Digital Divide: The New York Public Library Brings WIFI to the People

It’s 4 pm and the Bronx public library is packed. Every seat is taken and people tap away at computers that line the walls.  These are part of the New York Public Library’s attempt to bridge the city’s digital divide. Out of the 5 New York boroughs that divide is starkest in the Bronx where over a third of households are without internet.

"Libraries are at the forefront of dispensing that inequality one person at a time, one branch at a time," said Michael Alvarez, Director of the Bronx Public Library. 

They work towards that goal by letting the public use their internet and laptops free of charge as well as lending out hotspots for customers to use at home.

Laura Tarver, 65, has been working at a computer on the 5th floor all day. She says because she can’t afford internet at home the library has become an integral part of her life.

"The internet is now, it is the future and without it I think right now I would be lost," she said.

It’s not easy for her though. She’s had trouble with her legs and the library is two bus rides away from where she lives. In spite of that she’s determined. She says unless she's sick she comes to the library.

For people like Laura the library has become a lifeline. She says hunting for a job in 2015 is impossible without easy access to the internet

"I was raised to believe seek and ye shall find. That’s what everybody needs to do. Ask that necessary question. Where do I go?"

For many in the Bronx and across New York City, the answer is age old- your local library. 

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