This Message Brought to You by WLA and WEMTA!

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

INTERNET DISCOUNT FINDER

Digital equity has become an urgent issue as schools assign more and more of their students with personal, mobile devices to access classroom materials and productivity tools, however, 20% of Wisconsin households do not have access to the internet. For many children and adults, the public library is the only source of internet access outside of the school day where these devices can be used.

The Internet Discount Finder, created by the Wisconsin Public Services Commission, can help low-income households find discounted internet service. Discounts are as deep as 80%. Schools and public libraries can play a critical role in promoting the Internet Discount Finder, to help all of their students and library users get internet access at home.

The Internet Discount Finder is not just for households with students. It is designed to help *all* Wisconsin families and residences get internet access. Check out this blog post for more details and this slide presentation for helpful PR ideas to spread the word to your families

Schools and public libraries both can play a huge role in getting this information out to our families and communities. Let’s work on this together!

This message brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA) .