Building on the interest shown by people using that access, organizations in Lapeer are working to provide direct connectivity across a fiber optic wide-area network that links the county's high schools. Residents of the northeastern Lower Peninsula faced a situation similar to that in Lapeer County. The new Internet availability immediately improved the way in which the co-op serves its users with information. Users see the updated holdings as soon as a new piece of material is cataloged. Now library information is available not only to visitors of the libraries, but also to people who want to dial in and search for materials from home.
Northland is a prime mover in encouraging Internet use in northern lower Michigan.
Among Northland's active account holders is Jerry Krans, library and media consultant and former sixth-grade teacher for the Alpena Public Schools. Krans leads his students in a variety of Internet projects, including an extended correspondence w ith Commander Mike Powers, an officer on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea. There's also involvement of chambers of commerce, city and county governments, and a variety of community networks. We've also seen some commercial Internet service providers start up operation in this area now that we've shown that there's a real desire for Internet access here in rural areas. Those in local calling areas can, in most cases, call only numbers also within that area without incurring long distance charges.