City offering free wireless Internet at library, offices

By Matthew Jackson
Item Correspondent

September 04, 2008 11:25 pm

— The City of Huntsville has added a new convenience for patrons of City Hall and the Huntsville Public Library: free wireless Internet.
Beginning this week, customers at both City Hall and the library will have access to a free wireless Internet connection while on the grounds of both facilities.
The idea to launch the service came from Linda Dodson, city library director.
“A lot of libraries have wireless systems now,” Dodson said. “We’re very limited as to what we can do here with our computers, so I really pushed for getting wireless access here.”
“At first I wasn’t sure we could do it,” said Chris Vasquez, information technology manager at City Hall. “We ran into some complications, but after working with it a little bit, I found an easier way to make it work, and decided to throw in City Hall, too.”
The wireless access will be available from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and will be available without a required password.
Customers will be allowed to bring their wireless-capable laptops to City Hall and the public library to take advantage of the service.
Vasquez and Dodson both noted that instructional pamphlets on how to set up a wireless connection will be available to all customer, but for liability reasons, city and library staff will be unable to assist customers in setting up their personal computers.
Customers using the wireless network will not have access to printers.
For more information, residents are urged to contact the Huntsville Public Library at (936) 291-5472 or visit the library Web site at www.myhuntsvillelibrary.com.