Early in 1994 Greta Chapman, Director of the Lincoln County Library in Libby, had her first hands-on experience with the INTERNET through a librarian friend in Billings. She was quick to see the possibilities that it might provide to economically-depr essed communities and how it might solve libraries’ problems of meeting public demands for increased library services with shrinking public funding. Under her supervision, the Libby Library has been progressively modernized and computerized. Ms. Chapman h as worked very hard to keep abreast of new technology and to keep county officials apprised as to how community needs can be met through a cost-effective way.
During that same time period, Dr. Randale Sechrest, a Libby orthopedic surgeon and proficient computer buff, was preparing to market some computer software that he had developed in order to better educate and instruct his patients.. He had also become a frequent user of the INTERNET as a means of communicating with his colleagues. Dr. Sechrest began to realize what a powerful tool it could be as a foundation for a host of new enterprises that could bring life back to a formerly resource-based econo mic structure in Lincoln County. He approached Ms. Chapman in February of 1994 and they agreed to work together on the project.
In the meantime a pending sale of the local phone company caused public hearings to be held. These hearings brought many other people together who insisted that conditions of the sale should address modernization of the community’s telephone system. It was the perfect time to prepare the way for future improved phone services and to lay the groundwork for the future networking of the libraries, schools, hospital and businesses. Both Ms. Chapman and Dr. Sechrest were active during the hearings and sh ared their vision with all who would listen. Out of these discussions came a core group of people too numerous to mention here who joined together from many diverse backgrounds and formed the Lincoln County Technology Group [LCTG].
Coincidentally in the same time frame, Dr. Anthony Pajas, a retired Libby veterinarian, was just finishing a course of study at MSU in Bozeman [an INTERNET Node] where he had been pursuing his Masters degree in Computer Science. He returned to Libby i n January of 1994 with a working knowledge and some experience in the latest computer technology. He soon became a part of the LCTG and was able to apply his skills to tailor the specifications that were later used to choose the computer hardware that wo uld be economically feasible for this pilot project, yet expandable for future needs.
Another member of the LCTG was Bill Bischoff, who as Deputy County Clerk, worked closely with the Lincoln County Commissioners, who also bought into the vision and decided to invest $25,000 as the seed money necessary to order the computer hardware an d INTERNET connection. They specified that the project would have a limited time to prove that it could pay for itself through fees charged to those accessing the INTERNET from their homes and businesses. Free public access was to be made available at all three libraries as a part of information services for the communities.
The amazing thing about this project is the way that people have come together across typically territorial boundaries. An attitude of “how can we accomplish this with what we have to work with?” has proven successful time after time. What could have been an elaborate, high priced project that never got off the ground, turned into a barebones, basic approach that got the service up and running so that local people could explore first-hand what the benefits of INTERNET might be to this small and remote community.
The LCTG volunteers worked together scrounging building materials, offering manpower and supplies and were able to prepare a site in an unused corner of the basement at the library. Boxes and boxes of computer equipment arrived. By mid-September de dicated phone lines and necessary wiring were installed, and through the tireless dedication of Tony Pajas, the new server-computer components were configured and programmed so that the basic system went on the air in early October of 1994. At the same t ime, Randy Sechrest and his traveling laptop computer were doing INTERNET demonstrations by the dozen, attempting to educate residents and create local interest and financial support for the project.
Without any advertising, users began to show up at the library to sign up for subscriptions. Within two weeks, a user’s group began to form to help share the load of helping new subscribers get on the air. This group now meets routinely to offer trai ning and demonstrations of the various INTERNET features as well as to share experiences and resources. Within the first four months of operation, 120 users had subscribed to the system, eight supporting financial sponsors had come forward and the capacit y of the service had increased far ahead of projections.
One seasonal resident donated a new 486 workstation to be used as a public access computer in the library to accommodate those residents without their own computer/modem hardware. Other library workstations and some donated equipment have been adapted for INTERNET usage and volunteers, who worked weekends, successfully networked all of them to the system.
A special demonstration held just for Libby teachers was so well attended that a trial connection to the schools via modems was requested for the purpose of allowing a core group of teachers to explore the net. Volunteers managed to connect workstat ions at all Libby area schools and a close relationship between KooteNet volunteers and the teachers evolved. Mentors from LCTG helped each high school develop it’s own homepage as they came on-line.
In order to give Lincoln County a presence on the INTERNET, volunteers began a local Home Page and one Libby newspaper went on-line with their Visitor’s Guide. A real estate firm began to explore the possibilities of marketing on the web. Users began routinely corresponding via E-mail not only locally but as far away as New Zealand, the South Pole, Finland, Norway, and Denmark.
The Lincoln County Commissioners, Noel Williams of Eureka, Jerry Criner of Libby, and Larry Dolezal of Troy, are to be commended for their visionary, yet practical perspective on the application of the INTERNET to this community. Here in a county tha t is 3.5 times larger than the state of Rhode Island, there is great hope that this project will help to unite the three communities.
They next approved an additional $22,926 for the equipment necessary to connect Troy and Eureka residents to the Node as well as three new workstations for the county libraries to be used for public access. A 56Kbs line was ordered and soon installed from each town to the central Node in Libby. Additional hardware was subsequently ordered and installed by the end of March, 1995. Volunteers from Libby helped form User Groups in both Troy and Eureka by holding meetings and doing demonstrations and i nterest was high enough in both towns to result in many new account subscriptions so that in early 1996, a second 56Kbs line connection to the INTERNET was needed to handle user traffic. The hoped-for expansion of the system to T1 access was stalled by high access costs.
