S6E1 Maine Broadband Access Part 2: Digital Equity, Attitudes, and Access

This episode is part 2 of a two-part series on the status of broadband in Maine, with today’s topic focusing on digital equity, attitudes, and access. As we discussed in part one, Maine is uniquely situated for addressing the challenge of getting broadband access to every person, from urban to rural towns, both having their own distinct set of obstacles and opportunities. We highlighted the importance of putting communities “in the driver’s seat” to make decisions about funding distribution, to choose and advocate for the entities they want to provide that Internet service, and other approaches to making reliable broadband available, depending on the needs of a town’s constituents. In this episode, we discuss broadband access in Maine with Jessica Perez, Marijke Visser, and Diane Small.

Transcript

[00:00] Eric Miller: Hello, and welcome back to Maine Policy Matters, the official podcast of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine, where we discuss the policy matters that are most important to Maine’s people and why Maine policy matters at the local, state and national levels. My name is Eric Miller, and I’ll be your host. Today we’ll be talking about digital equity with Diane Small, Marijke Visser, and Jessica Perez. 

Jessica Perez is the Digital Equity Manager at Maine Connectivity Authority, Maine’s broadband internet agency. Her work is focused on ensuring Maine people, especially those most impacted by the digital divide, not only have internet access, but can meaningfully use it. Prior to her current role, Jessica worked at Bates College and Bowdoin College, where she designed and managed programs for first-generation to college students. She pursued her own studies at Stanford University and Harvard Graduate School of Education. She lives in Freeport and enjoys birding, dancing, and reading. 

Marijke Visser is the Director of Library Development at the Maine State Library. As Director, Marijke is responsible for the overall vision of the department and the delivery of direct services to libraries of all types, including public, K-12, and academic, and special libraries. She leads a team of specialists who provide professional development opportunities for Maine’s 257 public libraries. Marijke is co-chair of Maine’s Digital Equity Alliance. 

Prior to coming to the Maine State Library, Marijke spent 12 years at the Public Policy Advocacy Office of the American Library Association, where her portfolio focused on digital equity and inclusion, including broadband access and adoption, and the federal e-rate program. 

Diane Small is the executive director of the Sanford Housing Authority, an agency dedicated to providing housing choice vouchers and affordable housing options. Diane is committed to finding innovative solutions to regional housing challenges, with a strong focus on serving vulnerable populations and improving the quality of life for all.

Previously, she was the chief operating officer at York County Shelter Programs in Alfred, Maine, where she was instrumental in managing shelter operations and implementing comprehensive support programs for individuals experiencing homelessness. Diane resides in Sanford and enjoys spending time with her family at her son’s orchard in Acton. 

This episode is part two of a two-part series on the status of broadband in Maine, with today’s topic focusing on digital equity, attitudes, and access. As we discussed in Part 1, Maine is uniquely situated for addressing the challenge of getting broadband access to every person, from urban to rural towns, both having their own distinct set of obstacles and opportunities. We highlighted the importance of putting communities in the driver’s seat to make decisions about funding distribution to choose and advocate for the entities they want to provide that internet service and other approaches of making reliable broadband available, depending on the needs of a town’s constituents. A key aspect of broadband access is ensuring digital equity, which means everyone has the opportunity to benefit from technology.

In Maine, this is particularly important due to the state’s geographic diversity and rural population. Factors like income, education, and location can significantly impact access to broadband and the internet in general. Maine has implemented various initiatives to address digital equity, including the Affordable Connectivity Program, Maine Connectivity Authority’s Digital Equity Plan, and the Maine Digital Inclusion Initiative.

 Maine has also allocated significant funding to support broadband infrastructure expansion in underserved areas, partnered with public libraries to provide internet access and digital literacy training to residents and community broadband hubs. Even with these initiatives in place, challenges remain in achieving digital equity in Maine. Factors such as the cost of broadband, the availability of affordable devices, and digital literacy skills continue to hinder access for many residents.

Now, onto our panel discussion on digital equity, attitudes, and access in Maine. 

Hi all. Thanks so much for joining us today. Perhaps we could start a conversation by covering some of the digital access factors that each of you are addressing in your work. What does that work look like on a day-to-day basis? Jessica, if you wouldn’t mind starting us off.

[4:45] Jessica Perez: Hi. It’s a pleasure to be here with you. My name is Jessica Perez and I’m the Digital Equity Manager for Maine Connectivity Authority.

And what that means is that I work on closing the digital divide on behalf of the state of Maine. Maine Connectivity Authority is the agency charged with ensuring that everyone can get an internet connection and can meaningfully use it. And that meaningfully use it is what we call digital equity.

