The Broadband Development Office (BDO) established the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to provide additional resources to communities that need help with broadband planning. The program aids local governments and communities by providing assistance to identify local broadband development opportunities and prepare for forthcoming state and federal funds.

Greg Conte, director of the Texas Broadband Development Office, explains, “BDO’s Technical Assistance Program provides broadband planning and consulting services at no cost to counties looking to close the digital divide within their communities. Libraries will play an important role in the program, because they serve as valuable spaces for their communities and are often one of the few places residents can get public access to broadband and other digital opportunities. And individual librarians can be empowered to directly bridge the digital divide in their own communities by embracing and offering these technical services to those who need them most.”

Recently, thirty-two counties were accepted into the TAP program and will have direct access to broadband planning and consulting services. One of those is Grayson County. Grayson county’s broadband planning committee was chaired and created by the development director at the local library in Pottsboro, Dianne Connery. You heard that right. A Librarian chaired the broadband planning committee for the entire county.

The LDO team chatted with Dianne recently to hear more about her work creating the committee and her plans for TAP.

LDO: How did you get involved in creating the broadband planning committee?

Dianne: When they first started talking about BEAD (Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment) funding, I saw the enormous dollars that would be available, especially for the Digital Equity Act. I thought libraries were the perfect institution to get some of that money. I started attending webinars, gathering information. I talked to Cindy Fisher formerly of TSLAC, and now with the BDO, who I had kept in contact with. I applied to be a part of a BDO working group, I worked with Connected Nation, anything to keep the Pottsboro name in the mix.

Then, I started talking it up in the community. I spoke to the commissioner’s court. I told the local leaders that we don’t want to get left behind. They were more interested in sewers and roads; they weren’t really focused on the internet.

Two years ago, I founded the Grayson County Broadband Coalition. I asked Grayson Community College to use their facilities and invited any stakeholders I could reach. Greg Conte and Andrea Pacheco (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts) from the BDO spoke at that meeting. Molly Weiner (Connected Nation) spoke too. Internet providers showed up, county commissioners, school district people, it was about a hundred people in all. There was a lot of interest, but the math was showing that Grayson county was “well-served and not showing as “underserved”. Well, the audience thought we wouldn’t get this money because we don’t fit the bill.

I kept talking about it. I put it on the Pottsboro library website with a tab just for Grayson County Broadband Coalition. As it got closer to Net Inclusion, I just thought, we’ve got to do this! I kept pushing but just wasn’t getting a lot of interest.

LDO: What did you do next?

Dianne: You have to have an elected official sign off but our judge was occupied elsewhere. I finally found a county commissioner who said he would do it. I started putting the committee together. We had two people from TekWav, the local Internet Service Provider, the founder and a policy person. There was someone from Texoma Workforce Solutions, and someone from our local COG (Council of government), a county commissioner, and myself.

After we applied and got accepted into TAP, I drafted a letter using AI and sent it out to anybody in the region. I actually used a guest list from the community college who were trying to get a bond passed. The letter said now is the time to get involved. We have this opportunity but if the people don’t have their hands in it, they won’t get it.

LDO: What happens next?

Dianne: Now we get updates from TAP, telling us what we need to get ready for the next phase. They’ll be sending us consultants to do some assessments.

“This is a chance to elevate the status of the library in the community” – Dianne Connery, Development Director, Pottsboro Library

LDO: What would you like to tell other librarians about the process?

Dianne: This TAP is a once in a lifetime opportunity and libraries are perfect for it. There’s a lot of information out there from NDIA, and from libraries that have had assessments. There are tool kits available.

This is a chance to elevate the status of the library in the community and build new relationships. It’s an opportunity to create an ecosystem in the community, to build stronger relationships with councils of government.

LDO: What are your plans for the future?

Dianne: There’s a lot of economic development money coming. As capacity grants come along, I’ll be applying. Outside of that, I’m focused on economic development for the community. There’s a huge semiconductor plant coming to the area. We’ll need STEM training for kids in school, training them so they can be a bigger part of the workforce. I’m also working on a USDA grant using virtual reality headsets.

I’m also on an advisory board for the hospital. We had a meeting about digital inclusion. They use an IPAD for patients to sign in for lab work. We talked about how much money it would save if all their patients could access the health portal. Getting involved in the community at large is a huge part of what I do.

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