{"id":1032,"date":"2022-10-19T14:36:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T13:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2022-10-19T15:25:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T14:25:44","slug":"connecting-libraries-to-next-generation-broadband-benefits-the-whole-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/2022\/10\/19\/connecting-libraries-to-next-generation-broadband-benefits-the-whole-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting libraries to next generation broadband benefits the whole community"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Louise Butcher, Content Designer at Dorset Council, pictured at Blandford Library.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For residents in Dorset, Blandford Library is more than just a place to loan books. For many, Blandford library is a community hub and a place to connect. In 2021 the library was upgraded to a gigabit-capable network, making buffering screens a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

Before gigabit broadband systems in the library were slow, often dropping out or not loading at all. This would have a knock-on effect to the public computers as people often had limited time to complete work.<\/p>\n

Thanks to UK Government\u2019s investment Blandford Library was connected to gigabit-capable broadband in May 2021 through the Local Full Fibre Network Programme. This project was managed by Dorset Council and supplied by Openreach.<\/p>\n

Since receiving the broadband upgrade, the library has been able to offer a range of digital services including a computer basics course. This course is delivered by the library’s Digital Champion and teaches the public online skills that are essential to keeping them connected online.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve also purchased some assisted technology in the hope to teach more vulnerable people how to use this in their own home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They recently hosted a talk from a film editor which was a blended session, offering a virtual link to the local nursing home and residential homes for them to join online, which is something they could have never done before. The library has an active social media presence to keep the community up to date so they\u2019re now able to upload content quicker.<\/p>\n

The library still has a fast connection no matter how many people are online. They now also have tablets to be able to look through the catalogue quickly and find books for customers. Gigabit broadband has been a game changer and is benefiting the whole community.<\/p>\n

Dorset Council Content Designer, Louise Butcher, said: \u201cTraditionally libraries core business has been books, but we really need digital support to be able to offer everything that we want to,\u201d Louise said \u201cWe\u2019re fully embedded into the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was so slow; things would drop out. We used to joke that we were at the end of the line and there were millions of obstacles in the way. It now no longer takes us half an hour to log in to the computer, everything just works.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was frustrating for us all, even the customers, but now with the gigabit connection we\u2019re able to offer a fast, reliable service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now still have a fast connection no matter how many people are online. We\u2019ve even got tablets in the library so we\u2019re able to look through the catalogue quickly and find books for customers, it\u2019s a game changer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For residents in Dorset, Blandford Library is more than just a place to loan books. For many, Blandford library is a community hub and a place to connect. In 2021 the library was upgraded to a gigabit-capable network, making buffering screens a thing of the past. Before gigabit broadband systems in the library were slow,… Read more Connecting libraries to next generation broadband benefits the whole community<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1907,"featured_media":1034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48,49,57,1],"tags":[107,106,71,43,52,105],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/files\/2022\/10\/SPL-GIGABIT-BROADBAND-VOUCHER-SCHEME-13-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1907"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1036,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions\/1036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}