A second, county-wide Technology Summit was called in Spring, 1996 to evaluate the modernization of the County’s telephone system and coordinate efforts and goals for the future with local phone and cable providers being present. The successful impl ementation of new digital switching equipment in all parts of the county was reported. The high cost of T1 access for KooteNet was also one of the topics. Using cable technology for connecting schools was advanced as a possibility instead of dedicated p hone lines. Higher speed connection possibilities for residents and businesses was also addressed.
The KooteNet Community Learning Institute, an off-shoot of a LCTG team, came into being and many crash courses on the Internet were held for the public in all three communities. A survey of KooteNet members showed a great interest in more quick-study c lasses about the Internet as well as an interest from those who are new to computers and would like instruction on computer basics as well as various applications software.
The communities of Troy and Eureka now have local access due to direct connections provided by LCTG at the branch libraries in each community, making it possible to access the INTERNET by dialing a local telephone number anywhere in Lincoln County. A total of 14 public workstations with INTERNET access are available for public use among the three County libraries. A unique program for visitors to the area has also been established to allow tourists free access to the INTERNET so that they can check their E-mail while they travel.
Progressive businesses throughout Lincoln County have recognized the potential this technology represents for improving economic development in the county. These businesses are utilizing the INTERNET connection to obtain information, market their prod ucts, and expose Lincoln County to a global marketplace.
The Lincoln County Home Page on the World Wide Web has grown and continues to change thanks to the dedication of volunteers. So far it shows a Virtual Tour, Events, Newspapers, HealthCare, Email links to all subscribers as well as some Government Off icials and Federal Agencies. A MarketPlace section contains advertisements, complete with pictures from most area real estate offices, area artists, and sellers of health care products for people and pets plus a growing list of other advertisers includi ng outfitters, resorts, and individual crafters. The national response to our Home Page has been quite positive and has come from all over the world.
The Libby, Troy and Eureka School systems now all have limited dial-up connections to the INTERNET and are anxious for direct connection to the Node so they may begin applying this new technology more completely in the K-12 environment.
The public has shown an incredible interest in this project, with over 650 paying subscriber-families, including a dozen sponsoring members in the first 30 months of operation. This number does not include the many citizens who are accessing the INTER NET via the public guest-accounts at the libraries. Subscriber fees have managed to pay for all KooteNet expenses since the initial County investments. We estimate that 10% of Lincoln County’s population currently has INTERNET access via KooteNet.
KooteNet has been chosen as a mentor/model community in the Network Montana Project; it has also been chosen as a subject to be included in an upcoming book/CD ROM called 24 Hours in Cyberspace.. In addition, KooteNet was the recipient of a generous do nation of WordPerfect software to be shared among educational and non-profit institutions throughout the County Recent documentation shows that 75% of the work done to bring KooteNet to it’s present state has come from the efforts of community volunteer s. Increasing requests for technical support mandated that KooteNet add a second part-time, paid employee in summer of 1996.
To conserve our limited bandwidth, a satellite news feed was budgeted and paid for out of KooteNet receipts; this allowed users to have access to more than 16,000 NewsGroups (up from 3500 on the old system). The Libby Area Chamber of Commerce has now come on-line and is hoping to use this technology to increase the visibility of the area to the world. The Lincoln County Economic Development Council is also going online with some of their efforts including the marketing of craft items produced locall y.
Volunteers are mobilizing to gather more information from public and non-profit sources to be added to our Virtual Community database. Volunteers continue to work with Cable providers to test a system for linking schools to the Node. The volunteers w ho have directed the evolution, development and maintenance of the Lincoln County Web site are organizing to provide various consulting services for a fee and private tutoring services are offered as a fund-raiser for KooteNet.
Now that the beginning of a technological infrastructure is in place, the next phase of our project involves developing the human resources needed to exploit this technology. Training for educators, business people, and potential employees is crucial as Lincoln County undergoes the transition to the information age. To that end the KooteNet Community Learning Institute is seeking funding for a learning lab to be located next to the KooteNet server in the Libby library.
The public seems to understand that the economy of the future somehow will hinge on this technology, and that new jobs will require a comfort level with this technology. There is great need in Lincoln County to prepare a work force ready to compete in an information-based economy.
In the educational arena, obtaining and organizing remote resources for distance education will be as important as this technology which allows our schools to have access to a tremendous amount of resources that our community simply cannot provide loca lly. This cannot occur without coordination with institutions of higher learning. LCTG volunteers continue to work with the school districts.
Dr. Randy Sechrest has been appointed to the board of the Burns Telecommunication Center at MSU in Bozeman and will be working closely with them to make Lincoln County a satellite node for their outreach activities.
Lincoln County Campus of Flathead Community College also plays a pivotal role in the adjustment from a labor-based work force to that of a technologically prepared community. Lincoln County Campus has adopted some new short course offerings in respons e to public demand. LCC and KCLI are attempting to cooperate in bringing adult computer education into a new prominence in all three communities.
The KooteNet user meetings will continue to evolve with public introductory demonstrations being held monthly. A rotating “cyber cafe” demonstrating the INTERNET to businesses and organizations during lunch hours is ongoing so that they can begin to e xplore their own applications of this technology. Now that the infrastructure has begun to fill a role similar to that of a utility, the actual operation of the Node will be managed by a separate Board so that LCTG may go on with its various outreach eff orts as its volunteers are led.
As far as what will happen down the road...the northwest corner of Montana may be perceived as an unlikely place for an off-ramp from the information superhighway... but in reality, rural communities are the most logical place to use the INTERNET in order to establish a stable economy and an informed democracy of citizens prepared to compete in an ever-changing, global environment ...another New Frontier.
220 West 6th Street... Libby, MT 59923...406-293-8648