A new initiative expands digital access and training through local libraries in 12 U.S. communities, aiming to enhance citizens’ ability to use the power of the Internet to improve their lives.
“Digital access is essential to first class citizenship in our society. Without digital, you lack full access to information, you are second class economically and even socially,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation. “If a job application at Wal-Mart or MacDonald’s must be made online, how can we pretend that we have equal opportunity if significant
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“We realize that public libraries have been in communities for generations, and that they are already providing digital access. They need additional resources to expand their services to a wider audience,” said Donna Nicely, a Knight Commission member and director of the Nashville Public Library.
The grants include efforts to:
+ Bring training and access to underserved areas by establishing mobile computer labs in five communities, including Akron, Oh., Lexington, Ky., Aberdeen, S.D., Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Milledgeville, Ga.;
+ Recruit and train mutli-lingual technology teachers in Florida’s Broward County, to further reach the area’s Spanish and Creole-speaking residents. Already in Broward, 70 percent of library patrons seek digital products.
+ Create a “Job Center” at Charlotte’s main library, where residents can use computers for employment searches and career research.
+ Install wireless access at all Wichita-area public libraries.The following communities will receive grants: Aberdeen, S.D.; Akron, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ga.; Detroit, Mich.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Lexington, Ky.; Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Fla.; Milledgeville, Ga.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Wichita, Kan.
Source: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
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