Expanding the Library’s Signal

Working in a public library will quickly demonstrate to the observer how basic a need the internet is in our modern hyperlinked world. Measured alongside other basic infrastructure, such as water, electricity, and roads, broadband internet stands as an essential for participating in modern society.  Reliable high-speed connectivity determines whether or not students can complete homework, qualified workers can apply for quality jobs, families can make and attend medical appointments, or citizens can understand and contribute to communal civic life. 

Ty is a patron that I regularly help at the reference desk. Multiple times per week, Ty stops by to ask what number they are on the holds list for a hotspot. Our Library of Things collection offers mobile hotspots that are consistently among the most sought-after items in our entire collection. The holds list for the device regularly hovers around 10-15 names even though we’ve increased the number of devices in circulation twice since they were originally added in 2023. Such demand tells a pretty clear story – people in our community like Ty need reliable internet access and what they currently have is not enough. Hotspots are helpful, but they are also temporary and limited – LOT items in Livermore have a loan limit of two weeks, and our policy is to turn off service to the device once the item has reached “billed” status (21 days overdue). Even if you don’t consider the reliability issues that come with Ty & family connecting multiple devices to a small mobile unit, that’s just 5 weeks of uninterrupted home internet access for them, and more than half of that time would come at the cost of a delinquent library account. Ty’s experience points to a larger opportunity. 

The recently renovated May Nissen Playground and upcoming Springtown Community Park and Disc Golf Course are home to our two branch libraries and are centered in two areas of Livermore with a concentration of low-to-moderate income and rent-burdened households (City of Livermore, 2021). What would it mean if those spaces were “nodes” like the Library Outpost that extended library and city services (Williams, 2021)? Expanding outdoor Wi-Fi near these branches and throughout the playgrounds could serve as community anchors that bring internet outward to support the city’s recreational activities, learning opportunities, communication systems, and access to essential services.

To me, this is what a hyperlinked community looks like in practice. It is not technology for technology’s sake. It is technology used to strengthen relationships, reduce barriers, and meet people where they already are. The library becomes part of the neighborhood’s daily rhythm, not just as a building, but as a signal—both literally and symbolically—of connection, access, and belonging.

References

City of Livermore. Planning Division (2021, November 2). Imagine Livermore 2045 general plan. https://imaginelivermore2045.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Equity-and-Inclusion-DRAFT_110221_web2.pdf 

Williams, A. (2021, March 17). Libraries are bridging the digital divide. The Internet Society. https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2021/03/libraries-are-bridging-the-digital-divide/