Sharing Digital Navigators Among Public Libraries

The Howard Whittemore Memorial Library Community Needs Assessment for the Town of Naugatuck can be used as a guide: 

The city of Naugatuck has a gilded past, but a less opulent present. Like many industrial cities, Naugatuck is a community of haves and have-nots. Of the five census tracts that comprise the city, each different area tells a different story.

While approximately 6% of Naugatuck residents live in poverty, one section of the city has a median household income of $102,765, far more than the county-wide median household income of $75,295. In another part of Naugatuck, 19% of the households have no internet connection and an unemployment rate of 40%. Another section of Naugatuck consists of more than 30% of households that speak a language other than English. This region also contains 388 households with no internet service. Of the almost 12,000 households in Naugatuck, 30% are cost-burdened and the median household income is less than the state average. And, in the whole of Naugatuck, there are 1,391 households without internet subscriptions.

One overall characteristic of the community of Naugatuck is its growth, thanks in part to the increasing foreign-born population that is relocating in the area. Of the approximately 31,000 people in the borough, almost 15% were born in another country. The fastest growing populations hail from Albania, Portugal, Poland, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is critical that these new residents have access to reliable, high-speed technology to aid them in acclimating to their new environments, and finding employment, housing, and other necessities. While access to technology is crucial, this population would also benefit greatly from technology support and instruction in their native language. (Neilsberg.com)

Census data on the digital divide found that in 2014-2018, 89.3 percent of households in Naugatuck had a computer, and 85.1 percent had a broadband internet subscription. An estimated 82.0 percent of households had a desktop or laptop, 75.4 percent had a smartphone, 56.5 percent had a tablet or other portable wireless computer, and 2.9 percent had some other computer.

Among all households, 55.2 percent had a cellular data plan; 78.7 percent had a broadband subscription such as cable, fiber optic, or DSL; 5.4 percent had a satellite internet subscription; 0.4 percent had dial-up alone; and 0.0 percent had some other service alone.

For many members of the Naugatuck community, the ability to work with a Digital Navigator would provide the foundation of understanding and access that could support goals related to technology and promote personal and professional growth.