And what we’ve been doing is making sure that everyone in Maine has access to devices, that they’re able to afford their internet service, that they have the digital skills, that they need to be able to use a device, that they can find tech support when they need it, that they can keep themselves safe online, and that they can access government resources. So all of those are part of the digital equity landscape. And those are also specifically all focused on populations that are impacted by the digital divide.

And so that includes people who live in rural areas, as well as older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, people with language barriers, as well as other populations that you can think of that would be impacted by the digital divide. And so from where I sit, I am responsible for helping make sure that we coordinate and support the effort across the state and work with the great organizations represented here to support achieving those goals. 

[6:22] Eric Miller: Thank you for articulating what equity means. And I feel like equity often gets confused with equality and the discussion often gets muddy. And so I feel like you articulated extremely well there. Thank you. 

Marijke, if you wouldn’t mind describing your day-to-day.

[6:38] Marijke Visser: Sure. And thank you for having me here. I’m Marijke Visser, the Director of Library Development here at the State Library. And for this context, I usually talk about public libraries and I will do that. But I wanted to just call out that we also have K-12 and academic libraries that are also active in the digital equity space. Though I think primarily people are thinking about, oh, their local community, public library when we think about digital equity. 

So in my role at the State Library, I’m a little bit like Jessica, I think, in that I work directly with libraries that then serve their communities and are working with some of the population groups that Jessica mentioned. So we really look at the digital equity work, I think, in two ways. First, it’s really to raise awareness of the library infrastructure that we’re so fortunate to have here in the state, and different organizations or potential partners with libraries. And I’ll get into that a little bit later, I think, with some of the other questions that we’ll be talking about. But really to look at libraries as partners, to address things going on in local communities is what we do.

[7:51] Eric Miller: Thank you very much. Diane, how about the work that you’re up to?

[7:56] Diane Small: Yeah, thanks for having me today. This is a great conversation to have, to just educate our whole state on the importance of digital equity. So at Sanford Housing, what we found during the COVID pandemic was when we did a survey, that we serve people from low-income, moderate-income, and extremely low-income, seniors, 55 and older, and people with disabilities. 

And we found through those surveys that people are feeling very isolated, and they couldn’t go shopping, they couldn’t connect with another human. And it was really, really, and I think many times, even before the pandemic, people were feeling a little bit isolated. We just weren’t in tune to that, and weren’t really aware of how much people were feeling that.

So through the pandemic, we decided, well, what can we do to help people? And then kind of a convoluted story of how we got to provide free Internet services. But the city of Sanford actually has a FiberNet service that they provide. 

 And so we talked to them about grants and getting connected to Fiber, which is so reliable because some of our properties did have Wi-Fi, but it was not reliable at all for them. So that’s what we started doing. And through that and talking to people like Jessica and some other digital equity conversations, we came up with a plan of what’s our next step.

Because equity isn’t just providing the Internet service for free, right? It’s also about how do they access it safely? Do they have the tools to do that?

So that’s just kind of the beginning stages of how we’re interfacing for that. 

[9:21] Eric Miller: I’m so glad you brought up COVID-19, because it seemed like some people were aware that not everyone necessarily had Internet, but kind of shrugged it off. What’s the big deal? And then families were bringing their kids to McDonald’s so that they could get online, or something like that. 

And so it really was thrust into the public view just how people, how they need it and how vital it is to succeed, not only as a child, but as you’re seeking a career or what have you. So Diane, I’d like to pull at some of the things you were talking about with the programs. It sounds that you’ve covered some successes already, but if you wouldn’t mind kind of describing some of those other successes you’ve had and some challenges that remain for your constituents in Sanford and why some of those barriers to add digital access are so important to address. 

[10:14] Diane Small: Yeah, I’d love to. So our success really is about teaching our staff too about digital equity and how important it is for the property managers to be able to have conversations with people that live in our property to see what are some of the challenges that they’re having, right? Do they not have a laptop, an iPad, a computer, or know how to even access internet through their phone?

Are they using their data plan because they don’t know that they have free Wi-Fi and that they can connect. And also doing classes with, oh, did you know that in our local grocery store, you can have groceries delivered so that if you’re not feeling well, or if you don’t want to go out, it helps with food insecurity and also their mental health. They can FaceTime their family. It’s fantastic.

Some of the concerns that we also address were scams, right? Because it’s all over the internet.

So we started doing monthly Coffee with a Cop, which people love to talk to our police department. They have great community police officers. They believe them. They trust them. So if they say, don’t hand write down your passwords, do it this way, they will listen to them. No matter how many times that we say it, right?

But it’s really a trusted law enforcement that can come in. And also what happens if I do become a victim of the scam? What’s the next step?  So really talking to people about that now that they have this wonderful access to the internet, how do we make sure that they’re safe on the internet? So that’s a success. 

