Emery County ratifies T‑Mobile hotspots contract for libraries, accepts $1,628 LSTA grant

The Emery County Commission on Aug. 19 ratified a contract with T‑Mobile to provide 20 mobile Wi‑Fi hotspots for the Emery County Library System and accepted a separate Librarian Services and Technology Act (LSTA) borrower support grant to reimburse interlibrary‑loan postage and shipping.

A library system representative told the commission the new contract commits the library to $220.20 per month for 20 hotspots for one year — a $2,642 total commitment — replacing a previous month‑to‑month plan for 10 hotspots at $277.62 per month. The representative said that if E‑Rate funding is approved the library could receive reimbursement for 70% of hotspot costs under that program. “They have to be actively being used,” the representative said of devices under E‑Rate rules, explaining the library rotates hotspots among branches to avoid service interruptions.

The commission voted to ratify the contract and then voted to accept an LSTA borrower support grant of up to $1,628 to cover postage and shipping costs associated with interlibrary loans between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

What the actions mean: the hotspot contract is intended to expand mobile internet access across the county by increasing the number of devices available to patrons; the LSTA grant will offset interlibrary‑loan costs so patrons can access broader resources at no direct charge. Library staff said they typically spent about $1,300 on such services last year and that the awarded amount leaves some margin if usage rises.

Next steps: library staff will finalize deployment of hotspots across branches, continue rotating devices to meet E‑Rate usage rules if funding is approved, and track interlibrary postage expenses against the LSTA award.