The peer pressure from other libraries finally got to us. Beginning the week of October 11, Cambridge City Public Library will have two hotspots available to check out for two weeks at a time. The Friends of the Library are generously funding one of the hotspots for a year, and we are seeking grant support through the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund program to add more hotspots. We are excited to offer this connectivity option to our patrons!

I tend to be a bit cautious in adopting new technology, but I can be persuaded. Our family recently went on a camping trip with some friends to Whitewater Memorial State Park. During the weekend, when it was time for my extended family’s Zoom call to connect with Oklahoma and California family members, I assumed I would have to miss it since we were out in the wilderness. My friend said, “oh, you could just use the hotspot that I have checked out from the Hagerstown Public Library for your meeting.” So I logged in out in the middle of the campground, and the video and audio quality were every bit as good as my own home Wi-Fi. At the same time, my 10-year old son and his friend were also using the Internet working on a coding project on their laptops, and my friend was using her smartphone. The Hagerstown Public Library hotspot handled it all, easily! I became a fan of hotspots on that day. Now, the question of why we were all tethered to our devices instead of enjoying nature is a story for another day. At any rate, the outcome is that I finally got moving on getting some hotspots for our patrons to check out to help you stay connected to people and to a universe of information in places where Internet is spotty or absent. All you need is a cell phone tower nearby and a Wi-Fi ready device.