Some of the challenges still are finding the right equipment for people to use. So one of the things we’re trying to do now is to do, we call them business centers, so much like the libraries, try to have room with computers and have somebody monitor them and have classes for people to learn how to best use that tool. So we’re working on, I think we have two completely done at one of our properties, just working on finding somebody who can volunteer to monitor them at first so that people can use them. So if people don’t have equipment, they can then go to this business center and use it. 

So that’s great. And really it’s just now that we’re working on the equity plan for those properties, we’re looking at how can we now help our family housing. Because it’s different, it’s row housing. So it’s individual units, but they really need it too.

So is that hotspots or is it, how can we work with the school system? So it’s really kind of expanding out and figuring out, now we need to draw the community and make it more of a voice. We’re working on our city comprehensive plan and I’m on the steering committee and I’m gonna talk about digital equity and our comprehensive plan to see how we can start integrating some of this language in there so that it’s supported throughout and we have the best access. 

We have fiber that’s connected and owned by the city. So it’s really, we have such a resource. We’re very fortunate in Sanford to have that.

[12:52] Eric Miller: Yeah, having fiber at your disposal for your residents is incredible and the success you’ve had collaborating with other organizations to push the message and education really is, I’m glad that you’ve had such success doing that. 

Marijke, at the library, how do you find some successes? Is it more obvious, while Diane’s going more to the place of residents and people are going to you at the library, how do you find success and where are the challenges that remain for the barriers of folks that you’re serving?

[13:26] Marijke Visser: Sure. So I think maybe I’ll start with describing a little bit how the digital equity work happens in a library typically. And so we have here in Maine 257 public libraries, more or less, I’ve been saying this a lot recently, but more or less sprinkled across the state. 

So if you look at a map of Maine, odds are that there’s, if you imagine a pin, there’s a library pinned in your community across the state. We’re also super fortunate that the majority of the libraries here participate in what is called the Maine School and Library Network for their internet access, which means that for the participating libraries, which is about 90% of those libraries, they have a gigabit of fiber coming to the door, which even in a tiny little community, you can imagine that that’s pretty astounding. So people at home may not have access to a gigabit or they can’t afford it if it is available.

The library down the street has it. So broadband is not a limiting factor for the services that libraries can provide in most cases. Now, again, it’s for those libraries that are participating in the network. 

So I like to say that because I think that that’s not necessarily known. So people are bringing their devices in, there’s good Wi-Fi, they can access Wi-Fi outside of the library. And since Diane brought up the pandemic, during the pandemic, libraries, if they weren’t already doing it, were leaving their Wi-Fi on 24-7.

So I know it’s not ideal to be in your car in the winter, especially accessing it, but it’s an option if you don’t have an alternative, and it’s a safe place to do it. Libraries also provide public access computers. So if you don’t have your own device, a library, all the libraries have at least one or two computers.

More and more are having tablets, some of them loan the tablets out to be used. And then we have people who, staff who are helping, usually in three ways. I think of the main way, all libraries do this. 

And I don’t think that they necessarily think about it as they’re doing digital equity work, but we have people who come in, I call it point of need. So like I’m applying for a job, I all of a sudden realize I don’t know how to attach my resume, or I can’t navigate a website, I’m applying for benefits, or I’m trying to do a housing voucher and I don’t have an email or whatever it might be. So they come in with a specific need and the library staff person can help them figure out what it is that they need to do to get that job done.

We also have some libraries that offer drop-in hours, so appointment with a library. So between two and five, you can come in with any tech question and we can help you with that. Then we also have libraries more and more, I will say, who are offering formal classes. 

 Now, whether the librarian is teaching the class or partnering, you know, it happens in different ways, but those formal classes or something. So what we’re seeing that I think is super successful is that somebody may come to the library with a resume question, whatever it is, then they see, or the librarian tells them, oh, did you know we also offer classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays? You can take these classes and then spend some time and really get into some of that.

So that’s something that has been a success. It’s kind of the gateway to learning more skills. And then adding to the capacity of the libraries, I think these partnerships that are springing up with all this attention on digital equity is another real success. 

So many of these libraries are managed by one or two people. So they’re doing everything in addition to having people drop in with these questions. So to add to the capacity of the libraries to be able to do this work, these partnerships are super important.

We’re seeing more and more happen, which is another important outcome of the work.

[17:30] Eric Miller: Thank you very much. Yeah. Libraries, I think that everyone has a specific memory as a kid, and some people drift away from using the library more, and some people stick with it. And it’s just really amazing what services you have to offer. It seems like libraries have a limitless supply of things you can check out in addition to books, whether it’s tools or what have you. So the expertise is very impactful on a community. 

Jessica, what are some of the successes and challenges that the Maine Connectivity Authority has seen for their constituents in addressing digital equity?

