The charge to advance digital inclusion in the nation’s capital is set to soar through a transformative partnership between the DC Public Library Foundation (DCPLF) and Comcast, which has awarded a $100,000 grant to bolster the foundation’s Digital Navigator Program and launch new initiatives aimed at closing the digital equity gap in D.C.
Officially announced on March 20, the multipurpose grant – part of Comcast’s ProjectUp initiative – honors a continued passion of the partnering institutions to forge paths for economic mobility and exceed digital opportunity beyond access to resources.
“There are some people who just want to learn digital skills, and that’s amazing, and the library is here to support that, but there are some people who want to achieve a personal goal, a professional goal,” said Meaghan O’Connor, director of service design and engagement at DC Public Library (DCPL), “and the best way to do it is through technology.”
With the financial aid to further support DCPL digital navigators, equip a digital skills memory lab in Anacostia, and host networking opportunities, DCPLF and Comcast strive to leverage digital innovation for generational wealth and community preservation in Washington, D.C.
Misty Allen, vice president of government affairs and community impact for Comcast’s Beltway Region, told The Informer that these collaborations serve as a catalyst to not only close the digital gap but also nurture generations of leadership and culture shapers.
“Research consistently shows that the personal connection of a digital navigator is a game-changer for boosting people’s confidence with digital tools and opening doors to rewarding career opportunities,” Allen said in a statement to The Informer. “We are proud to partner with the DC Public Library Foundation to support its innovative program and help create a more connected community in the District.”
Advancing Digital Inclusion, Connectivity Through DCPL Navigators
Amid high demand and widespread dependency on technology usage, DCPLF made an investment in Washingtonians with the Digital Navigator Program, established in 2022. The pivotal initiative works to provide residents with access to connectivity, digital resources, and technical assistance, and has gone on to support more than 3,000 community members with digital skills training annually across eight of the 26 public libraries in the District.
Despite certain anomalies that have since reversed, such as predominantly virtual learning modalities, O’Connor noted that the program’s founding purpose remains just as relevant now as three years ago.
“The need and the opportunity was dramatically highlighted and increased during the kind of key pandemic years…but the need hasn’t lessened,” O’Connor told The Informer. “What we saw was increased awareness, but many things that went digital stayed digital.”
Thus, this collaborative effort to increase digital equity is on par with the mission of DCPL and its separately embedded foundation.
While future hope is to increase the number of digital navigators in the city, the funding allocated by Comcast will focus on supporting the five navigators that currently balance shifts across libraries such as: Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Parklands-Turner in Congress Heights, and other neighborhood libraries like that of Mt. Pleasant, Anacostia, Woodridge, among others.
Digital providers offer individualized support in areas like applying for government services, accessing federal resources, and other immediate needs that require some level of digital literacy, while also teaching residents real-world applicable skills like patience and persistence.
“Just being able to sit next to someone and help them solve their problem in a moment where they may be about to lose their housing or not be able to have food on the table,” O’Connor said, “that changes people’s lives.”
Rob Hartman, executive director of the DC Public Library Foundation, highlights the program’s mission to build these digital skills for employment benefits, as well. The community advocate noted how empowering residents with the confidence and comfort to excel in digital navigation can often achieve bigger goals, and eventually, economic mobility.
“Bringing the folks in and allowing them to explore the different aspects [of technology] is something that’s really unique within the library. That it’s not a one-size-fits-all, that individuals will be able to find what their passions are, or what they are about in order to become more employable over time,” Hartman said.
He added that the funding from Comcast will only elevate the pivotal role of trust and “free-thinking” within public libraries, which he touted as “some of the most beautiful buildings” in Washington, D.C.
Further, the grant’s dedication to connectivity includes helping fund a digital navigator summit in June. During the summit, technical assistants across the city – regardless of official title – will gather for an all-day event to strengthen the network of D.C.-based digital literacy providers, improve coordination and skill sets, and enhance the humanistic approach to advance digital equity.
With preparations still in the mix, O’Connor shared her excitement for the proposed event, highlighting one of DCPLF’s core values to “stay rooted” in the community.
“[This grant] is really about how we continue to be here for our community,” O’Connor told The Informer. “To advocate for our community, and to make sure we’re capturing our local history and preparing people for the future.”
Digitizing the Past to Ensure a Future: Memory Lab Holds the Stories of Black Washingtonians
In the spirit of capturing local history, the Comcast-funded grant will also be used to equip a digital memory lab in the Anacostia Neighborhood Library, a replicable model of the existing institution in MLK Central Library.
The memory lab will host sessions for residents to come in and learn how to digitize footage from older, outdated digital models, like video cassette recorders (VCR) and video home systems (VHS), optimizing an often overlooked use of technology to not challenge the future, but preserve the past.
“In every city, our history is who we are. The stories we have about our families and communities are really what bind us, and if we can help people preserve that, so they can understand the power of where they come from, it can help them understand where they want to go, whether that’s as an individual, as a family, or as a neighborhood,” O’Connor explained.
With such a variable position as the capital cornerstone of the nation, Hartman noted Washington D.C.’s susceptibility to change is all the more reason to leverage digital skills to create long-term impact, such as with community preservation.
“Washington, D.C. is such a unique community in that we are the seat of the federal government, yet we have over 700,000 residents that have their own personal stories,” he explained. “Especially as our city continues to grow [and] demographics change, we need to hold on to what the roots of our city is.”
The DCPLF executive director added that Anacostia Neighborhood Library is the prime destination to implement this innovative project.
Aside from bringing the memory lab to another accessible part of D.C., the rich history of the historic neighborhood lends it as a crucial timeline of local culture, specifically in the realm of African American leadership and change-making.
Hartman said that, like the Anacostia Community Museum, in which he serves on the board, the memory lab plans to “tap into that synergy” of preservation and empowerment for Black Washingtonians. He further noted that this initiative is just the beginning of DCPLF’s continued efforts to champion underserved communities.
“As we enter into this next phase of the federal government’s oversight of D.C., we’re going to become that much more important in terms of supporting a local community organization,” Hartman told The Informer.
In the meantime, he and O’Connor encourage community members and other organizations to join the push for digital equity in the nation’s capital.
As O’Connor revered DC Public Libraries as an “anchor institution” in each community it serves, she emphasized hopes to see the grant further a shared passion to shape the future of digital preservation for underserved communities, namely in “a way that makes sense to them.”
“To be in more rural areas and really see what the introduction of technology could mean for people, whether it’s for personal use, starting a small business, an entrepreneur–it’s such a powerful thing,” O’Connor told The Informer. “There’s a saying that strong libraries build strong communities. That’s kind of a core belief for me.”
This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship Lab. The Lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.