Libraries and the Digital Divide: Bridging the Gap

By: Jordan Farquhar 

With today’s constant changes and improvements in technology, many believe that its availability has dramatically increased as well. This is true to some extent, but it should be noted that there are still hundreds of thousands of people who struggle to gain access to even the simplest of technology. This is for a variety of reasons including poverty, race, etc. This struggle is known as the digital divide. Since the emergence of popular technology, libraries, and their staff have endeavored to bridge this gap.

 

The digital gap ranges in its effect from area to area and family to family with some only lacking access to the internet while others lack technology literacy altogether. This lack of technology literacy can be a huge barrier in today’s age where everything is being moved to online platforms. In the article, “Libraries help close the digital divide” the author notes that “for people with limited computer skills, online applications constitute one of the biggest obstacles to employment” (Barker) which only further increases the divide. 

 

This is where libraries come in. Thousands of libraries across the nation have begun starting programs that aim to begin closing the gap. Among these programs are technology literacy classes, outreach, and even providing technology. During the COVID-19 crisis, Yakima Valley Libraries began emphasizing the importance of lessening this gap as they were forced to move services online. One thing these libraries did to help their population was to start a “Drive-In Wifi” service that allowed patrons to access and use the library’s wifi within the safety of their vehicles (Garcia-Ortiz and Fransisco). With the rapid growth of technology and the stagnancy of education and outreach for technologically disadvantaged people, it is crucial that libraries step up now more than ever to close the digital divide. 

 

Works Cited

"Libraries help close the digital divide." Washingtonpost.com, 1 May 2015. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A411878803/OVIC?u=cclc_palomar&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=ba2940c4. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.

Garcia-Ortiz, Francisco. “How Yakima Valley Libraries Took On COVID-19 and the DIGITAL DIVIDE.” Computers in Libraries, vol. 41, no. 5, June 2021, pp. 16–20. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=150658710&site=ehost-live&scope=site.