Library withdraws public hotspots from circulation after usage and cost review
Loading...
Summary
Director Chase Randall said the library removed its hotspots from public checkout after analyzing high per-checkout costs; devices were bought with a CARES Act grant and 10 were in active public circulation.
The Tooele City Library has removed its public Wi-Fi hotspot devices from circulation after staff analyzed usage and costs, Director Chase Randall told the board on Jan. 23.
Randall said the library originally purchased the devices with CARES Act grant funding in 2020. At the time of withdrawal the library had 10 hotspots available for public checkout; staff found a small number of patrons repeatedly checked out the same devices and several devices were using data levels similar to a household's home Internet.
"Several of the hotspots were using about 500 gigabytes of data per month," Randall said. He told the board the library was paying roughly $600 per month for the service and estimated that the hotspots cost close to $6,000 a year in recurring cellular data and service. Given limited library budget and the devices' high cost per checkout, staff removed them from the circulating collection to reallocate funds to other purchases.
Randall said he reached out to other libraries to see whether they would take the devices; several libraries are making similar decisions and did not accept transfers. He said the city IT department accepted a couple of devices for internal use; otherwise the library will salvage or repurpose the hardware.
Board members expressed regret that the library no longer offers the service to some patrons. A board member said she had used a hotspot twice while traveling and found it helpful. Randall said the devices remain physical property of the library but no longer have active cellular service for public checkout.
Ending: Randall said he will continue to explore options and acknowledged there may be future opportunities to provide mobile access differently.
