Connect & Go: Take-Home Mobile Hotspots
LA County Library
Innovation Synopsis
To assist those without internet at home and work toward reducing the digital divide in Los Angeles County communities, LA County Library launched a new initiative in March 2024 called Connect & Go, offering mobile internet hotspots for checkout throughout its entire system of 86 libraries. While the Library had already offered Laptop & Hotspot Loans since its closure during the pandemic, consistent feedback from libraries and customers indicated that people were more in need of internet connectivity than the devices themselves, leading LA County Library to design a new program in response to customer needs. A comprehensive marketing campaign helped get the word out, despite the digital divide, and circulation data thus far indicates the initiative continues to be in demand and is meeting community needs.
Challenge/Opportunity
Several parts of Los Angeles County have the lowest broadband subscription rates in the state. Among certain LA County communities, roughly 40% of households are without internet. Even in areas with high rates of connection, more than 10% of residents do not have highspeed broadband, and roughly 1-in-4 households with school-aged children lack access to broadband internet. The pandemic also widened the digital divide among households with multiple simultaneous users, requiring additional bandwidth for reliable access. While the Library had already offered its extremely successful Laptop & Hotspot Loans since the pandemic, in order to make technology accessible outside library walls during its closure, customers regularly reported the desire to borrow just a hotspot, as many already had devices at home, but no way to pay for sustainable internet. So the Library worked to offer a new services that would better assist these customers.
Key Elements of Innovation
Launched on March 1, 2024 at all 85 locations and 4 Bookmobiles—ensuring reach to the most remote areas of Los Angeles County—Connect & Go hotspot loans are a direct response to customer requests and needs. Funding for the new service was provided by the American Rescue Plan. These borrowable hotspots support equity-centered practices by directly addressing inequities in connectivity, and they provide a technological infrastructure that helps to meet residents’ needs outside library walls. Adults with a library card in good standing can borrow the hotspots. Hotspots can be borrowed for 6 weeks, and renewed up to 3 times if no other customers are on the waiting list. While no fees are assessed for late returns due to LA County Library’s elimination of overdue fees in 2021, customers are encouraged to return Connect & Go kits by their due dates, as the device will become disabled once the loan period has ended. Instructions come with the device to help make it easy to use.
Achieved Outcomes
Since March 2024, Connect & Go wi-fi hotspots have circulated a total 3,667 times, with accumulated holds of 4,628, helping to indicate that there is a strong demand for this service, and it’s meeting community need. Hotspots have been borrowed continuously since the program launched, and customers have expressed their thanks for this valuable service. The Library’s Marketing & Communications team also launched a large campaign in order to get the word out about the new initiative, including promotion on radio in both English and Spanish, streaming radio ads, digital ads, and on-site promotion at libraries including posters, rack cards, and yard signs. They held a media briefing for the launch of Connect & Go, which was especially tailored to local Hispanic and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander outlets, conducted both in English and in-language with trained spokespeople, which resulted in significant press coverage to spread the word.
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