Summit County classes offered through Knight Foundation grant
Summit County residents can now take hands-on computer classes at any of the county library system’s 17 public library branches, thanks to a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
“Knight Foundation founders Jack and Jim Knight wanted Akron to be an informed community. In the digital age, we do that by increasing access to a broader geographic area, and enhancing individuals’ computer skills and overall workforce readiness,” said Vivian C. Neal, Knight Foundation program director for Akron. This project will significantly expand and enhance the library’s workforce training offerings community wide.
“Digital access is essential to first-class citizenship in our society. Without digital, you lack full access to information, you are second class economically and even socially,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation.
“If a job application at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s must be made online, how can we pretend that we have equal opportunity if significant portions of our communities don’t have access? Libraries can be part of the solution.”
The Akron project consists of computer training staff offering four to five programs per week at branch library locations. The Akron-Summit County Public Library purchased two mobile carts complete with laptops, peripherals, and wireless Internet
connections.
Topics include basic computer skills, basic Internet, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, ebay, resume workshops, typing, mouse skills and website creation classes. Each class can accommodate 15 people.
“Over the course of three years, the library plans to provide hands-on computer training to more than 7,500 people at branch libraries,” said Library Director David Jennings. “The public’s need for hands-on training is at unprecedented
levels,” Jennings said. “More people are realizing each day that it’s increasingly difficult to navigate the modern world without some basic computing skills and knowledge. This grant enables the library to bring the classes right to your
community.”
In addition to Summit County’s library system, Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library also received a separate grant from the Knight Foundation for a new computer lab.
“Knight Foundation founders Jack and Jim Knight wanted Akron to be an informed community. In the digital age, we do that by increasing access to a broader geographic area, and enhancing individuals’ computer skills and overall workforce readiness,” said Vivian C. Neal, Knight Foundation program director for Akron. This project will significantly expand and enhance the library’s workforce training offerings community wide.
“Digital access is essential to first-class citizenship in our society. Without digital, you lack full access to information, you are second class economically and even socially,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation.
“If a job application at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s must be made online, how can we pretend that we have equal opportunity if significant portions of our communities don’t have access? Libraries can be part of the solution.”
The Akron project consists of computer training staff offering four to five programs per week at branch library locations. The Akron-Summit County Public Library purchased two mobile carts complete with laptops, peripherals, and wireless Internet
connections.
Topics include basic computer skills, basic Internet, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, ebay, resume workshops, typing, mouse skills and website creation classes. Each class can accommodate 15 people.
“Over the course of three years, the library plans to provide hands-on computer training to more than 7,500 people at branch libraries,” said Library Director David Jennings. “The public’s need for hands-on training is at unprecedented
levels,” Jennings said. “More people are realizing each day that it’s increasingly difficult to navigate the modern world without some basic computing skills and knowledge. This grant enables the library to bring the classes right to your
community.”
In addition to Summit County’s library system, Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library also received a separate grant from the Knight Foundation for a new computer lab.
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