Lauren Kirchner
Millions of Americans Depend on Libraries for Internet. Now They’re Closed.
Since COVID-19 forced the Cherokee (IA) Public Library to close in mid-March, the computer lab is empty. But the library is still many residents’ most reliable source of connectivity to the digital world. Kids sit scattered in the library’s parking lot with phones or video game devices, catching some of the Wi-Fi outside that’s now left on 24/7. And Tyler Hahn, the library's director, spends his days trying to help some older patrons get online by shouting instructions to them through the library’s windows.