[18:02] Jessica Perez: Sure. I can tell you about some of what we learned in 2023. We did a broadband action planning process, and so we talked to people in focus groups, we did community meetings, we did a survey, and so we heard from over 4,000 people in Maine about their experiences using the Internet and being able to achieve what they want to achieve with their connection.

Some of the things that we heard, they won’t be surprising, but they’re really clear indicators of the barriers that people experienced. I remember being in a focus group, and actually this happened almost at every focus group. You would ask, do you feel like you have a reliable Internet connection? 

People laugh. Nobody feels like they have good Internet. Then you would ask them, where do you go to get tech support?

People are like, I don’t really know where to go. Either my kids or my grandkids help me, which usually involves tears or frustration. Or I just kind of give up and I can’t resolve the issue.

We also heard that people don’t know how to build up their digital skills. They are like, I don’t know how to do this, but I don’t really know where to go. Or if I know that there’s a resource, I’m worried that it’s not at my level.

I need someone to tell me how to use the mouse, and no one starts at my level when I need help. We also heard that folks didn’t know how to stay safe online, and that they were worried about their kids or their parents or grandparents, because everyone knows how much fraud there is out there, and that vulnerable populations are targets of online fraud. So those are some really substantive barriers that people face on a day-to-day basis when trying to use their internet. 

In terms of successes, we really had a wonderful opportunity in Maine, in part because of the funding that’s coming in from the federal government through the bipartisan infrastructure law, to learn what it is that people are facing and to have put together a plan for how we are going to make sure that everyone in Maine can have access and use their connection the way that they want to. And so Maine is actually the first state in the nation that created and had their plan approved by the federal government for working toward digital equity for the state.

So that’s a very exciting thing and we’re very proud and we feel like we really centered people first in making our plans and then work from there to figure out what the infrastructure needs to be. And along with that, there’s been lots of other wins, but one that I think in addition I will highlight is that we have so much more capacity in the state toward this effort than there has previously been. So even a role like mine at the state level that’s focused on digital equity, that’s a new role that didn’t exist before.

We have these people called digital navigators, which is just kind of a general term for folks who help someone use technology. So you could even refer to a library staff person as a digital navigator. But we have paid staff positions in Maine that are digital navigators. And now we’re up to 23 of those paid positions. And so all throughout the state, you can find these people whose job it is to help you figure out how to use your device or apply online. And there’s lots of other volunteers who do that.

And as Marijke brought up, there are also people who do it as part of their regular job. And we have organizations across the state that have committed to this work. We have regional and tribal broadband partners who represent the whole state. 

And each one of them is working with their local communities to make sure that they can address the issues as is appropriate for the communities that they’re in, as well as nonprofits and state agencies, and towns and municipalities that are all getting on board and really committed to making this happen in a way that’s really exciting.

[22:44] Eric Miller: That’s amazing. The way that you’ve helped people navigate the sophisticated scams and frauds is really important work. It seems like the internet was never a super safe place, but it seems like the sophistication and reach of so many different types of schemes have really proliferated in recent years. 

You bringing up the funding that you’re receiving from the bipartisan infrastructure law is a nice segue into our next question of how your respective organizations are addressing digital access and what resources are needed to maintain operations and at the capacity that you need to in order to adequately take on these barriers. Jessica, if you wouldn’t mind elaborating a little bit more.

[23:35] Jessica Perez: Well, there is this great funding coming in the door from the federal government. We’re doing this great capacity building in the state of Maine. The question is, is it enough?

Because there is so much need out there. And we recently awarded a program of ours called Connectivity Hubs Grant. And that is a grant program with funds from the Capital Projects Fund. 

We had just under $12 million in order to give out to organizations across the state to improve their facilities, to make capital improvements, and then provide services such as digital equity services, but also education, workforce development, and health monitoring. So we put this grant out there, and we had over 70 organizations apply for that funding. And so $12 million is not enough for 70 organizations to make those capital improvements.

So on the one hand, it’s very rewarding to be able to give out awards to these organizations. And we have a couple libraries, and we have adult education programs, and we have nonprofits that are spread across the state who will be able to use this funding to do great things for their communities. But it also still demonstrates that there’s a gap that more organizations want to be able to do this, want to be able to support their communities, and the funding isn’t quite there. 

And so we’re still doing as much work as we can to figure out, are there private funds perhaps that we might be able to raise, or other steps that we can take to try to match the need that is out there.

[25:24] Eric Miller: Unfortunately, the perennial struggle is, get funding and it’s great. And sometimes you just look at the landscape and there’s so much need, which hopefully that can be parlayed into justification for increased action and funds and resources to be distributed. And Marijke, the libraries can be a hot political topic in terms and especially has been in recent years.

What are some of the resources that you all need to stay running your capacity to be staple in communities across Maine? 

