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Library and E Media expand Go Digital program; distributing hundreds of devices to residents
Summary
East Hampton’s Go Digital program, led by E Media with the library and partner agencies, reported 48 classes, 90 participants and distribution of 108 Chromebooks plus 140 Windows laptops under a device grant; organizers said continued operations depend on grant funds and municipal support.
E Media and the East Hampton Public Library presented an update to the city council on June 3 about Go Digital East Hampton, a grant-funded digital-equity program that offers classes, one-on-one tech help and device distribution.
Jeff Mastriani, executive director of E Media, said the program started after a Massachusetts Broadband Institute grant funded a municipal digital-equity plan and subsequent implementation funding. The program has run roughly 48 classes and three learn-to-earn cohorts; 24 participants completed the nine-hour learn-to-earn course and received Chromebooks. Ben Parra, the library’s circulation and operations librarian, said the program recently received a device grant that provided 108 Chromebooks and 140 Dell Windows laptops and that roughly 30 devices had been distributed in the second week of device pickups.
Parra described a multi-site outreach model—classes and tech-help hours at the library and E Media, plus sessions in three East Hampton Housing Authority locations—and said volunteers and senior work-off participants are expected to help sustain one-on-one support. He said much of the program remains grant-funded and that if a proposed municipal override fails, reductions in departmental staff hours could reduce capacity to apply for grants and to offer classes and tech help.
Councilors praised the program and asked about participant demographics; presenters said the bulk of current participants are seniors reached through the Council on Aging but that device lending could broaden participation across other age groups.
Organizers asked residents to consult the program website for the digital-equity plan and to contact library staff about device pickup and tech-help appointments.
