DeKalb library to secure 300 more hotspot devices

The DeKalb Library Foundation’s fundraising campaign has raised $47,000 to provide more than 300 hotspot devices for nearly 4,000 patrons. (Courtesy of DeKalb County)

By Carolyn Cunningham

For the second consecutive year, the “Stay Home and Sup­port the Library” event surpassed its fundrais­ing goals of $30,000 and $40,000 to reach $47,000 to sup­port DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library’s (DCPL) Take the Inter­net Home with You ini­tia­tive by the DeKalb Library Foundation.

These funds will allow DCPL to increase the num­ber of hotspots avail­able for check­out to more than 300 hotspot devices, which will help almost 4,000 patrons each year, according to a DCPL statement.

Launched in 2017, the Take the Inter­net Home with You ini­tia­tive is an effort to bridge the dig­i­tal divide for DeKalb Coun­ty cit­i­zens who may not have home inter­net access.

The initiative enables a patron to check out a hotspot device for 21 days since these devices are still in high demand, with patrons wait­ing at the cir­cu­la­tion desk for their return, the statement added.

These hotspots help DeKalb library patrons stay con­nect­ed to school resources, search for jobs, access health­care infor­ma­tion and remain con­nect­ed to the world around them.

Information: bit.ly/3AQqSYy

Read the original story on AJC.com.