[25:58] Marijke Visser: Well, so funding, right? I think everybody would say funding. But what I am hoping that comes out of this moment in time, I think Diane said in the beginning, it really is in part a result of the pandemic, that it became like you couldn’t hide the fact that digital equity was necessary.

It’s not just about the broadband infrastructure. It’s like all of it together. And so I’m hoping that there’s a way that we can really institutionalize the work that’s happening now with this infusion of funding so that it will be prioritized locally, regionally, and at the state level so that as legislation gets passed, that there’ll be a digital equity component in that legislation.

So it would become not an unfunded mandate, but a funded mandate. So I know as an example, internet providers now in some instances receive some funding need to have a digital equity component to it. And I would love to see that become across the board. 

 I think for libraries that that would really help add to the capacity so that they can continue this work. That many of our libraries are run by one or two people. So there’s only so much staff capacity there.

And I know that we’re not unique, that many organizations that are doing this work on the ground, it’s staffing and funding. But if we can raise awareness of the good work that libraries are doing at the municipal level, then I’m hoping that there won’t be so much competition for scarce resources and that it will just become ingrained that we need to continue to fund this work. So to leverage the excitement and the energy that’s out there now because of this big infusion of cash, to leverage that in the long term is something that I’m hoping will come out of that.

And that will add to the capacity so we can continue the work that started here. 

[27:57] Eric Miller: Yeah, it’s amazing what one or two people can do running a library. We’re all grateful for their efforts. Diane, as the person here that has the most localized operations in one city, what are some of the strategies and resources that you all need to maintain your capacity and your impact in Stanford?

[28:19] Diane Small: Yeah, I think for us too, when we, so I think we started it three and a half years ago, there was no funding to connect to the fiber. We had to, there was no state funding and there was no federal funding. Everyone just wanted us to go to our city to get ARPA money, which was already spent on other things that they found more important at the time.

Not really understanding digital equity in our community wasn’t any, nobody was talking about that. So we just decided that it was important enough that we’re going to write some grants to banks and different things and we got those. And the city did give us kind of like a discount on connecting from fiber to the buildings. 

So that helped and that was great. And then as far as sustaining, paying for the Wi-Fi so that all tenants get free Wi-Fi, it was just our board supported that philosophy, that we find it that it’s important that people do better. It helps people be stabilized in their housing.

So we just put it back into operations and decided that it was going to be something we pay for. So and to clarify, we do it much like a hotel does, right? So it doesn’t go to each individual unit.

There’s 173 units that we provide for Wi-Fi for. But we’re able to monitor it. So if we start seeing that there’s not enough gigabytes or whatever, I’m not hugely technical on that part.

I have somebody who does that for me, thank goodness. And we can increase what we’re using. So we use ISP provider, GWI, and digital equity is important to them, and they help us monitor all of that as well. 

So that’s great and it’s sustainable. But moving forward, as we put a housing first project in for people that are living outside and come into housing, and then we’re going to do a workforce housing building too. It was formerly the Springvale Courthouse, which is right next to the Springvale Library.

So that’s wonderful. It’s really looking at, okay, well, we want those two facilities to also have free fiber Internet service. So how are we going to do that? How are we going to pay for that? And then how are we going to, so now we’re going to have all these properties that have access, but then it costs money to really look at these kind of business centers or the public computers, getting people to come in to do trainings or getting people to the adult ed or to the libraries. So really coming up with a sustainability plan for education on digital equity is going to be really important for us. 

So it’s not always about the financial piece, it’s also about the resource piece. And that really connecting people to those resources so that we’re not, we don’t want to be the experts and teaching people how to connect to the internet. We want to provide it, we want the experts to come in and teach them and make it a robust program. That’s why it’s going to be important to continue the conversation about, okay, you have internet, now what?

And we have housing authorities from York all the way through Presque Isle and Van Buren. So there’s 21 housing authorities. So how can we help spread the message that, yeah, you can afford to help people get access.

But beyond that, they need help getting the fiber too. It’s a huge conversation about, because we don’t want to get too focused just on our community, we want all of Maine to be connected. And we want the person down the street who lives in a multifamily that’s not owned by the housing authority, we want them to have access as well. 

So how can we be a voice and how can we make sure that the money coming in from the federal government is used in the best way for all?

[31:27] Eric Miller: Yeah, that’s kind of a scrappy beginning with people that are motivated. And as a really cool proof of concept for the entire state, it’s really amazing what kind of work can be done through some motivated individuals to do things creatively and find resources here and there. And then you’ve made this whole thing, and that’s really awesome. 

Marijke, you’re going to be, I think, carrying the burden for a lot of this next prompt discussing libraries, but I know that Jessica and Diane have something to say about their experience in the library and relationship with the library system as well. But libraries have a very special place in society as they are the only places that people can go for free and have access to devices, internet, and tech help. What are the resulting demands on libraries, and what are the opportunities that come with the access that you can find at the library?

