News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Millard Oakley Public Library awarded the Training Opportunities for the Public Grant Tuesday to improve its technology within the library.
Library Director Judith Cutright said the grant will be used to buy wi-fi hotspots and upgrade the internet infrastructure of the library.
“This is vital for school purposes, for entertainment, or for those that work from home,” Cutright said. “So this does allow people to come in and check out a hotspot for a week and access the internet.”
The hotspots will be free to check out for a week once the library receives them. Cutright said the improvements will help the less advantaged citizens in Overton County.
“We have a lot of individuals in the county who can not afford or don’t have access for one reason or another to the internet,” Cutright said.
The announcement came from State Senator Ken Yager, State Representative Ed Butler, and Secretary of State Tre Hargett. The grant is a sum of $13,599. The state chose 60 libraries for the grant. Cutright said it was an honor to be one of them.
“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Tennessee State Library and Archives,” Cutright said. “They do a phenomenal job with grant assistance to many of the libraries across the state that don’t always have the financial or political support that they need.”
The internet upgrades for the library will extend out to the parking lot to create more space for people to access the internet.
Cutright said she estimates that the upgrades will be done by the end of the summer.
