David Lytel, of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will be the keynote speaker for the second annual "Networking Tompkins County" conference on March 16, 1996. Lytel, a former member of Ithaca's Common Council, led the team that created a home page for the White House on the World Wide Web.

Alan Cohen, Mayor of Ithaca, and Barbara Mink, Vice Chair of the Tompkins County Board of Representatives, Shirley Egan past Chair of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, H. David Lambert, Vice President for Information Technologies at Cornell University, are just a few of the many exciting speakers who the IthacaNet has already lined up for this event.

This year's Networking Tompkins County conference will be held at the Emerson Suites in Phillips Hall at Ithaca College. The theme of the conference is "Spreading the Net." Local government agencies will be speaking on the progress they are making with projects to electronically connect more of the people in their communities. Other topics include how networking and the World Wide Web are changing the way business is done in Tompkins County. Local educators, along with some of their students, will talk about the work being done on connecting their classrooms to the world. In addition, industrial development organizations will talk about building support for entrepreneurs in Tompkins County using the power of internetworking.

IthacaNet Chair, Bill Kaupe says, "Our first conference was an opportunity to recognize the existence of the local electronic community and the scope of its interests. This year we hope to focus on the community's accomplishments and point to solutions for community needs that have been identified in the last year. We are excited to have a former Ithacan, David Lytel, as our keynote speaker. David was a telecommunications visionary when in Ithaca and his work here remains influential. He has taken his ideas to the highest office in the country. We anticipate hearing an interesting talk on telecommunications issues from his perspective."

The first Networking Tompkins County conference, which was held last year, was a success beyond the wildest dreams of the IthacaNet organizers--the conference drew over 160 people from organizations all across Tompkins County, and sponsorship from many local agencies and businesses. Conference attendees surveyed were thrilled about the information that they gained from attending, "It was a good opportunity to get an overview of what other people are doing." They were also enthusiastic about the range of speakers and topics which were presented "There is a lot more going on than I realized."

Speakers at the 1996 conference will be providing updates on some of the major projects in Tompkins County which are working towards accessing the Internet. Steve Worona, a member of the IthacaNet Steering Committee said, "This conference isn't just for the high-tech Internet surfers, but also for the people wondering what everyone's so excited about."

The IthacaNet Organizing Group is hosting the conference to help businesses, government agencies, and other organizations in Tompkins County network and exchange information and ideas on how to interconnect to each other--and to the community as a whole--electronically. The conference will also offer participants a chance to meet and evaluate Internet connection providers, firms who develop web pages for businesses, and other networking services vendors.

The IthacaNet Organizing Group includes representatives from area universities, libraries, governments, businesses and other organizations who are working together to create a comprehensive one-stop directory of information by and about Tompkins County. Their work to date has included creating a web site which acts as a central clearing house for information about the Tompkins County area, including direct links to over 100 area businesses. They have also promoted cooperation to Tompkins County organizations and individuals who are working towards internetworking, as well as encouraging Internet service providers to locate here.

The conference organizers are excited about holding this year's event at Ithaca College. "By holding the conference at the Emerson Suites, we will be able to give the conference attendees much greater opportunity to see live demonstrations and exhibits about the Internet," claims Jim Harper, one of the conference organizers. "It will also allow us to utilize a better audiovisual system." Francis AudioVisual in Syracuse has already volunteered to loan high-end A/V equipment for the conference.

The IthacaNet is looking to put together a panel of small business owners to talk about their successes and difficulties putting their businesses on the Web. To suggest someone that you think would be appropriate for this panel please contact Steve Worona, Cornell University, 308 Day Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853 or send email to: SLW1@cornell.edu (telephone 255-8308).

Registration deadline for the conference is March 1st. Cost for the day-long conference, including lunch, is $25.00. To register you can use the Registration Form, or you can register by contacting the South Central Research Library Council, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY 14850, 273-9106.