[32:14] Marijke Visser: I think where I want to focus for this is around people coming in and being able to come to a trusted location. No judgment. Anybody can come in. It’s open to everyone. We serve everyone without asking questions. You don’t even need to have a library card, although with your library card, you do have access to a few other resources. 

So being able to come in with whatever question you may have, whether it’s a technology question about how to use your device, whether you’re looking for some skills or whether you just want a quiet place to do your work. I think having a place to come in and also experiment and try new things is something that we haven’t talked about yet, is that now that all this internet is coming and for people who may not have had access at home before, what does it mean to have that? And so coming to the library and being able to try out new applications or try out new devices before you may go to purchase one is something that we haven’t really talked about very much yet.

And so thinking of libraries is maybe a demonstration place. Another thing that we’ve been talking a lot about is using the libraries for co-working spaces or remote working spaces. So thinking about the gigabit that I mentioned earlier, and you may not have that at home, but you can come to the library and conduct a job interview or you can do a Zoom call, those kinds of things. 

We’re having people come into the library and do telehealth appointments using a private space in the library and the library’s internet and a device or you may bring your own device. So connecting with a health care provider, particularly in rural areas where it may be challenging that there may not be a specialist available. So rather than drive three hours to that appointment, you can do it through the library.

So we’re looking at those kinds of things as well as digital equity. So extending what people may have access to outside of the library, extending that in new ways is something that we’re looking at. Some of the demands I did mention already, the staff capacity is a real thing while library staff are eager to help people, it is a challenge sometimes when you’re called in many different directions. 

So we’ve been messaging with the librarians that you may be getting more attention because of all this infusion of cash, and there’s lots of organizations in your community that are coming to you saying, hey, can you help with X, Y, and Z? So we want to make sure that the library staff are prepared to be those good partners. 

Then another reality piece on the ground is that many of our smaller libraries have limited open hours. So even though they may want to do these things, the reality is they’re open 15 or 20 hours a week. So what can you do in that amount of time?

Those are some of the demands that we’re trying to work through now.

[35:12] Eric Miller: As a remote worker myself, I will say I’m grateful to have a place to go where I don’t feel like I owe any money to an establishment and I can just go and do my thing. And other people are also there quietly doing whatever they’re up to, and whether it’s for fun or for work or for health, especially in a place like Maine, that can be so desperately spread out that having that local place to ping in to a specialist is really something that is helpful for people who may not drive or prefer not to drive as far as it would take. 

Diane, how has having a library accessible, or, say someone who is questioning the policy of free internet for people? They might say, hey, why don’t they just go to the library or access free internet? Why is it important that they have internet at home? And you’re more than welcome to speak praise to libraries too if you want to do that. 

[35:58] Diane Small: So our libraries are phenomenal. And one of our libraries is right across from our public housing, our largest high rise. And so to have access to the library, which is now under renovation, they’re changing a little bit.

So when it was there and accessible for people, it was great for that social and enrichment part for people. They had great programming and get people outside and all those wonderful things that you want to have both would be my argument to people that say, why do they need free Wi-Fi? 

And secondly, as part of one of the things that’s important for people living in our properties is telehealth because they don’t have transportation that’s as reliable as it could be, or they have to see a specialist and can’t get, a whole bunch of reasons why people need telehealth. 

So I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I do strongly feel that digital equity is part of public health. And that’s important to be able to have people. Because I think individuals who don’t necessarily need subsidized housing take for granted that they can just afford Internet and they can go to the doctor and they can access all these things, even though it might hurt to pay those Internet bills and it’s not as reliable at home and the fiber is, which isn’t offered in our town to residential homes yet.

So that’s interesting. So I think that my argument would be that in order for them to thrive and to really be healthy, we need to be providing this service and that it is a community service for people. And even though the housing authority pays for it, obviously we’re funded through various federal state money, so everyone feels like they have a say in how we spend that money. 

I would argue that it’s a good use and we’re always talking about being good stewards of the money that we do get. And I can’t think of a better way to operate than to offer people to have robust, thriving, connected lives. And that that also makes them a better citizen of the community because they’re informed now as well.

So we have community meetings with the city. They’ll come in, we had a raise grant for our town. It’s $25 million and they wanted to have community meetings on that. We get to send them through the Internet of Survey. They get to participate in that. And then it was such great information that the public works director said, hey, can I come to the community room and do a meeting with them?

So I think that it really gets people involved in their community, which is great. So that’s how they’re, not that they need to show their worth or pay back to the community, but it’s a way for them to be involved in our community. 

