DML2014: Ignite Talk - Nate Hill
0Chattanooga, TN has the first and fastest — and now one of the least expensive — high-speed Internet services in the United States. Our incredibly fast internet speeds have attracted start-ups and entreprenuers to our community and helped Chattanooga to reimagine how business can be done. Now in 2014, these entrepreneurs and businesses are joining with schools and nonprofit organizations to begin a city-wide effort to reexamine when, where, and how learning happens in the so-called Gig City. The Chattanooga Public Library is at the center of this reexamination -- serving as a launching point and key partner for a new Mozilla Gigabit Hive, a Knight Foundation Community Information Grant, and dozens of other efforts focused on exploring how an Internet connection without boundaries can begin to break down longstanding boundaries between classrooms and community, between businesses and service organizations, and between formal and informal learning. A year ago, the 4th Floor of the Chattanooga Public Library was a forgotten 14,000 square foot storage facility in the middle of the "Gig City's" otherwise thriving, vibrant downtown. Today, the 4th Floor is a central hub of community activity, featuring access to unrivaled connectivity, 3D printers, a laser cutter, a vinyl cutter, design stations, and more. The 4th Floor is a glimpse of the community library of the future, now.