Georgetown Public Library’s Community Connect program is helping people get online.
Internet access isn’t universally available in Delaware. There are rural spaces where internet access isn’t an option.
The Delaware Broadband Office is working on that. The department’s federal overseer approved the DBO’s project to bring broadband service to 5,700 unconnected homes and small businesses. Administrative work is happening now, with implementation scheduled for June or July.
In the meantime, Georgetown Public Library director Rachel Culver said the town is also trying to address connectivity gaps with its Community Connect program.
When Culver lived in Georgetown, she wasn’t able to get internet access at her home because of its location.
“For some people, it's a financial barrier,” Culver said. “But for others, it's just literally being in a rural area. So whatever the reason someone can't access the internet and stuff like that, the library is essential. Because how else are they going to be able to do their remote work or log into a school program or apply for a job?”
Culver said the laptops and hotspots they offer fly off the shelves.
“Going back to the COVID times, the Delaware Division of Libraries was able to provide hotspots as a resource that we could check out to patrons,” Culver said. “And then that program was so needed, so essential, so popular – especially in rural Georgetown – that our assistant director looked for other opportunities to enhance that program.”
She added if there were more funding, the library would absolutely invest in more devices, but it can’t take on that kind of cost right now.
Capital One and the American Library Association partnered under the Community Connect program to increase the library’s stock to ten laptops and 12 hotspots.
Library card holders can check out the supplies or get on a waitlist at Georgetown Public Library.
