Free WIFI hotspots now available for AACPL customers

John Frenaye | August 10, 2018

If you have a library card, you now have access to WIFI in your home! Thanks to a generous donation by the Helena Foundation and Jim and Sylvia Earl, the Anne Arundel County Public Library now has 50 hotspots (and data plans) to loan out for one week at a time.

: L-R: Sylvia and Jim Earl, Skip Auld

: Library President Don Roland

: L-R: Sylvia and Jim Earl, Don Roland

: Skip Auld, CEO AACPL

: Sylvia Earl checks out the first hotspot

: 50 hotspots will be at the Eastport branch

According to Don Roland, chairman of the Anne Arundel County Library, more than 10% of Annapolis area residents are without working Internet. Most of these are in lower income communities. This grant will make a huge difference as children who rely on the Internet for school work will now be able to work from home or work collaboratively with other students.

Skip Auld, the CEO of the library explained how the hotspots will work and what happens when they are not returned (spoiler..they are disconnected).

The data plan is provided by Sprint and the hotspots are capable of connecting multiple devices so an entire family could have access from a single hotspot.

If you ever needed another reason to check out the Anne Arundel County Public Library, here you go.

The Maryland Crabs spoke with Skip in April on all the new initiatives the library is instituting–from fishing rods to a library at the Mall, to the upcoming human library. Check it out!

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About the Author - John Frenaye

John is the publisher and editor of Eye On Annapolis. As a resident and business owner in Anne Arundel County for nearly 25 years, he realized that there was something missing in terms of community news–and Eye On Annapolis was born in late spring 2009.

John’s background is in the travel industry as a business owner, industry speaker, and travel writer. In terms of blogging and social media, he cut his teeth with MSNBC.com.