On the shores of beautiful Lake Texoma, the library in Pottsboro, Texas, reinvents the traditional library. It’s a community resource and information hub, connecting the town of 2500 and broader area population of 7000.
To start, they offer a “library of things,” which expand the definition of a traditional collection. These resources can be checked out include construction equipment, tables and chairs, board games, canning supplies, and horseshoes. Supplies for many birthday parties, and one wedding so far, have come from the Pottsboro Library.
This library aims to be the crossroads of the community. It doesn’t just have things, but does things. Central to this community mission is a focus on including community members in the digital world. As library director Dianne Connery shares, “Digital inclusion is a 3-legged stool. It takes internet connectivity, access to devices, and the digital literacy skills to know how to work those things.” The library prioritizes all three.
“When COVID started,” Connery explained, “we set up 3 neighborhood access stations outside city limits, with permanent hotspots, at the tackle shop, volunteer fire department, and the convenience store. Now we have a 35-foot internet tower in the parking lot.” Locals can also check out a router for high-speed internet outside city limits, while the town works to secure high-speed internet to every address.
Connery says, “People used to think of the internet as a luxury, and daily, it became an essential thing you need to survive.” Acknowledging that access to internet is a social determinant of health, the library collaborated on the creation of a telehealth room for local residents. “When the pandemic started, some doctors did not want patients to come into the office who were too high-risk.” The room leverages the town’s fastest internet, and the library team developed scheduling and disinfection protocols to help people feel safe using the space.
The library is stocked with computers and accessories, but getting access to devices isn’t just for a 10-day period in Pottsboro. The team used federal funding to purchase tablets for older residents. They can check them out for a period of three years, and can keep them at the end of that time.
These developments are exciting, but digital literacy isn’t just access, but know-how in navigating online spaces. The library’s goals for digital inclusion help residents in doing online banking, getting prescriptions refilled, renewing driver’s license, and applying for jobs and benefits.
The Pottsboro’s Library collaborated on an aging-in-place survey with the University of Michigan’s School of Information. As Connery reflected on the results, she shared, “A lot of hesitation is that if older residents don’t know how to use the internet yet, they believe why even bother to learn? It’s going to keep changing and it’s overwhelming.” As a result, library staff focuses on teaching digital resilience, not focusing on platforms, but on purpose. For example, staff offered a class on making your house into a smart home, driven by the needs of the community’s population.
It’s not just the older population that is prioritized, however. Pottsboro’s teenagers can start their working life with community connections at the library. Through the support of a local foundation, fifteen teenagers have been trained to serve as digital navigators for older adults. In a series of sessions, teens learn to teach the technologies most desired by older adults, centering on social networking sites to enable Pottsboro folks to stay connected to grandchildren and friends who live outside the area. Additional sessions included empathy training for the teens, with the use of devices to simulate having limited sight, hearing, and physical mobility. This preparation enabled the young people to develop deeper understanding in approaching technology, teaching, and change.
Connery continues to dream big. Providing telehealth outreach to senior care facilities is in the plans, which could mean a mobile lab to bring to the VFW or the American Legion. Driverless cars will soon impact rural areas, and the Pottsboro Library .
And the library’s book collection isn’t too shabby, either.