This fall, the Whitman County Rural Library District was honored to receive a grant for almost $500,000 from the Washington State Broadband Office and Department of Commerce to create a Digital Navigator Project in Whitman County.

I learned about this opportunity only a few weeks into starting as the new director for the district this past July, and I was immediately drawn to the idea of starting such a project. Why? Well, there were two main reasons. First, I thought it would help a lot of people in Whitman County, which is always a driving factor in decision-making at the library. Second, creating a Digital Navigator Project was a way to label, define and expand on things that libraries in Whitman County, and all over the country, are already doing: helping people get connected to the internet and teaching them what to do once they get there.

Being a digital navigator means helping people at the intersection of three related facets: home connectivity; internet connected devices; and digital skills. We want to help get people connected to the internet in their homes, get them devices that facilitate internet access and navigation and teach them the essential skills they will need to successfully navigate this digital realm.

For the Whitman County Rural Library District and our grant, we’re tackling these ideas in a few ways. First, we are focused on helping people who don’t have a home internet connection get connected. We want to spread the word about the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, a federal program that offers a subsidy payment to help pay for an internet subscription for households that qualify and help people get signed up.

If someone doesn’t qualify for ACP but still needs help getting internet service set up, we can offer a one-time subsidy payment to help off-set some of the initial cost.

For devices, we are giving laptops to qualifying households in Whitman County who don’t already have one. There will be some restrictions on who does and doesn’t qualify (which we’ll make clear on our website and in further communications when the time gets closer), but we want to help get computers into the hands of the residents of Whitman County who, for whatever reason, don’t already have one.

Finally, we are teaching digital skills in a variety of ways to help people understand how to function in an increasingly digital world. Through a partnership with Pullman Marketing, we will be creating videos and resources that will be free for anyone to use and holding in-person trainings in the spring and summer. The best part? We also have a telephone hotline and email that you can reach out to for one-on-one help. If you come to the library and a staff member can’t solve your problem, we can get you in touch with support staff at Pullman Marketing who can give you personalized instruction and offer in-depth help. Or you can get in touch with them directly by visiting the library web site and going to our Digital Navigation page.

Every branch in the Whitman County Rural Library District system will get extended hours to help serve our community better. Please check with your local branch to see exactly how they are expanding their hours. In Colfax, we are pleased to announce that we will be open one hour later on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so the library will close at 7 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.

As a caveat, this grant and the work we are doing is focused on residents of Whitman County. You will only be able to get a free computer or an internet subsidy payment if you reside in Whitman County and come to one of our branches. At the same time, the content and resources we create are free to everyone and we encourage people who need help with digital navigation to come to one of our branches and get assistance. The hotline is open, the email is live, and we are here to help.

For more information, please visit our website at whitcolib.org/digitalnavigation. This is where we will post all information and updates, including how the laptop program will work in the coming months.

Allen is the director of the Whitman County Library District.