[38:33] Eric Miller: As a public health researcher, we found that isolation can be just so devastating. And so that connection is invaluable. 

Jessica, does Maine Connectivity Authority have any direct relationships with the library or anything you’d like to comment on about it?

[38:48] Jessica Perez: We’re big fans of libraries. Libraries are the OG digital equity entities. So they have really been doing this work since before it had a name and before it had funding.

And so it’s important for us to listen to what our library partners are telling us. We are aware and want to support capacity building in libraries. We are also funding the Capital Improvements Program that I was talking about earlier.

Some of that funding went to libraries so that they can continue doing the important work that we do. And so we want to support the libraries in continuing to do what they’re great at and also to bring in other partners who can support them in that work so that it doesn’t rest entirely on their shoulders. 

[39:39] Marijke Visser: I was going to add that sometimes we get the question like, why do libraries need broadband and provide free broadband? So a similar question to what you asked, but I wanted to emphasize that I think it’s important that people have access to internet device and skills regardless of where they are. So they should have it at home. They should have it at work. They should have it in whatever third space they frequent, whether it’s a library or something else. So it’s a both-and thing.

It’s not one or the other. And I think that people who have it in all their places may take it for granted, but that there are many groups that don’t. And that’s really where the digital equity focus is right now, is making sure that we’re all on the same playing field, so to speak.

So to just really reiterate how important it is that regardless of where you are working, playing, researching, whatever, that you can do it successfully. 

[40:43] Eric Miller: Yeah, it really makes one reflect that, you know, you have internet access at home, and it’s a privileged position to where your complaint is. Either it’s kind of slow or the introductory rate ended, and you have to pay a little bit more. And if that is what your gripe is, not necessarily like, oh, this is a significant budget strain factor, and we have to choose between food, rent, and internet, and I can’t argue with shelter and food, whereas, and so internet may have to get taken off.

So this is a topic that seems like it could be solved and have like an end goal, and people have access and all that stuff. Or is it something that’s a continuous mission? And so as far as what you have done and looking forward, what does success look like in the long run?

And what are some of the metrics that you use to be able to track these factors and look at how your organization operates? Diane, what does it look like for the Sanford Housing Authority? 

[41:40] Diane Small: I think for us, it’s continuing to make sure that people have the access that we’re giving and at no cost to them. So making sure that we have the funding to support that and to educate funders on why it’s important and why they should fund it, so that we can have a voice for our larger community, that everyone should be connected to reliable internet. And also measuring, when we do our next survey, we’re going to ask them, how are you using the internet?

So that we can measure to make sure that people have the tools they need to what they do want to access to and other barriers for them to not be able to do that. So I think that’s the direction we’re going in, is just to make sure that all of our properties have it, including our families, and then also to make sure that they have the tools they need to access it. If it’s just money, we can figure out how to do money.

[42:30] Eric Miller: Excellent. Hopefully, that gets to the ear of the right people. Jessica, looking at the Maine Connectivity Authority, what does success look like in the long run?

[42:40] Jessica Perez: The Maine’s Digital Equity Plan does outline several goals and metrics that we will use to track our progress toward achieving those goals. Some of those include reaching 50,000 underserved Maine people with affordable devices, digital skills, and internet safety education, making sure 100% of those devices come with technical support. But we also want to expand connectivity to 41,000 subsidized affordable housing units.

We want to generate more donated devices that can then be refurbished and provided as those low-cost devices. Of course, we also have in our plan to make sure that everyone in Maine who wants an internet connection can have one. And that they can afford the connection.

Because you can have a connection to your building, to your unit. But if you can’t afford it, you might as well not have one. So that’s the hard work and the goals that we have set forth for ourselves. 

 And that will also continue to evolve. Because we know that we will need to keep up to date with what’s going on. And also we want to continue to push ourselves even further to accomplish more if we can do that.

[43:59] Eric Miller: Yeah, it sounds like a continuous effort. And with technological change and varying just economic shifts, I mean, it sounds like you’ll have plenty to work on for the foreseeable future. 

Marijke, we all hope that libraries will be around forever. So I guess in the long run, it’s just successes, staying around and having community impact. But do you have any type of metrics that you track for libraries and can you comment on that at all?

[44:14] Marijke Visser: As far as what we track, libraries do track numbers. We’re really good at counting things, so counting people who attend programs and all of that kind of thing. In this conversation around digital equity, what I’ve been thinking about in terms of evaluating the impact is, how can we track what people are doing with their access? 

For example, if someone comes in, they’re looking for a job, for them to come back and say, hey, I got the job, and it was because you helped me with my resume or whatever it might be. Those anecdotal stories, I think, are really important. We’ve been talking with our libraries about making sure that they are noting those, keeping those stories.

