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El Paso, Sep 16 -

El Pasoans will soon have many more places to use a computer with broadband Internet access.

The city has been awarded an $8.4 million grant that will be used to upgrade and create about 100 Public Computer Centers consisting of 1,400 workstations, city officials said. The centers are located at libraries, colleges, housing authority locations, senior centers and other places throughout the city.

The grant will also pay for a second El Paso Public Library Bookmobile.

The one-time grant will be provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, said Carol Brey-Casiano, director of the El Paso Public Library.

Brey-Casiano said the library already has one Bookmobile but it is used only in the city. The new one will be used solely in the county, she said.

"There really are no true public libraries outside of the city limit, so this will provide library service and technology for those in outlying areas," she said.

City officials said the grant will more than double the number of Public Computer Centers in El Paso. Right now, there are about 40 in the city and county, Brey-Casiano said.

It will also create at least 90 full-time jobs, city officials said.

"The jobs that are being created include the project manager for the grant project, and we are going to be hiring some computer tech support people. There are four positions in the grant for that, two Bookmobile operators and the rest of the personnel will be technology personnel," Brey-Casiano said.

About 80 people will be hired to teach computer classes and provide assistance in the computer labs, she said.

Brey-Casiano said this is the second time the city has applied for the grant. It was initially denied the grant money in August 2009, but the second application, made in March 2010, was successful, she said.
The benefits the city will reap from the grant are immeasurable, Brey-Casiano said.

"This will definitely move our city forward," she said.

The city also applied for a companion technology grant, known as an infrastructure grant, but has not heard back on that application yet, Brey-Casiano said.