Opportunity often hides behind adversity. As libraries look to a future of post-pandemic challenges, from looming budget cuts to increasingly urgent community needs, David Lankes, in The "New Normal" Agenda for Librarianship, encourages us to consider framing the positive opportunities, rather than loss, in the changes that lie ahead. If we are intentional, we can use these circumstances to grow our organizations and to address the digital access disparities in small and rural communities. This presentation explores how one rural library has improved internet access in partnership with an internet service provider, hosted telehealth appointments in collaboration with healthcare providers and transportation agencies, worked with schools to ensure opportunities for youth through esports, and improved digital literacy skills for patrons and local businesses.

This webinar is hosted in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).

Presented by: Dianne Connery, Director, Pottsboro Area Public Library, Texas.

Tweet: #wjwebinar

Access Recording

• View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to login to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar Attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat (xls)
• View captions (txt)
  
• Learner Guide (doc) Use alone or with others to extend your learning.

Related Resources and Links

• Association for Rural & Small Libraries
  • 2020 Online Conference
  • ARSL on Twitter and Facebook
    
• Dianne's recent presentation at Library 2.020 mini-conference, Connecting the Community - Digital Inclusion
• Big Talk from Small Libraries 2016 conference presentation, Flip The Script: Changing the Direction of the Library
• A Spotlight on Texas Libraries: Pottsboro Library’s Community Outreach, Texas Book Festival, March 18, 2019
• Pottsboro Area Public Library was a Library Journal Best Small Library Finalist in 2017
• Inequalities Amplified By COVID-19 Highlight Internet Access As Privilege, NBC News NOW video
• US's digital divide 'is going to kill people' as Covid-19 exposes inequalities, The Guardian, April 13, 2020
• Gigabit Libraries Network
  
• Information Technology Disaster Resource Center, ITDRC.org
  
• Submit a project for students, through Client Opportunities, University of Michigan, School of Information. Dianne worked with students who created the Esports: A Guide for Libraries (pdf).
• Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Video Connect and ATLAS (Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations)
• EveryoneOn.org
• ASU ShapingEDU: Dreamers, Doers, and Drivers Shaping the Future of Learning in the Digital Age. See video example on YouTube, and Badgr, digital badging
• Adobe Aero
  
• Edge library assessment
• Texas State Library and Archives Commission resources on Digital Inclusion, including the Know Your Community's Needs Worksheet, which informed questions in this webinar's learner guide.
• American Community Survey, US Census Bureau
  
• Digital Literacy Resources
  • DigitalLearn.org
  • Northstar Digital Literacy Tests to assess computer skills
  • WebJunction's Teaching Patrons topic area
• Pottsboro Library Status Update (doc), response to the virus document sent to city council and county commissioners
• 3D Printing of Medical Equipment – Resources and Examples, included on this list, Libraries and the Coronavirus: Evolving Information and Resources

• Recent media highlights:
  • Libraries Connect Their Communities with WiFi, Even from Closed Branches, Library Journal, April 1, 2020
  • Pottsboro library maintains social distancing with drive-in video games, KXII - News 12, April 1, 2020
  • Pottsboro Library making mask "ear guards" with 3D printer, KXII - News 12, April 7, 2020
  • WiFi hotspot available at Tanglewood Resort, KXII - News 12, April 15, 2020
  • Libraries and Schools Are Bridging the Digital Divide During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Consumer Reports, April 29, 2020
  • Programming Through the Pandemic, Library Journal, May 22, 2020
  • Innovation, Patience, Lead to Virtual Success, Texas Library Journal, Summer 2020 (pdf of article featuring Pottsboro)
  • Thousands of Grayson County students lack home Internet access, KXII - News 12, July 13, 2020
  • Internet access stations to be placed in Pottsboro neighborhoods, KXII - News 12, July 24, 2020
  • Pottsboro, Bonham libraries gets grant to provide internet to students, Herald Democrat, July 26, 2020
   
• Shared in chat, video of Hackney (UK) Community Library Service, homebound service