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Technology
Free Wi-Fi available in Surprise library parking lots
Service at 3 city branches during closures
Posted
IF YOU GO
• Asante Library: 16755 W. Vereda Solana Drive
• Hollyhock Library: 15844 N. Hollyhock St.
• Northwest Regional Library: 16089 N. Bullard Ave.
• Information: mcldaz.org
By Independent Newsmedia
Surprise residents have a new option to capture a Wi-Fi signal for school, work or pleasure.
The Maricopa County Library District is opening up the parking lots at its 18 library branches, including the three it operates in Surprise, to allow people to take in a free Wi-Fi signal from their cars.
That’s good news for Surprise job seekers who may have lost their high-speed connections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MCLD operates the Asante Library, 16755 W. Vereda Solana Drive, in north Surprise, the Hollyhock Library, 15844 N. Hollyhock St., in the Original Town Site and the Northwest Regional Library, 16089 N. Bullard Ave., in the City Center.
The Wi-Fi signal will be available at all three libraries every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Users can either sit in their cars to pull in the signal or find a place to sit outside, as long as it’s following social distancing guidelines.
“The Maricopa County Library District is dedicated to providing access,” said Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman in a news release. “With the extended reach of Wi-Fi ... we hope to keep our residents connected, engaged and looking to the future.”
Libraries in Sun City and El Mirage are also becoming part of an expanded Wi-Fi Hotspot and Laptop lending program.
Hotspot kits are available for checkout from the Fairway (Sun City) and El Mirage libraries.
Each kit includes a Chromebook laptop computer and a Wi-Fi Hotspot, and can be checked out for up to three weeks with the option to renew the kit five times.
An American Dream Literacy Initiative grant from the American Library Association helped the Gila Bend Library launched the library district’s first Wi-Fi Hotspot lending program in June 2019.