Free Wi-Fi access at Oxford Hills libraries and schools

NORWAY — Even though the institutions are closed, the Maine State Library System has asked libraries to keep their free Wi-Fi services available. Residents can access library internet from the parking lot in most cases.

The libraries and their addresses are:

West Paris Public Library, 226 Main St, West Paris
Paris Public Library, 37 Market Square, South Paris
Hamlin Memorial Library and Museum, 16 Hannibal Hamlin Drive, Paris Hill
Norway Memorial Library, 258 Main St, Norway
Waterford Library, 63 Waterford Rd, Waterford
Harrison Village Library, 4 Front St, Harrison
Freeland Holmes Library (Oxford), 109 Pleasant St, Oxford
Zadoc Long Free Library (Buckfield), 5 Turner St, Buckfield

SAD 17 is also making public Wi-Fi available from the parking lots of the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and both the north and south campuses of Oxford Hills Middle School.

The Paris Public Library has extended free Wi-Fi to parking areas surrounding it. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

Mike Dignan of the Paris Public Library said that cars have been parked in the lot anywhere from a few minutes to a couple hours at a time. He said to access the Wi-Fi people should open the network from their device, which brings them to a “splash” page and allows them into the connection.

Public Wi-Fi is generally not secure, but Didnan said library connections contain filters that limits access to what may be inappropriate sites.

“Sometimes the filter will reject a reference that is really fine,” he said, which the nature of working within parental controls.

He said the library’s Wi-Fi declined by about 100 users last month, due to closing in response to the coronavirus.