HAMILTON - Hamiltonians will soon have access to the global grid of research and education (R&E) networks, as the Hamilton Public Library - the first library to join - connects to the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION), Ontario's advanced R&E network.

"Libraries are changing to become even more relevant to the customers we serve. Hamilton Public Library customers look to us for so much more than books and DVDs alone. Public computer usage is growing and we need to find ways to meet the bandwidth requirements and that of wireless users," said Paul Takala, Director of Digital Technology at the Hamilton Public Library. "ORION's high quality, secure network will allow us to do that and so much more in a cost-effective way. HPL is thrilled to be the first public library system in the province to make ORION available to our customers."

Other HPL services include the Local History and Archives department, which houses an extensive collection of local history resources, and the Learning Centre, which provides access to language materials for new Canadians. In recent years, the HPL's collection of online resources has expanded rapidly, and now features more than 30 databases covering a variety of topic areas.

"As critical public research and educational facilities, it's a given that Ontario libraries connect to ORION. We're excited to see the Hamilton Public Library be the first to sign on and start taking advantage of all the powerful learning resources to which ORION gives access," said Dr. Darin Graham, ORION President and CEO. "To date, those accessing ORION have been primarily students, researchers and faculty, so this will be the first time that public library users will experience what ORION can enable to support their research and education needs."

HPL will connect to ORION through the network's high capacity connection point in Hamilton hosted by McMaster University later this fall and will take advantage of the ORION VLAN service.

Other ORION connected institutions in the Hamilton area include McMaster University and the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board.

About Hamilton Public Library
The Hamilton Public Library (HPL) serves the residents of the City of Hamilton with the Central Library, 23 branch locations and two Bookmobiles. With over 3 million in-person visits and 2.8 million online visits, Hamiltonians borrowed a record-breaking 6 million books, CDs and DVDs in 2009. Learn more about the Hamilton Public Library at www.hpl.ca. 

About ORION
Supporting speeds hundreds of times faster than the Internet, ORION is Ontario's advanced research and education network. A not-for-profit corporation, ORION links 1.7 million Ontario researchers, scientists, students, teachers and staff who depend on ORION for teaching and learning and to enable their research collaborations and discoveries in physics, cancer research, environmental science and technologies, social sciences and the humanities and multiple other disciplines. Part of Canada's advanced network alliance, ORION connects users and institutions to each other and, through CANARIE - Canada's advanced research and innovation network, to high-capacity research and education networks, partners and collaborators across Canada and around the world.  Learn more at www.orion.on.ca. 

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Media :

Tamara Stoll
Communications Officer
(416) 507-9860 ext. 224
[email protected]