From where she sat in a corner of Santa Fe's Southside Branch Library, Carol Johnstone was virtually undisturbed. She traced one finger across the track pad of her laptop computer for a few seconds, then fired off an e-mail with quiet stokes on the keyboard.

Across the room, her friend and housemate Charles Summerfield checked out a community college Web site.

Until a few months ago, Johnstone and Summerfield were among the throngs of computer users who sought out coffee shops and other businesses with wireless Internet service.

Now the couple makes the short trip to the library and settles in for some time online. And because it's a free city service, they don't have to buy a thing.

"Before, I just did without," said Johnstone, "At least now I am able to keep in touch with friends and with business. ... I have a better handle on that. I think the library having wireless Internet is a good thing."

The City Council this summer authorized installation of wireless Internet service at its three libraries, the convention center, airport and two recreation centers. It's already on at the Southside and La Farge branch libraries and at the new Santa Fe Community Convention Center, said Thomas Williams, director of the city's Information Technology Division. Service at the Main Library downtown should be working within two weeks, he said.

"We are waiting on a vendor to get the cabling work done (at the Main Library,)" he said. "We were expecting it before Thanksgiving, but they weren't able to do it."

Early on, the city ran into other snags with Comcast, which resulted in interruptions to service at the Southside Branch Library. Williams said that happened because of billing problems, and the situation has been rectified.

The service costs the city about $100 per month per facility following the initial capital cost of about $152,000 for the hardware installation, said Williams. Workers are scheduled to move to the airport when work at the library is complete.

However, Williams said, recent cost-cutting measures might mean a slowdown on the installation that has not happened yet at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center and Fort Mary Complex.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.