California: "Web Down at Two Libraries For Two Weeks: Staff Working Out Internet Security Wrinkle"

What happens if the computers go offline not for an hour or a day?

How about 14 days?

At the Santa Cruz [CA} Public Library two branches have been offline for more than two weeks!

Question. Should how to prepare and handle technology failures become a topic you see discussed at conferences? Should it become of the disaster management teams work?

From a San Jose Mercury News Article:

The director of Santa Cruz Public Libraries said Thursday she hopes Internet service will be restored at the Central and Capitola branches early next week, but there are no guarantees as crews continue tackling a vexing security wrinkle.

Director Teresa Landers said staff members have sought help from Linux officials to fix an issue involving secure Internet access to about 20 computers installed last month at the two branches. Landers declined to outline the problem in detail due to security concerns, but said it is has to do with guarding patron privacy and protecting the integrity of the library’s overall computer network.

“They are working very hard,” Landers said of the staff.

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Other than a sign on the door warning users that the Internet is not available, patrons were not otherwise notified that Internet access had been curtailed. Landers said she did not conduct a public awareness campaign because she and other staff assumed the problem would be resolved sooner.

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Margaret O’Shea, a Westside resident who doesn’t have Web access at home, said she has been puzzled for weeks about why sheplaints. a member of the Library Joint Powers Authority board that governs the city-county system, said he has received a few gripes.

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[Emphasis Ours] “Having access to the Internet is critical for library patrons; some might otherwise not have access,” [City Councilman David Terrazas] said. “That is one of the reasons library funding must continue to make tech updates a priority.”

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Filed under: Funding, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries