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DALLAS – 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 Dec. 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 put their names on the waitlist now to check out a hotspot as they become available. Dallas City Council approved the purchase of 2,100 additional hotspots during the budget process in September.
“These past eight months we’ve heard first-hand from our customers just how important having internet was to their quarantine life,” said Library Director Jo Giudice. “Now more than ever, online 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 library branch. The wi-fi hotspots can be checked out for 30 days with the option to renew if there are no outstanding requests. Up to five 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 picked up through the Library-To-Go curbside service at all Dallas Public Library locations (except Bookmarks at NorthPark Center). 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.
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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