Schenectady’s Central Library limits Wi-Fi access after hours

At around 8:30 p.m. last Tuesday, a married couple and a father and daughter sat outside of Schenectady’s Central Library doing what many people were doing across the city at that time: using the internet.

Just as the library plays a role in providing free access to books, magazines, movies and music, it also plays a role in providing access to an increasingly indispensable household utility — the internet.

And in downtown Schenectady, the main branch library serves as a beacon of connectivity, sending off waves of internet access to phones and computers in cars and on benches within shouting district of the library.

“I go on the computer, and I just play games when it’s summer vacation,” 9-year-old Goddess Fields said as she sat on a bench outside the library with her dad, Anthony Lewis, last week.

Lewis, who said they don’t have internet access at home, said he and Goddess will often visit the library after he is done with work and, when the weather is nice or the library is closed, they will outside and use the internet on their phones.

If they had stayed past 9 p.m., however, the internet would have gone dark. About two weeks ago, the Schenectady County Public Library started limiting Wi-Fi access at the Central Branch, which until recently had been available 24 hours a day.

Karen Bradley, library director, said the library had received messages from residents concerned that people were congregating at the library late into the night. While there hadn’t been any specific incidents, Bradley said, library officials decided limiting the hours of internet access might deter people from loitering outside of the library during all hours of the day.

“There were people gathering around the library during the night hours,” Bradley said. “We felt when people need Wi-Fi is during the day and evening but not overnight.”

In June, more than 2,800 different users accessed internet at the Central Branch on their own digital devices — phones, laptops and tablets. That’s an average of 241 users a day. The Bornt Branch, the newly opened library branch on State Street, provided internet access to 1,245 users in June — around 100 people a day. And those numbers don’t include people accessing the internet directly from library computers.

Across the Capital Region in 2013, 81.7 percent of households reported having internet access, according to U.S. Census data. That beats the national average of less than 80 percent. But access is still limited in low-income homes and not consistently accessible in rural communities.

Victoria and Richard Gurdak were sitting against a wall and had their laptop plugged into an outdoor outlet for power. They said they had visited the library to access the internet almost every day for two weeks, using the resource to watch videos, finish GED school work, make internet-based phone calls and more.

“It’s very helpful, I wish there were other places that did this, that had Wi-Fi at night,” Victoria Gurdak said.

The couple said it’s nice to sit outside in the evening when the weather is cooling off and it’s not crowded at the library. They had only been kicked off the internet because of the time of day once, but they said it was reasonable to have access shut off once it got dark out.

“Eventually, we get tired of the bugs and we’ll just go,” Gurdak said.

Schenectady County’s nine library branches serve as local internet hubs. At the new Bornt branch, access is limited to hours of operations, Bradley said, but the rural Quaker branch in Delanson still has 24-hour access. Bradley said they plan to maintain the 24-hour access at that branch, which has limited hours and serves a rural population with fewer internet access options.

Bradley said she hopes the library will play a role as Schenectady and other cities in the area look to increase internet access for its residents. Mayor Gary McCarthy has been pushing a plan to install “smart” street lights throughout the city, which would provide Wi-Fi access, and a $1 million state grant will start targeting installation of 38 of those high-tech lights in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood.

“I’m sure free Wi-Fi will be a benefit, because it’s expensive,” said Patricia Ann Smith, president of the Mont Pleasant neighborhood association. While she didn’t know that much about the plan for the lights, she said they sounded like a good idea, especially if cameras deterred crime and improved safety. “I suppose free Wi-Fi would be a good perk.”

But for now if residents in the city are looking to check email or the news or Facebook or play a game courtesy of their public library, they need to stop by the Clinton Street branch sometime between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.

“We are here 64 hours a week, so that is plenty of time for people to access our wireless capabilities,” Bradley said. “We would love for people to come in and use it, but if you would rather sit in your car or on the bench and use it, that is fine too.”

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