ECO Location Receives Help From Area Students

When the Kate Love Simpson-Morgan County library received 20 large boxes, each holding a new computer to enable their Every Citizen Online (ECO) training, library director Blythe Schubert knew just where to turn for help to get the computers from boxes to public use.

John Robbins, teacher of electronics and networking at Morgan High School in McConnelsville, had a class full of juniors and seniors eager to learn. The students build computers daily in class. They even repair computers for those in the community at no cost.

The students jumped at the chance to utilize their technology skills to help set-up the new laptop and desktop computers for their local library. They also connected the devices to the library’s network.

“They build old computers over and over in a lab,” said Robbins. “Rarely do they get to build new computers.”

Robbins, accompanied by 22 students, visited Schubert at the library and had the task completed quickly.

“It was an immense help,” said Schubert. “Each student unpacked a computer. They were unpacked and ready within about an hour! It saved us about 22 hours of work.”

Schubert says the students plan to help with the library’s future IT needs. Robbins continues to keep the new laptop computers current with the library’s network.
The students have plans to reformat about a dozen older computers no longer being used by the library, in order for them to be recycled to others in the community.

“It’s an opportunity to show the students the world is a little bigger than just themselves,” said Robbins.

Kate Love Simpson-Morgan County Library received 10 new laptop and 10 new desktop units as a sub-recipient of the ECO program. The laptops enable the organization to provide a mobile computer lab, which it utilizes to offer ECO training at its branch in Chesterhill. It plans to utilize the mobile lab further, with hopes of visiting county senior centers and fire stations, making the Internet available to those who cannot conveniently travel to the library locations in Chesterhill and McConnelsville. When the laptops are not being used for ECO training, they are open to public use at the main library branch.

The library can train 8-10 participants per ECO class and have been steadily full since the launch of the program. Adults from neighboring counties are even driving to McConnelsville for the training. By the end of March, nearly 50 adults have completed the free computer and Internet training offered by Kate Love Simpson-Morgan County Library.

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