Learning, livelihoods in jeopardy with federal resolutions

When severe weather prevented Bullitt County (KY) students from attending school full time, a crucial library hotspot lending program kept 30 percent of them connected to their studies. These students would otherwise have had no access to virtual learning from their homes. This same program helps local farmers ensure the wellbeing of their livestock. Through internet-connected cameras, they monitor the animals during calving season and when flooding, freezing temperatures, and ice keep them from getting to their barns. As vital as Bullitt County Public Library’s hotspot program is to community members of all ages, it is in imminent danger of losing sustainable funding. Congress is considering resolutions S.J.Res.7 and H.J.Res.33 that would end Federal Communications Commission funding for library and school hotspot lending across the country, effective immediately. These resolutions, if passed, would prevent the FCC from re-introducing the program ever again. We can’t let this happen. Twenty percent of U.S. adults lack access to home broadband services. More than 17,000 technology-enabled public library locations and their trusted staff connect people with the resources they need every day. Through the purchase of affordable, high-speed broadband, amplified Wi-Fi signals, laptops, tablets, and hotspots, libraries offer essential services to their communities free of charge. 

[Tara O’Hagan is the Executive Director of Bullitt County Public Library in Shepherdsville (KY). Cindy Hohl is director of policy analysis and operational support at Kansas City (MO) Public Library and the 2024-25 president of the American Library Association.]