Need Wi-Fi? Use this interactive map of hot spots created by Mississippi librarians
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, librarians across Mississippi are rethinking how they can best serve their communities.
Local libraries remain closed due to the virus that has infected more than 4,500 residents and caused 169 deaths statewide, according to the latest data from the Mississippi State Department of Health. But the closures aren’t keeping libraries from making sure the public stays plugged in and connected to all that’s happening with the virus.
“The biggest thing I have seen over the past few weeks is libraries being innovative and proactive,” Mara Polk, incoming president of the Mississippi Library Association, said in a statement. Polk currently heads the Central Mississippi Regional Library System.
One of those latest innovations is an interactive map showing dozens of available internet hot spots across the state. The new “Parking Lot Wi-Fi Map” helps residents locate Wi-Fi access “from parking lots, as well as hot spots set up by private internet providers and extension offices,” according to the Mississippi Library Association (MLA).
The online tool, developed in mid-March, is the brainchild of a group of librarians who voluntarily shut their doors in response to the coronavirus, according to a press release obtained by McClatchy News. Within days, they had the map up and running for those who needed it.
“It became very clear very quickly, as all of the university students transition to online-only classes at homes throughout the state, that many wouldn’t have reliable Wi-Fi at home, keeping them from successfully completing the semester,” Amanda C. Powers, Professor and Dean of Library Services at the Mississippi University for Women, told McClatchy News. “It also became clear that this would also be a huge benefit for k-12 students as well. Without this map, many of our students would not be able to successfully complete their semester.”
An internal survey conducted by the MLA found that over 80 percent of school libraries in the state have continued providing teachers, students and staff with the resources they need, even amid the closures. For some communities, libraries remain the only source of internet access and computer help, the organization said.
Powers said she put out a call to action on the state association’s library Listserv and was soon flooded with responses from librarians who were open to volunteering their parking lots. College campuses and extension offices across the state also pitched in, offering free internet access to the public.
There are now over 250 Wi-Fi access locations on the map, some of which require a password provided by local libraries.
The Mississippi University for Women’s Fant Memorial Library is among those offering free parking lot Wi-Fi, along with branches in the Madison County Library System, the Harrison County Library System, the Dixie Regional Library System and dozens of others.
Local businesses including the Travelers Hotel, Meraki Roasting Co., in Clarksdale and Sparklight (formerly Cable ONE) are also offering their private Wi-Fi network to the public, according to the map.
The color-coded map has since been adopted by educational institutions in Mississippi and now serves as a blueprint for other states, according to Powers.
“It truly was the type of collective work on behalf of our communities that is the hallmark of the work of library folks in this state,” she said in a statement, adding, “I’m so proud to be part of this community!”
The association said it will continue to add more Wi-Fi and hot spot locations to the map as it receives them.