by Jeanne Marie Bredestege
The emergence of the internet has prompted massive changes in libraries in the past 3 decades. Libraries were already in a process of digitizing catalogs and making them available for library users to search on fixed computer workstations within libraries. The internet made it possible for catalogs to go completely online so that connected users could search library collections from home. The next step was to make computer workstations available for library users, similar to the internet cafes that were so popular in the 1990s, but free to use. The next evolution was the development of wireless internet access and library users being able to bring their own laptops, smart phones, or tablets to the library to access the internet. All these innovations remain essential and very popular technology features in libraries to this day.
Even with our current situation of library buildings being closed to the public, you may still notice users outside the building, tapping into whatever WiFi signal may be emanating through the walls. Connectedness is obviously a vital library service that should not be forgotten as we move forward through this crisis. I have even felt the impact of library closures (aside from not being able to do my normal work), since I use the printer at my local branch frequently.
The availability of free, public WiFi in libraries (in most cases, you don’t even need a library card to access it, though you may need to ask for the password at the information desk) has been a neat way to address issues of access equity. The digital divide is multi-faceted. These days, most people (81% in 2019, according to Pew Research Center), even if they have nothing else, have a smart phone. Whether they can afford enough data to get them through a month is another matter. For these folks, free library WiFi is there. It can be difficult to fill out certain forms, such as job applications, on a smart phone. For folks who don’t have access to a connected computer, the library public access computers are there (more on our current situation below). For folks who don’t have reliable internet or any internet at home, they can bring their laptop to the library and work there. At my branch, there is a gentleman who spends pretty much his entire workday at the library, which is his “work from home” solution. Others have come in to take online licensing exams because the library WiFi is more reliable than what they have at home (or they have no internet at home). Others, such as retirees who are excited for access to eBooks and eAudiobooks, need help to set up their tablets or eReaders in order to check out the library’s digital collections.
The above are all great examples and opportunities for library staff to provide “tech support” and education to library users. It’s an opportunity we, as library workers, should be ready to embrace. With the current state of libraries being closed, the San Diego Public Library is doing its best to provide some services to our most vulnerable patrons. Many of the folks who spend their days in the library, either using the public access computers, or accessing the WiFi using personal devices, are our unhoused patrons. About 1,000 of these folks are currently staying at three shelters operating at the San Diego Convention Center, with Library and Parks and Rec staff there to help with many tasks, supplementing the regular shelter personnel. Within the past week, the library has innovated a program of bringing the Chromebooks that we check out in-house at some branches (formerly for students to use for homework) to the convention center and staffing tables with library workers who then assist the residents with anything they may need internet access for but can’t achieve easily on their own devices (they have access to the public WiFi at the convention center). So far, the results are good. We have a steady flow of residents who come to use the computers. Most of them need to fill out the IRS form that will allow them to get their stimulus payments. Many are looking for housing. Many are looking for jobs. Having the computers there for them to use is definitely an important service and having library staff on hand to help is crucial. There are quite a few people who are just not comfortable using technology, so we are able to assist and even do the keyboarding for them. Of course, infection prevention is observed with everyone wearing masks and cleaning the devices and workstations between each user.
It’s not possible at this point to say how libraries will operate going forward. A public place with resources that circulate in the community will have to make significant changes in procedures in order to be a part of the infection prevention solution. It may be possible that public access computers will need to be abandoned altogether and everyone will need to “bring your own device” in order to use the internet at the library. With everything we may be losing to this pandemic, and all the sudden change and uncertainty, I think there will remain the reliability of the library to innovate and find new ways forward without losing our core values.
Works cited:
“Mobile Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, 12 June 2019, www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/. Accessed 26 April 2020.
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