<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">
<p class="MsoNormal">New Mexicans do indeed need more opportunities for access to
innovative technology and its applications, and maker-spaces located in local
libraries could be a step towards such opportunity. But without the support of human capital
within those libraries, to maintain and manage sophisticated devices and to
support the public in their application, this equipment will likely fall into
disuse even before it becomes obsolete. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While technology and hardware are undeniably critical
elements of developing digital innovation and talent, we tend all too often to overlook
the equally important element of staffing, which provides the maintenance, technical
support, and user learning that ultimately make programs such as maker-spaces
successful. These human resources are
especially critical in rural and under-served communities, regions that have
the most to gain from such programs but in which broadband adoption and technical
skills are likely to be lowest and the need for support to be high. With ongoing cuts to state budgets, and
federal spending likely to decrease with the incoming administration, staff at
public institutions such as libraries will face even greater pressure to do
more with less. Any maker-space programs,
or similar technology-based innovation plans, should include dedicated funding
for human resources to supply maintenance, technical support, and user learning
as part of their strategy for long-term success.<span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Eva Artschwager</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 12, 2017 at 9:44 AM, Douglas Dawson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:blackbean2@ccgcomm.com" target="_blank">blackbean2@ccgcomm.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Maker-spaces sound interesting. But we know from experience that such efforts have a short shelf life. No matter what technology is picked, in today's world in 3 - 5 years it will become old technology and then will sit and collect dust. Government's role is to make sure that there is broadband everywhere. If that happens, then entrepreneurs will find innovative ways to make a living.<br>
<br>
Doug Dawson<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: 1st-mile-nm [mailto:<a href="mailto:1st-mile-nm-bounces@mailman.dcn.org">1st-mile-nm-bounces@<wbr>mailman.dcn.org</a>] On Behalf Of Richard Lowenberg<br>
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 11:14 AM<br>
To: 1st-mile Nm <<a href="mailto:1st-mile-nm@mailman.dcn.org">1st-mile-nm@mailman.dcn.org</a>><br>
Subject: [1st-mile-nm] Lujan: Libraries + Innovation<br>
<br>
Lujan: Libraries + Innovation<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/01/lawmaker-public-libraries-can-boost-american-innovation/134518/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.nextgov.com/cio-<wbr>briefing/2017/01/lawmaker-<wbr>public-libraries-can-boost-<wbr>american-innovation/134518/</a><br>
<br>
President-elect Donald Trump's technology agenda is largely opaque, but at least one member of Congress has a message for his administration:<br>
ideas for cutting-edge technology often comes from the grassroots.<br>
<br>
“Innovation may have a national or even global impact but like politics, the process of innovation is inherently local,” Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., said during an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The government needs to think of creative ways to “provide resources to the innovators ... across the country," he added.<br>
<br>
Lujan advocated for establishing maker-spaces in public libraries, potentially outfitting them with small-scale manufacturing equipment such as 3-D printers, that are accessible to businesses, researchers and the nearby community. Because public libraries already exist across America, "including the rural parts, where we still don’t have bandwidth capacity," they could become hubs for technological development outside Silicon Valley, he said.<br>
<br>
Lujan, who co-founded the House Technology Transfer Caucus, singled out this and a few other innovation-themed recommendations for Trump's administration mentioned in a report from the ITIF and the Brookings Institution.<br>
<br>
He also advocated for creating an Energy Department-based nonprofit that could dole out funds to transition technology out of federal research labs and into the marketplace. Lujan said he's working on legislation that would encourage Energy to promote partnerships with local economic development groups including maker-spaces.<br>
<br>
Other specific recommendations mentioned in the report include encouraging student entrepreneurship and increasing research and development tax credit generosity.<br>
<br>
<br>
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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director<br>
1st-Mile Institute <a href="tel:505-603-5200" value="+15056035200">505-603-5200</a><br>
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,<br>
<a href="mailto:rl@1st-mile.org">rl@1st-mile.org</a> <a href="http://www.1st-mile.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">www.1st-mile.org</a><br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font color="#000000">Eva Artschwager, M.A.</font></div><div><font color="#000000">Outreach and Community Engagement</font></div><div><font color="#000000">for Broadband Adoption and Effective Use</font></div><div><br></div><div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" color="#0b5394"><b>Cirrus Broadband Consulting</b></font></div>
<div style="text-align:left"><a href="mailto:cirrus.ed.consulting@gmail.com" target="_blank">cirrus.ed.consulting@gmail.com</a></div><div><span style="font-size:12.6666669845581px">505 660 3434 </span></div><div><a href="http://nmconnect.org" target="_blank">nmconnect.org</a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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