Next month, Chicago residents with library cards will be able to check out a Wi-Fi hotspot like a book.
Chicago Public Library Commissioner Brian Bannon is announcing the pilot program’s first three library locations at a City Club event Wednesday afternoon — as well as a $175,000 Google grant, according to a statement from the mayor’s office. Internet to Go was originally supported by a $400,000 Knight News Challenge grant. Bannon discussed the lending program with Blue Sky in December.
Chicago Public Library branches will begin lending Wi-Fi hotspots and devices through Internet to Go in the Brighton Park, Greater Grand Crossing and Douglass branches, officials said. Once tested, the program will expand to at least three more communities. Each pilot location will circulate about 100 hotspot devices and staff in-library experts to teach digital skills.
The program represents a push to close the city’s digital divide, Bannon said in December. The library says some low-income neighborhoods see broadband use as low as 50 percent and lower in the city’s poorest areas.
“That training will help people understand what’s possible (and) help them be more fluent in the digital world,” Bannon said.