The BPL Has Wireless Hotspots—Hear What BPL Employee Jennifer Hancock Has To Share

Having worked at the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) for almost 12 years, I've seen some amazing technological advances here; but one has made a huge impact in my life for the last month, and I want to share it with everyone.

During the month of October, I sort of worked two jobs—one here at the BPL and one for a local haunted attraction at night and on weekends. But I'm not the scary monster sort of employee. I'm more of a monster wrangler, because I keep track of when the monsters come and go, where they are in the haunt, and if there are any patron compliments and/or complaints.

To do this job, I desperately needed internet access, but there was none available! So, as I always do when I have a problem, I turned to the BPL for a solution: and like always, the BPL provided!

The BPL has these AMAZING little wireless hotspots available for checkout to anybody with a JCLC library card! They are these little, unassuming black boxes (2.5" × 3.5" × 0.5") with all the power in the world contained inside! A full charge lasted me two nights, or about 15 hours, with a little charge to spare.

My husband (the official monster wrangler) and I could both hook up to it, and even though I kept it at the gate with me, his phone's Wi-Fi could reach it no matter where he was in the attraction. And boy did those monsters keep him moving! Oh, and the signal STAYED STRONG! I had full bars on my device the entire night, no waning due to the weather, etc. And since the device is password protected, I didn't have random people connecting and using up the strength either. 

The wireless hotspots checkout in a nice black case that contains the hotspot, the charging cord, a small card of instructions, and a lanyard attached as well. The charging cord is the wall plug type; but if you use a USB-C to charge another device, it will also work to charge the hotspot. And it only takes a couple of hours to refill the hotspot to full capacity. So if I forgot to plug it in when I got home at 2:00 a.m., I could plug it up at noon the next day and it would still be ready for use by 4:00 p.m. when I needed it again!

You can only checkout the wireless hotspot for two weeks and they have to be returned inside the library you checked it out from (not in the outside drop box). But if you are in need of one, talk to your local librarian and see what arrangements can be made. I made arrangements a month in advance of when I knew I would need it, and one was held for me. Remember, at the BPL, we are trying to make your life easier, so give us a chance!

Thank you to the Birmingham Public Library for helping me in my time of need yet again!

By Jennifer Hancock | Library Assistant, Acquisitions