Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, told the crowd gathered Thursday in Watertown for North Country Library System's annual meeting that she secured $125,000 in funding to help connect libraries in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties to high speed internet.

Stephen B. Bolton, director of the North Country Library System, said federal funding opportunities - along with the monies secured by Russell - are responsible for the ability to make the major technology improvements at the libraries in the region.

The funding secured by Russell will play a significant role to help fill the remaining $206,000 cost the North Country Library System had committed to fund to move the project forward.

The member libraries, ranging from Massena to East Hounsfield, will get internet access through a shared connection at the North Country Library Service headquarters capable of speeds up to 1 Gigabits per second.

"Addie has long been a strong supporter of libraries and this funding for our fiber optics project will allow the library to host classes and professional level video conferences and enhances the ability of our libraries to serve our patrons," Bolton said.

He noted 39 of the 65 libraries in the system will benefit from the fiber optic network upgrade. All libraries were offered the upgrade, with each facility required to pay the monthly costs tied to the upgraded service.

"Getting 39 of our libraries to participate is an extraordinary number for us. It shows how much this is needed," he said.

"They all have computers available for the public at their libraries. We have people bring in laptops, tablets and phones to use the wifi at our libraries. More and more of our libraries have started using more technology, including videoconferencing. The Watertown library is hosting a class with the Smithsonian Institute," Bolton added.

Jerry Schell, information technology manager for the North Country Library System, said the upgrades will provide a 100 Mbps connection from each library to the system.

Mr. Schell said computer users at the library will notice the difference when the upgrade is completed. He noted the fiber optics will improve capacity by 10 to15 times over the typical Time Warner connection.

The North Country Library System is working on deploying a system-wide network by extending a fiber line from the street to the agency's building on West Main Street in Watertown and at member libraries.

"It's going to allow us to extend fiber optic lines to 39 libraries. It's necessary because they don't have any way to get affordable high speed internet service. Most of our libraries are using very low-speed courtesy accounts from Time Warner," he said.

Assemblywoman Russell said she has been talking with library officials for several months about potential renovation and expansion projects and discussions about the lack of capacity for technological upgrades surfaced during those discussions.

"They brought back the proposal for the system upgrade to bring high speed internet to our libraries. Many of our libraries in the North Country are still on slow lines. This is a tricky project, but the system will be able to build out its network using the funds I secured in addition to the federal incentives - so we are able to minimize the cost to our local libraries," she said.

Russell said she is a strong supporter of local libraries.

"Our libraries and schools are the hearts and souls of our communities. Just like I fight for equitable funding for our schools, I think it is equally important to provide the funding to support the libraries in our small towns, villages and cities," she said.

Bolton said the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program has shifted its funding focus from traditional telecom services to the build outs of fiber optics networks in the current fiscal year.

"We are jumping on that opportunity. The federal funding will pay approximately 72 percent of the one-time costs for equipment and installation of the fiber optics system. It's very important. We