Woodland, CA (MPG) - Yolo County’s library branches in Esparto, Yolo, and Knights Landing will receive an additional gigabyte (GB) of broadband service by the end of 2015.

Through Governor Brown and the legislature’s “Lighting Up Libraries” initiative, as well as the State Library’s partnership with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), broadband services are being deployed to public libraries across the state. On behalf of Yolo County, CENIC negotiated with Internet service providers to bring improved, lower-cost broadband services to rural libraries within Yolo County at a significantly reduced rate for the next five years. As a result, one GB of high speed broadband service will be available at Yolo County library branches in Esparto, Yolo, and Knights Landing, as well as enhanced bandwidth at the Yolo County Library’s central services facility in Woodland.

This opportunity for high-speed broadband service is part of the Yolo Broadband Strategic Plan, which plays a vital role in keeping communities competitive locally and globally. The strategic plan’s objective is to facilitate affordable access to broadband services while critically supporting the long-term connectivity needs of Yolo County’s residents, businesses, and anchor institutions, such as libraries. Enhanced broadband will provide faster and more varied Internet services, including video conferencing, video streaming, and delivery of digital content to e-readers.

“Bringing broadband Internet service is essential to our economic stability,” said Yolo County Librarian Patty Wong. “Broadband will help connect our communities to one another and to the rest of the electronic world.”

The Esparto Regional Library is also receiving new equipment to enable the one GB installation thanks to, in part, a $30,000 grant from Southern California Library Cooperative. The enhanced broadband and this equipment will provide opportunities for the Esparto Regional Library and community to embark on projects such as improving free access for patrons, increasing the number of computer stations with the support of the Friends of the Esparto Regional Library, offering online education and computer skills training, and providing applications to government and healthcare resources.

The Yolo County Library continues to support the community and provide access to information and services. These changes are possible through the support and partnerships with the community, the Yolo County Library branches, and the Friends of the Library. For more information about the Yolo County Library, visit www.yolocountylibrary.org or connect with the library on Facebook at www.facebook.com/yolocountylibrary.org.

Source: Yolo County