FARMINGTON — When local Librarian Melanie Coombs needs to meet with her peers at the Maine State Library, it involves two hours travel time to and from Augusta.

But with the equipment set up Tuesday at the Farmington Public Library, she can now have a face-to-face meeting with her Augusta counterparts without ever leaving town.

As part of a $1.36 million federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program grant, awarded to the Maine State Library, 11 libraries from Kittery to Caribou were chosen to receive video conferencing capabilities. In addition, the grant provides for the purchase or upgrade of more than 500 computers at 107 community libraries.

The Farmington library was named as a recipient of six new laptop computers and the video conferencing capabilities earlier this year. It arrived Tuesday as Jason Bersani from CBE Technologies set up the equipment and trained Coombs and library staff on its use.

Farmington is one of the 11 regional hubs for video conferencing where people and groups can interface with others for business and educational purposes.

The library board will probably develop a policy on use and the equipment will soon be ready, Coombs said.

Once in place, a local job seeker will be able to interview with a potential employer in another town. Businessmen will be able to interact with potential clients or business partners remotely.

Imagine a class of seventh-graders taking a field trip to a zoo in Buffalo without ever leaving the school gym, Bersani said. A zoo keeper could visit each exhibit, explain it and answer student questions with a face-to-face experience while being miles apart, he said.

The possibilities are countless.

The broadband program was partially proposed as an opportunity to expand broadband access in rural areas where technology can help with economic development. Part of the goal is to “improve employment related services offered by libraries and make legal information and services more accessible to the public,” the State Library’s website states.

Adding technology to libraries includes the necessary training to help people use it, Janet McKinney from the State Library previously said. Library staff are often asked for help with computer use.

“An increasing number of services and employment opportunities are available online, but many Maine residents lack available and/or affordable high-speed Internet access and the assistance to begin using it. The ability to access public computers in libraries is critical in Maine’s current environment,” according to the State Library website.

The federal grant was provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These were awarded throughout the country on a very competitive process, McKinney said.

“Libraries have embraced technology by creating ways to use it,” Coombs said.

Testing the new equipment Tuesday, Coombs pressed remote control keys to enlarge the screen.

“It’s exciting and they make it so easy,” she said, of the equipment that only requires a power cord and a network connection.

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