Pueblo City-County Library District receives nearly $50K to expand internet access

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Pueblo City-County Library District (PCCLD) received nearly $500,000 to expand internet access in the county.

According to library officials, the PCCLD received the money from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF). Thanks to the funds, the library district purchased more than 885 Wi-Fi-connected devices, expanding the district’s digital resource collection by nearly 700%.

“We are extremely proud to bring this size of a broadband connectivity grant to the Pueblo community. This Emergency Connectivity Fund award strengthens the library's commitment to providing internet access and electronic devices — an effort which reached its height during the COVID-19 health pandemic and has continued since. It is our goal to serve students and anyone who wouldn't have connectivity otherwise,” Sherri Baca, PCCLD executive director said.

The library was able to purchase:

• 500 Chromebooks with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity
• 200 Verizon Wi-Fi hotspots
• 85 T-Mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
• 100 iPads

Library patrons can check out internet-connected devices from the Device Library for up to four months. Patrons can check out an internet-connected device from any library location with a valid PCCLD library card or school-issued K-12 ConnectED library card.

For more information on the PCCLD, click here.