East Lansing Public Library offers Portable Wi-Fi Spots

Above: Image of portable wifi device, courtesy of East Lansing Public Library

If you’ve ever been in a location without Wi-Fi, you might know how annoying it is to try to post that vacation picture or respond to an important email. Fortunately, the East Lansing Public Library now has hotspot portable Wi-Fi devices that can be rented out by patrons.

For those that do not know, portable Wi-Fi hotspots are small devices that you can bring to places that normally wouldn’t have a wireless connection so you can connect your phones, laptops, and tablets to the internet. It’s especially useful when traveling because people are often in remote or unfamiliar locations where it might not be easy to find any Wi-Fi (if it exists in the area at all).

“This is a great new service that further helps ELPL move beyond our walls to provide access to information where our patrons are,” ELPL Director Kristen Shelley said, “whether that be in their homes, camping in the Upper Peninsula or taking a family vacation to the Rockies."

Up to 10 devices can be connected to each hotspot, and there is no internet subscription or data port required. One simply has to connect their device to the hotspot and they can begin using it for internet services.

“There are lots of other public libraries that have started to circulate Wi-Fi hotspots,” ELPL’s Lauren Douglass. “We looked at their success and decided to make this initiative one of the library's action plan items for fiscal year 2016,” adding that the project has been a year in the making.

Douglass also mentioned that over 3,000 people use the library’s computers each month, with hundreds more bringing in laptops and mobile devices for the library’s Wi-Fi. “We wanted to make sure that vital internet access is available to patrons, even when the library is closed,” she said. “Personal internet access is often very expensive, especially for seniors and people looking for a job. We are very committed to filling as many of those "digital divides" as we can in the East Lansing community.”

Any patron 18 years of age and older can check out the hotspots. When checking them out, a library staff member will brief them on how the hotspot works and the responsibilities of the renter. The hotspot can be rented for 21 days at a time, and if there are no holds, they can renew their hotspot. When returning them, it is advised that they be given directly to a staff member instead of through the book return so there is no risk of damage to the devices.

Not long after its implementation, the Wi-Fi spots have already been receiving great feedback. “We have heard positive comments about their ease of use, and the great coverage provided by T-Mobile, our provider,” Douglass stated. “We have ten devices, they are all checked out, and we have a waiting list,” she said. If demand continues, she says they will likely add more to the collection.

The hotspots can be rented at the East Lansing Public Library located at 950 Abbot Road or reserved online.