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New Los Gatos Library Will Be Wi-Fi

Friends of the Los Gatos Public Library purchase Firetide expanded wireless network.

When the new Los Gatos Library officially opens to the public the morning of Saturday, Feb. 11, patrons will continue to enjoy the same wireless access they've had throughout the Civic Center for years.

This week, Los Gatos-based Firetide, one of the leading providers of wireless communication for government agencies, announced that the new $18.4 million, two-story, 30,000-square-foot facility will have a high-performance 802.11n-based wireless network.

Los Gatos Librarian Linda Dydo said the installation is a boost to the Civic Center's service, creating a network that will cover the space of the new library.

The new edifice will have 31 public computers and will allow visitors to bring in their own wireless devices to access the wi-fi network, said Firetide spokeswoman Denise Barton.

The Firetide network was purchased by the Los Gatos Friends of the Los Gatos Public Library nonprofit organization. The group is comprised of community volunteers who have raised nearly $2 million in private funding for technology, furnishings and fixtures for the new library.

"The Town of Los Gatos has been planning our new library since 2009 and we are looking forward to opening this centerpiece of lifelong learning for our entire community," said Los Gatos Mayor Steve Rice.

Firetide CEO Bo Larsson said he was pleased his company was selected as the wireless network vendor for the new library since his corporate headquarters are located in town. “We are seeing increased demand from libraries and schools planning to install Wi-Fi access to expand research and educational opportunities," he said.

The old Los Gatos Library closed permanently on Jan. 16 to allow the move into the new building, which will be unveiled to the public at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 11.

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Related Topics: Firetide, Friends of the Los Gatos Public Library, Linda Dydo, and Los Gatos library
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Melissa Levine

11:31 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

It would have been much better if the Friends of the Library had used their funds not for wireless but for a cabled system. Wi-Fi emits the same kind of radiation which last May, 2011, the World Health Organization declared a class 2b possible carcinogen.
There have been animal and in vitro studies which show this same kind of pulsed man-made radiation which wi-fi's emit cause double strand DNA breakage and weaken the blood brain barrier which makes it more permeable for toxins to enter. There are also recent studies which show cognitive damage from this radiation--so instead of going to the library to improve one's mind, patrons could be leaving the library more addled (with memory issues). There are also studies (REFLEX) which show this radiation has genotoxic effects.
Libraries are supposed to be for everyone (of any economic or class status). But by installing Wi-Fi, people with vulnerable healthy conditions (including expectant mothers and those with with pacemakers) are now excluded from this public community space.
MelissaLevine, StopSmartMetersIrvine.com

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AR

12:19 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

did you forget your tinfoil hat in irvine? this has been beaten to death. the sun...dyes in your clothes...your diet....all radiologically more harmful than the microwave radiation from wifi stations

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