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Internet now accessible on the go

Library offers mobile hotspot for cardholders

MIFFLINTOWN — In the car, at the park, by a campfire — the Juniata County Library is providing internet access to its patrons, wherever they may be.

Library Director Vince Giordano said cardholders will now be able to take the internet with them by borrowing a Pocket Wi-Fi device, available to all patrons in good standing.

The device is the size of a typical smartphone and offers unlimited 3G, 4G LTE and LTE Plus data, which supports internet access to laptops, tablets and other mobile devices with wireless capabilities. According to an FAQ sheet provided by the library, the hotspot can be used by as many as 10 devices at one time.

The hotspot is available to library cardholders who are ages 14 and older and whose cards hold less than $20 in fines. The cost to borrow a device is $5 for two weeks or $10 for one month. The late fee is $3 per day, and a replacement fee of $100 will be charged if lost or damaged.

A service coverage map provided by the library shows strong cellular service in much of Juniata County. The device will not work in remote parts of the county where cellular and internet service are not available.

According to a news release by the library, hotspots are valuable for:

¯Senior citizens who are not sure whether the internet is for them.

¯Business owners who are traveling.

¯New residents who are not yet receiving internet service.

¯Residents whose internet is down.

¯Students, especially during finals week or busy work periods.

¯Job hunters who are completing online applications.

The library has informational and instructional resources available to anyone who is interested in borrowing the device. Manuals are provided in English and Spanish, and staff is available to help troubleshoot.

The hotspot supports multiple internet browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer (7.0 or later), Mozilla Firefox (22.0 or later), Safari (4.0 or later), Opera (15.0 or later) and Google Chrome (28.0 or later); and operating systems, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X 10.6 to 10.9 and Linux.

Devices run on battery for as long as 10 hours of continuous use before they must be recharged.

For more information about lending, call the Juniata County Library at 436-6378 or visit www.juniatalibrary.org.

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