I think that will help in advocacy efforts in terms of raising awareness of work that has been done and work that continues to need to be done. So thinking about the ongoing work of this, because I think it is really important to recognize that hopefully there will be a day when everybody has access to affordable internet and a device and the skills to use it. But I think because of the constant evolution of technology, that the work will be ongoing.

It’ll just change over time. So to make sure that the partners who are here today, but other partners working in this space can have the capacity to keep doing that work is something that we’re thinking about a lot. Success for libraries, which I’m not sure if there’s a metric for this, is  is I hope that communities will look to libraries as essential partners, so that they’ll always be at the table.

I think we bring a somewhat unique perspective because we do serve everybody. So it’s important to have organizations that are working directly with the covered populations, the target populations, or the groups that are particularly impacted by the digital divide. But we look across all of those groups.

So thinking about from that perspective is somewhat unique, I think. So I’m hopeful that out of this work, that libraries will be seen as that essential community partner. Then again, going back to staff capacity, that library staff will feel equipped to be that good partner, that they’ll have whatever it takes to be that contributing partner is two pieces of success for me. 

[46:43] Eric Miller: I’ve really enjoyed listening how you all have worked together in some capacity or know of each other’s work and how it’s all interrelated. And I really appreciate that on getting to peek at how all of this works regarding internet access and how not everyone necessarily has it, of course, and what types of creative solutions are out there to address it. And I really appreciate you all taking the time to talk to us today and discuss your work and its importance in the state of Maine.

And so to finish off, we like to look forward, of course. What is the future of internet access in Maine? And is there anything else you’d like to mention that we have not already discussed?

Jessica, well, if you want to start us off.

[47:25] Jessica Perez: Internet access is not a luxury. It’s an essential need that everyone has in this day and age. And so we are working toward ensuring that everyone can have that connection and that they can have the skills that they need, the resources that they need, the devices that they need to be able to do whatever it is that they want to do, whether it’s go to school, go to a doctor’s appointment virtually, work remotely, be able to see their friends and family online.

They should be able to do all of those things. And so we will continue to work on that. We will continue to be looking at particular populations and their needs because this is not a one-size-fits-all.

We want to meet everybody. And that means we have to be thinking about how we reach different populations. How do we work with Stanford Housing to make sure that they can serve the families and their row houses?

How do we work with libraries to make sure that we can amplify the digital training that they’re doing? And continuing to build those relationships to bring in other organizations into this work. Together, we can achieve digital equity for Maine.

[48:40] Eric Miller: Very well put. Diane, what do you see for the future of Internet access in Stanford? And do you have anything you’d like to mention that we haven’t already discussed?

[48:49] Diane Small: Yeah, I think that Stanford is really poised to be able to provide a reliable Internet source through the Fibernet to all of Stanford and Springville. And that’s really important. And we’re going to continue to kind of voice that concern that we need to expand it and offer it to residential homes as well, because through the Housing Authority, we also have a voucher program.

And that surrounds nine, so it’s Stanford and then eight other towns that surround us. So we really have the opportunity to talk to those other towns, the rural towns about digital equity and how can we help them start thinking about how those rural towns and those rural libraries too, to partner with them to provide that service for people on our Section 8 program. So although our properties are taking care of this, so many people that still need access.

So that’s going to be our kind of outlook moving forward is now, now what? Now who can we help? And that will be our driving force for digital equity.

[49:47] Eric Miller: Marijke, what do you see as the future of Internet access in Maine and libraries?

[49:53] Marijke Visser: I agree with what Jessica and Diane were saying. One thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot is, what’s next for people who haven’t had all of the Internet devices skills? What’s next? 

So what does it mean to now be connected for the first time or to have reliable Internet for the first time? And how can libraries help people and communities all together explore that? So what does it mean for health care?

What does it mean for the impact of all of this severe weather that we’ve been having? What does having a reliable connection mean for all of that? So to me, it’s like the pipe is there, the Internet is there, and then what are we going to do with it as a state and local communities?

To me, that’s the most exciting part of the conversation, right? So we’ve done the hard work, although I do agree that it’s going to be ongoing for a while, right? But we’ve done it.

And so what does that mean for Maine’s workforce? What does it mean for people who are moving into the state? And what does it mean for our traditional industries and things like that?

So I’m excited about those conversations that should start happening now, and we’ll continue on into the future. 

[51:05] Eric Miller: Very well put. Thank you all so much for the work that you do for the Mainers to be connected and for coming on to Maine Policy Matters to discuss your work. 

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Our team comprises Barbara Harrity and Joyce Rumery, co-editors of Maine Policy Review. Jonathan Rubin directs the Policy Center. Thanks to Faculty Associate Kathryn Swacha, professional writing consultant, Maine Policy Matters intern Nicole LeBlanc, and podcast producer, editor, and writer Jayson Heim.

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