Library’s new mobile hot spot units to boost internet access

The Western Counties Regional Library has 10 new mobile Wi-Fi hotspot units available that will allow more people to have free access to the internet.

All 10 library branches in the tri-counties have a unit to borrow, offering unlimited data through its connection to a Bell Mobility cellular tower. The units are in the library’s online catalogue.

“The borrower needs a device, a computer, tablet, phone or Smart TV,” says Shannon Raynard, the library’s training and development manager.

She says a charged, mobile hotspot unit is easy to use. Users press the menu button once to turn it on, and once more to see the WiFi network and password information.

People enter that information into their device and start accessing the internet.

The mobile hotspot unit is small and portable, roughly 10 centimetres by 5 centimetres (4 inches by two inches).

Raynard believes there are all kinds of uses for it. It is ideal for those who cannot afford internet access or people who don’t have immediate access to the internet because of circumstances, such as a recent move.

Borrowers have to be 18 years or older and have a Western Counties Regional Library card to borrow a unit.

They can borrow a unit for up to four weeks with three renewals if there are no holds on the unit by other people.

"For those who forget to return the device, the library can turn it off,” Raynard says.

The units were provided through a partnership between @NS and Nova Scotia regional libraries.

The devices access servers in the United States and some Canadian content may not be available to users.