JKPL VTC room connects Saipan to the world

Joten Kiyu Public Library acting director Erlinda C. Naputi, third right, joins Hyatt Regency Saipan general manager Nick Nishikawa, sixth left, House Speaker Ralph Demapan, Northern Marianas College acting president David J. Attao, third left, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, seventh right, and Northern Islands Mayor Jerome Aldan, fifth right, in the ribbon-cutting ceremony formally opening the JKPL video teleconference room. (Jon Perez)

The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library’s video teleconference room will be connecting Saipan and the rest of the CNMI to the rest of the world, according to Northern Marianas College acting president David J. Attao and NMC information technology department director Jonathan Liwag.

The VTC room, an $11,000 project funded by Hyatt Regency Saipan, formally opened yesterday. Hyatt general manager Nick Nishikawa and his staff, House Speaker Ralph Demapan (R-Saipan), Sen. Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan), and Reps. Ray Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan), Angel Demapan (R-Saipan), George Camacho (R-Saipan), Vinnie Sablan (Ind-Saipan), and Ed Propst (Ind-Saipan), Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, Northern Islands Mayor Jerome Aldan, and other government personnel attended the opening.

Nishikawa said the money came from the proceeds they raised in Hyatt’s annual charity golf tournament. “This is our way of helping the community that has supported us for 35 years.”

The office of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres also donated $5,000 worth of equipment, while NMC’s IT department, with the help of network specialists Jerome Ortiz and James Deleon Guerrero, assisted JKPL’s ITC department in setting up the VTC room.

Attao said the VTC room is a collaboration of various agencies and individuals with the help of a private company. “Collaboration is one of the hardest thing to get, nothing can be accomplished when the team is not working together. Thanks to a lot of individuals, this project now connects us to the world.”

“It did not only linked the islands but it also connected the CNMI to the rest of the world. It has put the library on the world map. We are maximizing the use of technology so we are represented in every facet of the world. It connects us to the rest of the world,” he added.

Liwag, who made a brief presentation of how the VTC works, said Saipan is not far behind as the system also uses the same Polycom technology used by University of Hawaii. Polycom is a company that develops video, voice, and communication technology.

“It can connect to different platforms. It can be used not only for communication but also for teaching and instruction. I even conducted one of my class at NMC when I was in Hawaii,” said Liwag.

“It lessens the gap of geographical borders where you could communicate with others, hold meetings and other presentations. Before, we saw this technology in Science-Fiction movies, now we can do the same and talk to other people from other parts of the world,” he added.

Soledad T. Tenorio, the grand daughter of one of the entrepreneurs who helped fund the building of the facility, thanked everyone who helped in accomplishing the project. “This pushes the library to the new digital age.”