Providing Access to Telehealth Through the Public Library

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a steady rise in telehealth use. By way of example; March 2020 saw telehealth visits increase by 154% compared to March 2019! While more recently, telehealth usage has decreased from all-time highs, it remains a convenient, and sometimes necessary option in rural communities where access to health care and public transportation may be limited. Even as telehealth presents an attractive option, a digital divide exists, particularly in rural communities, with Pew Research indicating nearly one-in-three households lack broadband access. With many communities possessing both a demonstrated need for telehealth, and persistent barriers to access, libraries stand poised to help.

Why are libraries ideal telehealth partners? Continue reading my piece at the Arizona Telemedicine Program’s Blog.

Seeking a speaker for your library or organization? In need of a professional development webinar? Let’s talk! Need a roadmap for introducing emerging technologies into your library? Check out Best Technologies for Public Libraries!

How to Affordably Engage with Expensive Technologies at Your Library

Too often, high tech is synonymous with high cost, discouraging adoption by libraries with limited budgets. In this clip from Computers in Libraries 2022, I demonstrate how a little creativity can allow your library to still engage with an “expensive” technology without breaking the bank!

Seeking a speaker for your library or organization? In need of a professional development webinar? Let’s talk! Need a roadmap for introducing emerging technologies into your library? Check out Best Technologies for Public Libraries!

Survey Reveals Growing Distrust of Social Media

A just-released Washington Post-Schar School Tech Survey reveals Americans are deeply suspicious of Big Tech, even as they engage in heavy use of their products.  Some key findings:

  • 74% find targeted ads to be invasive.
  • 73% view Big Tech’s data collection used for targeted ads as “an unjustified use of people’s private information”.
  • Just 10% believe Facebook has a positive impact on society, compared to 56% who believe it has a negative one.

With responses like these, it should come as no surprise that 64% of respondents think the government should do more to regulate how Internet companies handle privacy issues.

The survey was conducted by the Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Seeking a speaker for your library or organization? In need of a professional development webinar? Let’s talk! Need a roadmap for introducing emerging technologies into your library? Check out Best Technologies for Public Libraries!