The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) in September announced that Pottsboro Library in Texas was one of 18 organizations that will be part of the National Digital Navigator Corps. Supported by a $10 million investment from Google.org, the new program will enable institutions serving rural and Tribal communities to hire, train, and support a digital navigator to help residents of those communities gain access to the internet, devices, and digital skills training.

“These grants are about more than just funding,” Angela Siefer, executive director of NDIA, said in the announcement. “By launching the National Digital Navigator Corps, we are extending the digital navigator model to areas of the United States lacking resources. These digital navigators will open doors to residents to transform their lives by engaging in online opportunities, including education, workforce, citizen participation, and social activities.”

Under the leadership of Director Dianne Connery, the Pottsboro Library has become a vital resource for digital inclusion and tech resources for its community of 2,300. In addition to providing the rural community with access to broadband Wi-Fi, computers, and other technology, in recent years the library has developed an e-sports program for local teens through the North America Scholastic Esports Federation and launched an ongoing telehealth program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, both with the help of grants.

The National Digital Navigator Corps program was announced when Connery was attending one of NDIA’s Net Inclusion events last year. “As soon as it was out of their mouth, it was on my calendar” to apply for the grant, she told LJ.

Pottsboro’s grant totaled $350,900, which includes funding for the digital navigator’s salary and benefits for two and a half years, salary for a data manager and program coordinator, new devices and equipment for the library and partner organizations, travel to NDIA Net Inclusion conferences, and more.

Mark Revolinski—who recently retired from a position with Nokia in which he managed teams installing cell tower equipment—had been doing some part-time tech assistance and digital literacy outreach for Pottsboro with funding from a separate grant. He has already accepted the full-time National Digital Navigator Corps position.

Since the beginning of the year, people come to the library “and I help them with their computers, their phones, the internet, whatever they need,” Revolinski told LJ. “I also go out to a couple of senior centers, because they can’t come here…. It’s kind of ‘Technology with Mark.’ I help with any needs they have—iPads, phones, software,” he said, sharing a story about fixing a resident’s voice activated smart speaker. “When I got it working for her, the first thing she did was say ‘hey Google, play Elvis.’ She hadn’t had her music in a month and a half,” he said.

In addition to continuing to work directly with Pottsboro patrons and senior centers, Connery said the grant will help the library add technology courses and expand other outreach efforts, including digital literacy work with a local multicultural family center.

“I can’t wait until three years from now to find out” the impact that the National Digital Navigator Corps program will have on Pottsboro’s residents, Connery said.

“It’s amazing,” Revolinski said about the NDIA program. “It’s something you don’t hear about too often in little towns.”

Pottsboro was the only library awarded one of the grants. The other 17 institutions were the Alaska Federation of Natives (Tribal-led); Cayuse Native Solutions, OR (Tribal-led); Cherokee Nation Tribe, OK (Tribal-led); Community Broadband Action Network Corp, IA; Community Service Programs of West Alabama, Inc.; Computer Reach, PA; Easter Seals of Greater Houston, Inc.; Forest County Broadband Committee, WI (serving Tribal communities); Gila River Broadcasting Corporation: Digital Connect Initiative, AZ (Tribal-led); Hocking Athens Perry Community Action, OH; Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District, CA (Tribal-led); Lummi Indian Business Council, WA (Tribal-led); National Digital Equity Center, ME (serving Tribal communities); Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission, OH; Pueblo of Jemez, NM (Tribal-led); Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc., KY; and Washington State University Extension Grays Harbor County, WA (serving Tribal communities).