Library to use latest technology

An alumnus has donated $500,000 to help create the cyber library.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- The Hermitage School District will open what it's calling the "Library for the 21st Century" on Tuesday.
The William A. Jones and Sara Doolin Jones Library is part of the $24 million remodeling and expansion of Hickory High School nearing completion. The school district is picking up only $100,000 of the library's $600,000 cost.
A Hermitage alumnus, Glenn R. Jones of Denver, cable magnate and founder and chief executive officer of Jones Knowledge Inc., put up $500,000 to create the cyber library and will be on hand for the 9 a.m. dedication ceremony.
The library is being touted as one of the most technologically advanced in the country and will be open to the community as well as Hickory High School's 700 students.
Remembering classmate: It boasts a CyberBridge, honoring Dorothy Rombold, a classmate who died before graduating with Jones in the Class of 1948. The bridge, with computer connections beneath it, runs the length of the library and represents a bridge to the cyber world of education, information and research.
The Class of 1948 had planned to donate a footbridge to the school district in Rombold's honor but never did so. Jones said this will fulfill that promise.
The library also has cyber modules designed to give students privacy while still allowing them to participate in group projects, a distance learning room that will allow interactive learning, and a large-screen information wall that allows collaborative instruction with other groups outside the school.
Virtual library: The heart of information access is the Jones e-global library Inc., a virtual library created specifically for online users.
The library is named for Jones' late brother, William, and William's wife, Sara Doolin Jones, who spent her teaching career in the Hermitage schools.
"It is a wonderful opportunity to give something back to the school and community where my education began, particularly because I'm so involved in education now," Jones said.
"It is a privilege to honor Bill and Sara with this library and share with my classmates in the satisfaction of completing our class gift," he said.
Jones Knowledge develops online learning solutions for educational institutions, corporations and individuals.
The library celebration will extend into the evening with country music singer Mark Wills performing a free concert at the high school football stadium at 7 p.m.
gwin@vindy.com