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*Correction: in a recent article about the Friends of the Library I mistakenly said that there will be a kayak raffle coming up. There will not be a kayak raffle.
Did you know that you can borrow a mobile hotspot from the library? If you hadn't heard, we lend out these small devices that when turned on give you Wi-Fi for any of your devices (as long as there is cell phone service where you use it.) Because they are so popular and widely used, we currently lend out 33 of them.
Here are some frequently asked questions we receive in relation to the hotspots:
What is a mobile hotspot? It is a wireless router that makes mobile Wi-Fi (wireless internet). This can give wireless internet to your devices, including laptops, tablets, phones, smart TVs or devices running on Android, Windows or iOS.
How does it work? Simply turn on the device (instruction included) and go to the wireless screen on your device. On the inside case that the hotspot came in is the network name and password you will use/enter to connect to it. You will get a charging cable to keep the device powered. An instructional brochure with screenshots will also
be included.
Is there a data limit? During each cycle (1 month) the data limit is between 20 GB and 25 GB. Once the data limit is reached, the speeds will slow down considerably (also known as throttling.) Hotspots labeled CCA (Center for Community Action) have a 22 GB limit. CCA hotspots are provided to the library with the intent of them only being used for online education, telehealth, and or remote work. If you have used a CCA hotspot, please complete their brief survey upon checkout.
How do I reserve a hotspot? Hotspots can be reserved online using your library card, over the phone or in person.
Will this work where I live? This device relies on cell service. Please be sure to check if your address has coverage. If it does not, it will not work. We have 28 T-Mobile hotspots, two Verizon hotspots and two AT&T hotspots. Our website has coverage maps for each provider. You can enter an address or town name and see how strong the signal will be there.
How long can I borrow a hotspot for? You can borrow them for two weeks for $10, four weeks for $20 or three months for $60.
Can I renew the hotspot I currently have checked out? As long as there is not a waiting list you may renew the device. However, the mobile hotspots are in high demand and there often is a waitlist. Renewals will incur additional fees depending on the borrowing time requested.
Can I reserve the hotspot for a future date? We can attempt to, but due to their high demand we cannot guarantee your reservation will be fulfilled on a given future date.
I'm having trouble using the hotspot. Can you help? Absolutely. You can bring the hotspot into the library, contact us by phone or through our website's live chat.
Book of the week!
If you are going to read one book, give this one a try...
To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul by Tracy K. Smith
(New adult nonfiction: memoir) ~ 288 pages
In a nutshell: The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet combines memoir and history in a powerful new book.
Smith, translator, memoirist, and poet laureate of the U.S. from 2017 to 2019, delves into her family's history--a history of subjugation, violence and enslavement--in order to "endure the intractability of the world I know."
In the world of her forebears, and in her own, she asserts, "the Freed are discouraged from confusing themselves with the Free." Freed though they were, her great-grandparents, grandparents and parents were oppressed and threatened by a world rife with racism. "I descend from a history of daily miracles," she writes, "by which the soul of a people whom institution upon institution has sought to annihilate yet lives on." Smith's search into her past took her to archives, military records and census forms, where, she notes, "there is no column for Love," but still, the forms reveal "names and traces" that allow her to reconstruct "stories and lives that can liberate us." Those lives were buoyed by a strong sense of spiritual community, where the "ring shout" served as "a shared heartbeat." The shout, Smith explains, is "a cultural practice rooted in praise, song, and the soul-sustaining power of something so unperturbed by logic as to call itself the Holy Ghost." Because of her parents' "titanic effort," Smith and her siblings grew up to transcend many racial barriers--Smith graduated from Harvard, where she now teaches--and, she writes, "were allowed to mistake ourselves for the Free." She increasingly identifies with the Freed.
Bottom line: A lyrical memoir conveys an important message.
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Vince Giordano has been the librarian and director of the Juniata County Library since 2015.