Community Connect Fostering Digital Access: Logistics
Training
ALA staff will host an all-day orientation workshop at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference. Those who are unable to attend the orientation workshop should view the following:
Program Evaluation
ALA is working with PIE: Plan, Implement, Evaluate to study how Community Connect impacts internet access, use, digital literacy, and financial capability. The evaluation team’s goal is to collect data to understand the patron experience and learning outcomes throughout the grant period and provide feedback to help ALA’s Public Programs Office, the Public Library Association, EveryoneOn, Capital One and libraries advance their goals. We greatly appreciate your commitment to this work.
The Community Connect program will include a formal evaluation of the implementation and impact of this program. Libraries who receive this grant will be required to work collaboratively with our third-party evaluation partners to do the following:
- Track program attendance and hotspot circulation
- Implement pre- and post-surveys for both library staff and program participants
- Take part in interviews with the third-party evaluation team, if needed
- Identify program participants for potential interviews by the third-party evaluation team
Attendance, surveys, and interviews will help ALA learn about its impact and improve this program in the future. Key questions that will guide this evaluation are the following:
- How was the program implemented?
- What was the impact of this program? How did the hotspots and/or programming support participants?
- How can this program be improved?
ALA and third-party evaluation team will work in partnership with selected libraries and support them throughout the evaluation process. For any questions during the program about any of the evaluation work, including any specific support needed by libraries, please reach out to publicprograms@ala.org.
Hotspot Lending Survey
This is a survey for library patrons who check out a hotspot. Please ask all patrons to fill it out upon returning the device(s). There are three formats you can use to gain their responses, please feel free to use any or all that you feel will best ensure a robust response from your patrons:
- Paper survey that you provide to patrons with the hotspot, for them to return with the device can be downloaded and printed out as needed. On a regular basis, perhaps monthly, please scan and email the surveys to Keirstin McCambridge (keirstin@pieorg.org) and Elisa Cherry (elisa@pieorg.org).
- An online survey you can email to hotspot users (the answers go directly to PIE Org), or
- A QR code you can offer, which will take people who scan it to the online survey.
All the survey formats, as well as Spanish language versions, are available in this Google Drive folder. Please be sure to review the 2025 Evaluation Guidance document.
Pre-Program Form
We will not require the completion of a pre-program form for the 2025 Continuation grant.
Final Report Form
The final report should be completed online using ALA Apply. If you have a program accessing the online report form, please contact publicprograms@ala.org. This form is due by January 31, 2026 for the 2025 Continuation grant.
You can find a PDF preview of the Final Report here for you to reference as you prepare your answers. The report must be submitted via the online report form.
