HONESDALE, Pa. — Wayne County Library has been helping residents connect to the internet during the pandemic and now the library is able to extend that reach.
Wayne County Library Director, Tracy Schwarz, says the library was granted some of the county's share of Federal Cares Act funding to be used for broadband internet purposes.
"We were able to purchase 60 of these devices. There are six at every one of the seven libraries in the county to check out right now," she said.
The smart spots can run up to eight devices at your house and there are three different types depending on what you need to use it for.
"In each of our little baggies that you check out. There are instructions on how to use them how to turn on the hotspot, how to make sure that everything's ready and charged. And then also, it has a survey that asks how everything went for you," Schwarz said.
The library staff says that they hope that more Wayne County residents will come and take advantage of the service and find that it is helpful in rural areas.
"And if you are in one of those spots where for whatever reason, it won't work. They want your address so that T-Mobile can take a look at it and make sure that we get coverage there as well," Schwarz explained.
Businesses in the county can also check out the hotspots.
To help check for service, the library had Wayne Memorial Hospital staff used the hot spots while administering the vaccine to stay connected to their health records.
"They checked out five or six of them so that they can use it to run some of their mobile COVID vaccination centers to be able to run some of their computer equipment in places that they wouldn't be able to without internet," added Schwarz.
In order to use one of the hot spots, you have to have a library card and sign a contract to use them.
Cardholders can borrow one hot spot for two weeks with one renewal.