Amy Boyd’s job search was stopped in its tracks when her home computer broke a few years ago. For many, a crashed computer is a major inconvenience. For Boyd, it was the end of her home Internet access.
“The funds were not there for me to get my computer fixed,” Boyd said.
Boyd doesn’t live in an area where Internet access is a huge issue. While some areas of rural Pennsylvania lack any access to high speed internet, Boyd is from Highspire, just outside of Harrisburg.
Internet access is abundant in the Harrisburg area, but some of the region’s residents still struggle to afford service. Without home Internet, Boyd turned to local libraries to continue her job hunt.
The conversation around broadband Internet has mainly centered around rural areas, with Gov. Tom Wolf’s $4.5 billion infrastructure initiative touting massive expansions into Pennsylvania’s lesser-populated counties. But the digital divide exists in urban areas, too.
For Christopher Black, the supervisor at the McCormick Riverfront Library, lack of Internet access isn’t just a rural issue. He said the library is the only point of Internet access for many of its patrons, many of whom need access to apply for jobs or talk to family.
“A lot of times what we’re seeing is people coming in to essentially apply for jobs because they don’t have access to a computer at home or they don’t have access to the Internet at home,” Black said.
Only 66 percent of Harrisburg households had a broadband subscription between 2013 and 2017, U.S. Census data shows. Across Pennsylvania, that figure is 76 percent. Close to 20 percent of households didn’t even have a computer at home, like in Boyd’s case.
That lack of access is tied to poverty. According to a Pew Research report, roughly 44 percent of adults with household incomes of less than $30,000 nationwide lack access to broadband internet. The FCC defines broadband as 25 megabits per second download speed and 3 mbps upload speed.
Libraries are on the front lines of the digital divide, Karen Cullings, the interim executive director of Dauphin County Libraries said recently. Cullings said that goes beyond just providing access.
“We’re definitely the access point [for those] who don’t have home access,” Cullings said. “They may not even have the most basic of computer experience.”
Black said he spends a lot of time providing non-judgmental help to people without much computer experience. That might mean setting up an email or even helping someone learn to type or to use a mouse.
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While affordability is an issue in Harrisburg, some residents in more rural areas of Pennsylvania have little access to broadband service providers. A recent study by Penn State found that more than 800,000 Pennsylvanians lacked access to broadband.
Sherri Collins, the acting executive director for Gov. Tom Wolf’s Pennsylvania Broadband Initiative, said a “majority” of those without broadband access are from rural areas in Pennsylvania.
Collins said libraries play a “crucial” role in healing Pennsylvania’s digital divide, providing a point of access for thousands of families who need to apply for jobs, do homework and connect with the world – but added that they can’t be a permanent solution to a lack of access.
“We can’t rely squarely on the libraries to solve this issue,” Collins said. “People really need to have Internet connectivity within their own home.”
The Pennsylvania Broadband Initiative is mostly focused around access in rural areas, offering incentives to companies looking to expand access. In March of last year, the Broadband Investment Incentive Program made $35 million available for companies that were expanding access.
“It should be no different than electric or water and sewer,” Collins said of broadband access. “It is more of a necessity today than it is a luxury.”
While most everyone agrees that broadband Internet access is a problem in Pennsylvania, Wolf’s Restore Pennsylvania plan has been met with some opposition. Some lawmakers say his plan is too broad, and Republicans in the legislature have taken issue with his plan to pay for it with a gas severance tax.
Some gains have been made in Internet access by lower-income individuals, the Pew Research report notes. Many are reliant on smartphones as their point of access, but Black said it’s more difficult to perform tasks such as applying for jobs on a phone compared to a computer.
The library’s free Wi-Fi is still required for some with mobile devices to access the Internet, Black said, as they can’t afford an extensive wireless plan.
Boyd, originally from the Bronx in New York City, said her relatives took her to libraries when she was young. That encouraged her to further her education. She still frequents local libraries, and recently took her granddaughter to get a library card.
“I made it a big deal,” Boyd said. “Everything opens up to you at the library. She was all excited.”
On Aug. 8, Boyd and Black met at the McCormick Riverfront Library in Harrisburg. Boyd, carrying a redesigned resume she made for a cousin in Virginia, needed help scanning and sending the document. Her cousin, like Boyd was a few years ago, is on a job hunt. Boyd’s search is over, as she landed a job as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Boyd encouraged residents who struggle to afford home Internet access or computers to use the library as their point of access. As more and more services require the Internet to access them, Boyd said libraries will continue to be a bridge over the digital divide.
“You don’t have to come in with the knowledge,” Boyd said. Whatever it is, the librarians are there the library is there.”