Dallas Public Library expands hotspot lending program to meet stay-at-home needs

Dallas Public Library expands hotspot lending program to meet stay-at-home needs

The City of Dallas approved the purchase of 2,100 additional hotspots during the budget process in September. Dallas residents without home broadband will now have 2,000 more ways to access internet thanks to Dallas Public Library’s expanded hotspot lending program. Starting December 15, every Dallas Public Library location (except for Bookmarks at NorthPark Center) will have at least 85 hotspots available for at-home internet use. Cardholders are encouraged to get on the waitlist now in order to have a hotspot as soon as they are available.

“We’ve heard first-hand from our customers these past eight months just how important having a hotspot was to their quarantine life,” Library Director Jo Giudice said. “Now more than ever, internet access is essential for people to be able to work, go to school, apply for aid, make doctor appointments – even church is online.”

Hotspots can be requested online at www.dallaslibrary.org, by phone at 214-670-7809, or by contacting a local branch. The wi-fi hotspots can be checked out for 30 days with the option to renew if there are no outstanding requests. Multiple devices can be used on one hotspot. Dallas Public Library remains closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, instead offering curbside pick-up of materials and virtual programming.

“The additional hotspots are an important part of providing the library’s core service of computer access,” Director Giudice said. To that end, library locations serving populations with a greater digital divide will have more hotspots available at the launch to ensure the people who need it most have equitable access.

Hotspots can be placed on request just like a library book and retrieved through the Library- To-Go curbside service at all locations. Hotspots can be returned in the book drop at any library location.

Free and secure outdoor public WiFi hotspots are available to use between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day in the parking lots of four locations: Prairie Creek, Paul Laurence Dunbar Lancaster-Kiest, Highland Hills and Dallas West.

Dallas Public Library operates Library To Go curbside service at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library and 28 branch locations. A library card is free for any Dallas resident. For information on the free programs and services available at Dallas Public Library, visit www.dallaslibrary.org.

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