A technology grant from the Bosch Community Fund will help span the digital divide in the Plymouth community.
The Friends of the Plymouth District Library were awarded the funding for two technology resources at the library including LinkedIn Learning, a powerful online learning tool that supports high school students and adults in expanding their technology skills. The grant will also fund a pilot program the library is developing to enable home access to the internet via loanable Chromebook computers with internet hotspots.
“Closures and restrictions resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic starkly emphasized the need to address the digital divide in our community,” said Melanie Bell, the head of the library Information Technology Department.
“Many families are struggling to provide enough bandwidth at home for all family members to achieve their education and work needs. With many more parents working at home and students needing stable internet access, there is a demonstrated need for this service in our community.”LinkedIn Learning allows library cardholders to choose from more than 16,000 online courses to learn in-demand skills from real-world industry experts. Available in seven languages, the video courses are taught by industry experts and are designed for any skill level, she explained. Available courses include:
Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, etc.); Adobe Create Suites (Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design, etc.); latest versions of popular operating systems such as Windows 10, iOS, Android, Linux; coding and markup languages such as C, Java, Python, Ruby, MySQL, HTML, CSS and PHP; business skills, communication, marketing and leadership; data analysis, cloud computing, server management and creative arts including photography, video editing 3D animation, and so much more.
The Bosch Community Fund support is crucial to the ability of the library to provide access to LinkedIn Learning, and the benefits to the community are significant, Bell said. The pilot project funded through the 2021 grant helps us to reach even further, expanding Plymouth residents' internet and technology access.
“With the generous grant from the Bosch Community Fund, the library is now in the process of purchasing and setting up the equipment and the processes to loan out hotspots and Chromebooks, with a goal of going live prior to the start of the school year. For updates, residents can watch our website and social media or sign up for our e-newsletter at plymouthlibrary.org,” Bell added.
The Friends of the Plymouth District Library is a 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to support the Plymouth District Library through grant funding and personal donations. The Friends also rely on proceeds from their used book sale to provide enhanced library programming, technological upgrades, building improvements, and other general needs.
The Plymouth District Library is located at 223 South Main St. in Plymouth. For more information, call (734) 453-0750.
