I’m writing this article from my dining room table that has been draped in blankets to make the perfect “study fort” for my daughter. She is at home on quarantine. This is our second class-wide quarantine for our kids (one each) and our fifth total quarantine since May. We have been exceedingly lucky that we haven’t gotten sick. (I’m hoping there’s not a “yet” on the end of that sentence.)
Of all the things COVID-19 has revealed about our society, one of the most obvious is that internet connectivity and the technology to access the internet is not a luxury. It is a necessity. I would argue that internet connectivity should be considered a utility.
In today’s world, you need to be able to connect to the internet to do so many things. My kids use it for school, my spouse and I use it to work from home. Internet access is required for a lot of banking, entertainment, communication with the government, and more. In COVID-times, we’ve discovered that internet is vital if you want to receive the COVID vaccine.
While the library can’t provide you with internet access at home, we do have reliable wifi available to you 24 hours each day both in the building and in our parking lot. We also have six internet computers for adults in the library that you’re welcome to use. We have staff on hand who can help get you started. We can’t tell you how to fill out forms or give medical or legal advice, but we’re happy to help you get where you need to go and do what you need to do.
In addition to helping navigate the internet on our computers, we have gotten pretty good at helping patrons learn how to use their own devices. We are especially good at helping you get your Overdrive or Libby accounts services and set up.
If you need help navigating online or learning a device, give us a call.