REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Budget Modification No.10 to Appropriate $105,540 of California Library Connect Grant Funds for CENIC Network Equipment Upgrades to Increase Internet Speed at the Sunnyvale Public Library
Report
GRANT SUMMARY
On November 29, 2023 the City was awarded grant funds in the amount of $105,540 to the Department of Library and Recreation Services (LRS) for CENIC network equipment upgrades.
Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) is a public benefit corporation. Their goal to bring high-speed broadband to all California public libraries by connecting them to the California Research and Education Network (CalREN). CalREN is a high-capacity, 8,000-mile fiber-optic network designed to support more than 20 million users. CENIC has been supported by the California State Library since 2014. In addition to California public libraries, there are over 12,000 sites connecting to CENIC with members from scientific and cultural institutions, private colleges and universities, and research organizations.
The grant funds will be used to purchase equipment replacements for one router, two firewalls, and the first-year connection costs. The new equipment will allow for a bandwidth upgrade from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps at the Sunnyvale Main Library. This will significantly increase the current internet speed. The upgrade will also benefit students and library users at the new Lakewood branch when it opens late in 2025. A partnership with local school districts, the upcoming Lakewood branch will provide library and broadband access to one of the few Bay Area communities without a public library within a 3-mile radius.
The faster internet connection will vastly improve community access to scholarly databases and electronic resources such as cloudLibrary, Hoopla and Kanopy. The faster internet connection will also support both virtual and in-person library programs that rely on high-speed streaming such as the biweekly ESL...
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