Public Libraries, Digital Equity Coalitions, and the Public Good

Public libraries play a critical role in addressing the digital divide and advancing digital equity in their communities. However, little is known about their participation in digital equity coalitions and what this information might tell us about public libraries as partners in community-wide efforts to advance the public good. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by presenting findings from a pilot study of public libraries working with digital equity coalitions in the U.S. Findings revealed that public libraries support the public good through: (1) convening and leading digital equity coalitions; (2) participating in coalition action planning and advocacy to advance digital equity; and (3) actively centering equity, as opposed to equality, and social justice in their efforts to create and sustain healthy digital equity ecosystems. These findings suggest that if public libraries are to effectively lead and actively participate in digital equity coalitions they must not take a neutral stance to librarianship.