a computer lab in place.
As money becomes available through additional grants, more computers will be added, said Lois Radford, systems librarian. Eventually, all the library's 11 branches will have terminals. Each terminal costs about $15,000, Radford said.
Library officials have already applied for a $20,000 technology and initiative grant from the city, but the department must compete with other city agencies for the funds. A decision on which one receives the funding will be made in October.
WHRO also is applying for federal development grants and several area civic leagues have expressed interest in donating funding to the project, the librarian said.
``As impressive as all this is, this is only our baby steps on the information highway,'' she explained at the news conference, which drew Norfolk City Manager James Oliver, Bell Atlantic officials, local legislators, school administrators, librarians and a few dozen other people interested in the project.
``This is all still very much under construction,'' Radford explained. ``All this information is out there, and it's so frustrating when you can't afford to give it to people. One of our missions is to organize all this and make it accessible to those who need it.''
As more local groups provide information for the link's home page, a wealth of information will become available to Hampton Roads Internet users. The library already has begun offering rotating exhibits of historical photographs on its home page, and local and state job banks provide employment listings.
WHRO was only one of 12 stations across the country to receive funding from the CPB to design and develop a free public access to education and online information services using local public telecommunications organizations as a centerpoint.
Since WHRO was initially founded to provide Hampton Roads residents with universal access to education and culture, Morison said it seemed only fitting that the station lead the way in providing the public with free access to computer technology.
``We certainly need to stay on the cutting edge of this emerging technology,'' he told those gathered in the Kirn Memorial's Kirkby Room. ``This is an important first step.'' MEMO: Anyone with Internet access can log on the Community Home Page. Its
address is http://scholastic. whro.pbs.org:80/cl/index.html.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Don Jeffries of WHRO gives a demonstration of the new Internet
access system at the Norfolk library.
by CNB