This is a guiding principle for the day-to-day actions in all of Florida’s libraries. In this time of COVID-19, Florida libraries have continued to meet the needs of their communities in a variety of ways and are critical elements of communities as they recover the impact of this pandemic.
Specifically, libraries have continued to be reliable providers of internet access, According to the Pew Research organization, over half of Americans (87%) surveyed said that internet access has been essential or important as communities faced lock downs, parents worked from home and children began virtual home school.
But as businesses closed and people were laid off, the ability to pay for internet access or other needed technologies worried almost 30% of Americans, and disproportionately impacted people of color and lower income communities. As parents worried about job losses and lack of child care, they also had to ensure that their access to the internet and digital technologies were available for their children, now completing schoolwork from home.