A Georgia-based, national provider of mobile logistics and lifecycle management software called Manage Mobility is bridging the gap between libraries and the Internet, starting with the New York Public Library.
Manage Mobility and Sprint have come together to help the NYPL launch the nation’s largest mobile Internet lending program, according to Manage Mobility. For New York residents without high-speed Internet at home, this means about 10,000 new free high-speed hotspots.
The lending program also provides an “administrative portal” for New York Libraries to track their assets and allows administrators access to document repositories, system reporting, real-time data and more.
ManagedTel, Manage Mobility’s system, tracks cellular use of the free hotspots and alerts library associates when data thresholds are exceeded.
The hotspot program received $1 million in funding from Google, as well as contributions from Knight News Challenge, Open Society Foundations and The Robin Hood Foundation.
In due time, plans to expand the hotspot lending system will lead to a much larger program, according to Manage Mobility.
