Rockford Public Library’s ‘DigiLibrary’ hits the road March 10

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) – A tool to help the Rockford Public Library make its services more accessible to the community will go live Monday, March 10.

Officials say the “DigiLibrary” will bring lifelong learning opportunities to the city.

“We’re going to be going throughout, all over the city, offering computer courses,” ” said RPL Manager of Digital Services Kathi Kresol.

The courses, Kresol added, are part of a bigger goal.

“What we are really bringing is access,” she added. “We are bringing access to the internet. We can pull up in to a neighborhood [and] set up some tables with some Chromebooks. People can come check their email with us.”

The DigiLibrary is a 2024 Ford Transit van that has been outfitted as a state-of-the art internet hotspot. 

“We will also be partnering with several places like the Brooke Road Community Center and the Northwest Community Center and offering computer classes in those neighborhoods,” Kresol said.

In addition to internet access, the DigiLibrary provides access to instruction and access to devices. The service includes three dozen Chromebooks that will be used for classes and for Rockford residents to check out with their library card.

“Access to the internet, access to the devices and access to how to use that all,” Kresol said.

Rockford leaders say the service is a prime example of how things continue to evolve. It also helps put an exclamation point on RPL’s role as a 21^st century library.

“If someone’s having trouble with transportation, the DigiLibrary can come to them,” Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said in a previous report. “If a kid is playing at a park, the DigiLibrary can come to them. If there’s a senior who may need to learn how to communicate with a younger relative in a different community via their phone and wants to learn how to do FaceTime, they can do it here.”

The van was donated by SiFi Networks, the company that’s in the process of building a citywide fiberoptic internet network in Rockford.

“Closing the digital divide is very important to us, and we are thrilled to have partnered with the Rockford Public Library with our donation of the DigiLibrary and its tech to create a sustained impact throughout the city, bringing connectivity to the hands of those that are challenged to connect. We look forward to seeing it around the city providing a vital service,” a company spokesperson said Thursday in an email to Eyewitness News.