Pike County Public Library District’s Center Vital for Community’s Needs
PIKE COUNTY, Ky. (April 6, 2012) – Residents of Pike County now have a new way to connect with the world, thanks to a mobile technology center through the Pike County Public Library District funded by a donation from the EQT Foundation.
Pike County Public Library District services the largest county in Kentucky. The county provides no immediate public transportation services from community to community. This poses some of the largest problems for community members in the outer-most areas of the county. The multipurpose mobile technology center, unveiled yesterday, is capable of providing a training environment, employment assistance, emergency assistance, and serve as a mobile information center to the community at various events throughout the year.
Pike County has suffered several disasters in the last few years stemming from flooding in which the library district provided extra hours of service at the physical locations to assist community members in applying for assistance from FEMA and other community minded organizations willing to help. The library also served as a base station for some of FEMA’s communications needs. The mobile technology center will allow the library to reach even more residents with those vital services. A public unveiling/dedication of the mobile computer lab took place Wednesday at the Pikeville Public Library.
“The Pike County Public Library District is excited to have this unique opportunity to partner with EQT to offer our residents access to a multipurpose mobile center equipped with the latest technology and high-speed Internet,” said Director of Libraries Leean Louella Allen. “The library continuously seeks new methods to provide our services not only in our five branches but throughout the county as a whole. With the new mobile unit, the residents of Pike County visiting the mobile unit in their area, will have access to a multitude of traditional and non-traditional public library services, including library e-services, technology training, employment training assistance, expanding e-communications with businesses and families, just to name a few. The Library District is delighted that EQT recognizes the need to enhance opportunities for the residents of Pike County and through the partnership with the Library District, the multipurpose mobile center will provide the greatest access available in Eastern Kentucky.”
“The future of the citizens of Kentucky depends on the adoption of high-tech processes to enable us to compete in a high-tech world,” said University of Pikeville President and former Gov. Paul Patton. “ConnectKentucky is a leader in developing this capacity and with partnerships with corporate citizens such as EQT, we are making progress here in Southeastern Kentucky. The struggle will never end but the prospects for progress are encouraging.”
“ConnectKentucky is extremely pleased to be a part of the Pike County Public Library District’s mobile technology center project. The mobile technology center delivers high-speed Internet access to rural residents of Pike County that currently do not have a convenient means to access the Internet,” said ConnectKentucky Executive Director René True. “Through the generous funding of the EQT Foundation, Pike County residents can now enjoy the life-changing benefits of broadband technologies.”
Speaking at the dedication were: True; Patton; Pike County Public Library District Board President Oscar Blackburn; EQT Director of Midstream Operations Marvin Bentley; Pike County Judge-Executive’s Office Deputy Judge/Executive John Doug Hays; and Pike County Public Library District Technology Coordinator Wes Fleming.
Add Comment