The Knight Center of Digital Excellence offers the following article as an occasional look at one program at a time on how broadband intersects with the work of libraries, schools, colleges, government and community organizations.

The Cuyahoga County Public Library consistently ranks as one of the nation’s busiest library systems. Last year, it ranked 7th in the nation in the volume of materials circulated – with 17.8 million items, mostly print books, checked out by patrons.

We’re not talking about New York City, or Chicago, or Los Angeles. We’re talking about a range of low- to high-income communities that surround Cleveland.

If library usage is a measure of a literate society, then it’s worth looking closer at Cuyahoga County. Here, you’ll find not only innovative programs, but programs that could not exist without Internet access – and in some cases, not without high-capacity Internet enabled by a fiber optic network in and around Cleveland, one of the nation’s largest fiber hubs.

To look at just one initiative within the Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) system, a good place to start is with the summer camps that are now about to begin. Of six top priorities identified by the CCPL, one is to help youths reach their maximum potential. The summer camp initiative is one of several programs intended to advance this goal.

CCPL’s summer camps began in 2006, with 1,126 students participating in programs at five locations. By 2008, participation had more than doubled – with every program, since the inception, requiring Internet access for each child. This year’s program is set up to accommodate an attendance of nearly 8,000, in anticipation of continued rapid growth.

For recording keeping, participation in CCPL’s summer camps is measured by the number of days any one child attends a day of camp.

In some cases, such as in the Shipwrecks Camp with Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard, the offering could not exist at all, but for the availability of a super broadband network such as the Cleveland area has.

Here is a sampling of different camp programs and the growth in each that is tied to educational goals, with Internet literacy as a consistent component.

Shipwrecks Camp: Via high-speed Internet, 12- to 15-year-olds at various community locations, including libraries, are involved with hands-on activities that focus on underwater exploration with Ballard. Last year, youths observed the role of robotics in under-the-sea explorations and then experimented with various miniature robots.

This summer, there will be 26 camp locations in all. To accommodate growing demand for such offerings, new programs have been added in Lego Mindstorms robotics, Lego Simple Machines, digital animation, 3-D digital modeling, media arts, inventive thinking, career exploration and entrepreneurship.

New programs this summer that rely on high-speed, high-capacity Internet service include:

Digital Animation Computer Camp: Here 7- to 12-year-olds learn the basics of using objects, colors and sounds to create online characters. Students also learn to add story lines and stream figures into cartoons.

3-D Digital Modeling Camp: Two separate 3-D modeling camps are being offered, teaching 3-D modeling through the building of video games, cars, homes, airplanes and a version of Disney Land.

Video Game Creation: This camp for 13-17 year olds teaches students how to program and design their own video games.

Media Arts: Students learn to create a website, a recorded piece of original electronic music, and an original digital stop-motion video.

Among returning media-oriented programs:

BAG It! Build Arcade Games: Offered at one branch, this program allows students to design, create and edit their arcade-style video games. They determine the action, characters and game objectives and outcomes..

Even camp programs with a less technical, more traditional focus depend on Internet access, and require laptops for participants to use daily. Such programs include Club Cuyahoga, offered at two locations and aimed at 9- to 15-year-olds. In one of the offerings, for 9- to 10-year-olds, retired NBA player Jim Chones and his staff help students develop character and life skills through a variety of arts-based activities.

In another, 11- and 12-year-olds can learn about astronomy, math, science, gardening and more with staff from Cuyahoga Community College’s Tri-C for Kids program. In still another, Jim Chones’ and Tri-C staff jointly present leadership training for kids 12 – to 15-years-old, with a focus on developing personal leadership plans, communication skills and team building.

Commented CCPL Executive Director Sari Feldman in a recent conversation about the summer programs: “The need for high-speed communications is constant for us.”

CCPL is able to offer these great programs and make such an impact with Northeast Ohio students thanks to partnerships with organizations and institutions from across the region. And all of these programs are free – which makes the case for why libraries matter in the work of bridging our nation’s digital divide.

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