The Boone County Public Library is one of 28 counties receiving support from the state’s Emergency Connectivity Fund to support remote learning.
Kentucky public libraries are receiving more than $1.2 million from the Eme Connectivity Fund, a federal program to help schools and libraries provide the tools and services their communities need for remote learning.
For the July 2021 to June 2022 funding year, all Kentucky public library applications were approved for up to $1,063,405 in ECF discounts to be disbursed as libraries are invoiced for eligible products and services, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
The program deadline was extended to December 2023 due to the pandemic. So far, an additional $218,728 has been approved for the period between July 2022 and December 2023 with more applications under review, the release said.
The $7.171 billion Federal Communications Commission fund was authorized by Congress through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to help address the homework gap for those who currently lack necessary Internet access or the devices they need to remotely connect for school work.
For eligible schools and libraries, ECF will cover reasonable costs of laptop and tablet computers; Wi-Fi hotspots; modems; routers and broadband connectivity purchases for off-campus use by students, school staff and library patrons.
KDLA provides training and one-on-one consultations for public library staff in filing required forms to help ensure that libraries meet deadlines and follow the ECF program rules correctly.
In the first ECF funding year, 26 Kentucky public libraries received funding commitments for hotspot hardware and monthly cellular data, as well as connected devices such as laptops or tablets, for patron use outside the library. The combined requests will fund over 400 laptops or tablets and over 2,700 hotspots.