Laptop computers and tablets will be available to check out beginning Monday, Sept. 26, at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library.
The library purchased five laptops and two tablets using approximately $2,960 in grant money from the Federal Communication Commission’s roughly $7.2 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund, library manager DeeAnna Sova told Hoptown Chronicle. The fund was part of the American Rescue Plan Act that Congress passed last year. Twenty-six libraries in Kentucky received money from the fund to purchase laptops and tablets.
Two of the laptops in the Hopkinsville library will be available for card-holders to check out and take home, and the other laptops and the tablets will be for use inside the library. The new devices are in addition to the library’s 18 desktop computers that are available to the public.
“The laptops, along with the hotspots that we are currently checking out, can be used together to create a technology toolkit,” Sova said in an email. The Friends of the Library made a financial contribution toward the hotspots.
“One thing that came from the pandemic shutdown was the need for public libraries to find ways to meet patron technology needs,” Sova said in a press release.
She added, “The library is continuously working to eliminate barriers to resources and this grant is another opportunity to provide technology access to our community.”
The library’s computer policies will apply to the new laptops and tablets. Patrons are not allowed to store information on the devices, and personal data and information will be wiped clean after the devices are returned. The policies are on the library’s website.
The library is at 1101 Bethel St. Hours are 9:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturdays.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
