The BEV's first challenge was to provide connectivity to its residents. To that end, project planners work with the individuals and organizations to address needs specified by the community. The Volunteer Action Center, for example, matches up citizen volunteers with agencies and groups in need. Before working with the BEV, the Center maintained a large printed directory of resources. To reduce costs and improve service delivery, the Center and the BEV created a dynamic database which virtually eliminated paper costs, provided easier access to information and increased accuracy of information.
Users can now download and print a specific portion of the list as needed.
These devices enable the Center to provide information to clients without being at the office, thus saving more time and money. Future services offered by BEV promise to focus on business, culture and social services. Mapping the Electronic Village Over the years, as indicated in the table below, Blacksburg's infrastructure has grown exponentially. As Blacksburg's network expanded, it needed to improve the efficiency of local communications and to spur development of innovative new local services. Users were interested in much more than email.