LIBRARIES EXPAND WI-FI
Widened internet access part of effort to close digital divide in the community
STAMFORD — Inspired by its early pandemic experiences, Stamford's public library just installed internet routers outside of three of its locations in an attempt to ease the local digital divide.
The Ferguson Library extended and strengthened its outdoor Wi-Fi network at the Harry Bennett, Weed and downtown library locations. The program — funded for the first year through the
statewide education initiative Everbody Learns and costing $1,000 a month after that — aims to give people without reliable broadband access at home a safe and consistent place to use the internet regardless of the time of day.
After the first year, the library gets to keep the internet routers free of charge.
The need for an initiative like this, according to library President Alice Knapp, became obvious after a vicious storm during summer 2020 that temporarily demolished internet access in North Stamford.
"Of course, last summer our hours were really shortened," Knapp said. "But we had over 900 Wi-Fi users in one
week. And what people were doing is they were driving in close to the library to have access to our Wi-Fi."
Knapp said she believes the library plays a vital role in bolstering virtual resources for the broader community regardless of the circumstances, and that position isn't unique. In fact, the American Library Association — the oldest and largest library association globally — regularly advocates for protecting, expanding and investing in broadband access for all.
The Pew Research Center estimates that 23 percent of Americans lack a broadband internet connection at home. The disparity is affected by income levels, age groups, geographic areas and racial groups, according to the Pew data.
The data show that, as of February 2021, 80 percent of white adults said they had broadband at home compared with 65 percent of Hispanic adults. Similarly, 92 percent of adults with a household income greater than $75,000 a year had broadband, while 57 percent of people making less than $30,000 a year had internet at home.
The library estimates that 11 percent of Stamford residents — or nearly 15,000 people as per the 2020 Census — lack an at-home broadband connection. And while stereotypes often depict older adults as the ones suffering most from the digital divide, that’s only part of the picture. Library Information technology supervisor Maisam Nouh said she has seen its impacts on children and families firsthand.
Some students rely on the library's internet to do homework after school, and all of the Ferguson Library branches have limited hours that largely coincide with the school day. Even if
the library is closed, children and teenagers can use the outdoor Wi-Fi network with their own devices to get work done, she said.
But beyond individual children, Nouh sees the expansion as a win for families.
"A lot of families that do not have internet and a lot of people sometimes are afraid to even come into the library because they don't
know what the library is," she said, referring to people who have immigrated to the United States. "They don't know that we are not-forprofit, especially people who have don't have papers. They're afraid of coming to the library because they (think) we might be a government organization."
Nouh said she believes the outdoor internet extension provides a potential
solution: The library can still serve them without pushing the limits of their comfort zones.
The outdoor routers are only part of the Ferguson Library's quest to bridge the digital divide.
On top of the Wi-Fi initiative, the library is participating in an 11-month pilot program run by the Connecticut State Library. With just under $100,000 from
the American Rescue Plan, the library will provide internet hot spots and laptops to residents with low digital literacy.
A dedicated "digital navigator" hired with the grant money will help recipients learn the ins and outs of using a computer with their new device, Knapp said.
Like with the Wi-Fi initiative, the end goal is to end digital isolation for the thousands
of Stamford residents without at-home internet or technological literacy.
"In order to function in our society, you need these basic literacy skills," Knapp said. "With each one of these statistics, there's a story of an individual who is not able to function in the way that you and I can."