The Isle of Wight council is one of 68 local authorities successful in winning a slice of a £2,646,078 fund to help reduce digital exclusion on the Island and improve library WiFi.
The Arts Council fund supports the development of a library service “that’s fit for purpose now and in the future”. The Isle of Wight are benefitting from a £14,077 grant.
Libraries to benefit include:
- Cowes, Freshwater, Sandown and Ventnor Council Libraries
- Bembridge, East Cowes and Shanklin Community Libraries
All community libraries, as well as Ventnor Library, will have their data lines upgraded, whilst Brighstone and Niton libraries will see an upgrade to their WiFi equipment.
Plans to complete by February 2016
Councillor Ian Stephens, Executive Member for Tourism, Culture and Heritage, said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded funding from the Arts Council England to be able to roll out WiFi to our libraries which are not already WiFi-enabled, which includes some of our own libraries and the community libraries.
“The project will hopefully begin during November and we hope to complete installation by the end of February. It is a requirement of the grant that all installation is completed by the end of March 2016.”
