Downtowners hanging out at Wooldridge Square Park, across from the Travis Co. Courthouse, no longer need to leave work behind when enjoying an alfresco lunch. The Austin Public Library has partnered with local Internet provider WiFi-Texas to turn Wooldridge Square — along with the neighboring Austin History Center and John Henry Faulk Central Library — into “hot spots” for free public wireless Internet access.
“This fits the library’s mission of providing equal access to information,” says APL marketing manager Patricia Fraga, “and broadens our customers’ access.” The library, of course, already provides free public Internet access at all of its 22 locations, one of the most popular services APL offers. Plans are for all APL locations — and perhaps parts of their surrounding neighborhoods — to go “hot” this fall.
While WiFi-Texas has provided the library with the equipment to go “hot” Downtown, the citywide build-out is being sponsored by Schlotzsky’s Deli, which has donated wireless access points for APL to tie into their existing tech infrastructure. Schlotzsky’s is itself offering wireless access through its “Cool Cloud” network at 10 of its Austin locations.
This article appears in May 16 • 2003.