Whitman County Libraries receive $500,000 grant

COLFAX — Whitman County Rural Library District has received a $500,000 Digital Navigator grant from the Washington State Broadband Office and the Washington State Department of Commerce. It will begin this fall, and run through June 2023.

The grant will allow the fourteen branches of WCL to develop, host, and teach digital navigation skills to the citizens of Whitman County. Partnering Organization Pullman Marketing, and the library staff will act as digital navigators to help the public figure out the internet, from setting up an email address, applying to a job or service online, software or hardware issues, getting connected to the internet, and more.

Benefits to the residents of Whitman County include, help signing up for the Affordable Connectivity Program for qualified households, to receive subsidies for internet subscriptions. In person tech assistance, resources and training provided to the public on digital literacy skills, basic computer lessons, internet safety, and anything that the public recommends. Assistance and on-time subsidy payments for help setting up household internet connections for qualifying candidates. There will also be increased open hours for every library branch in the county, as well as volunteering opportunities for youth to help act as digital navigators in their local libraries. There will be gifting of brand new laptops to households under the federal poverty guidelines who do not currently have any computers.

Starting in December, WCL branches will start opening for extended library hours, and will maintain the extra hours through June 30, 2023. The library staff encourages people to start coming in to seek help for any of their digital or tech problems.