28
October
2015
|
10:02
Europe/London

Neithrop Library joins national scheme to teach people how to use the internet

The Banbury based Oxfordshire County Council run library is part of an initiative being run by BT Digital Friends and Barclays Digital Eagles, sessions are being held during late 2015 and early 2016 to reach out to people in Neithrop who have yet to connect with the digital era.

Around 12 per cent of the population of the UK has never been online. This increases to 61 per cent for those over 75 years old.

In recent days, it was announced that Oxfordshire County Council had been awarded £86,000 by Arts Council England to have wi-fi installed at the 28 libraries in the county that do not currently have it. This will happen during Spring 2016.

Neithrop Library is one of the 15 Oxfordshire libraries that already has free wi-fi. It was at installed Neithrop by BT as part of the current national initiative.

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Cultural and Community Services, said: “At Oxfordshire County Council we have an ambition to see all 43 of our libraries to become the front door to our services in communities.

“The digital world moves at great pace and libraries will be a big part of that. This initiative at Neithrop reaches out to people who have yet to fully connect to the digital age. We are grateful for the support of BT and Barclays and I am sure people in the area of Banbury that the library supports will benefit a great deal.

“This is certainly something that we’d like to see happen in other areas of Oxfordshire in future times – especially given our recent success in winning grant funding from Arts Council England to have wi-fi installed in all of our Oxfordshire libraries.”

“I do hope the sessions will be well attended at Neithrop.”

Digital revolution

Steven Roberts, Transformation Director at Barclays, said: “Across the country people are experiencing a digital revolution, but like all revolutions, it’s not one that happens to all people at once. Some will adopt digital skills quickly, others will take more time.

“At Barclays we believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind on the digital journey.”

When will sessions be held at Neithrop Library?

  • November 13 from 10am to 12noon
  • November 23 from 2 to 4pm
  • December 11 from 10am to 12 noon
  • January 11 from 2 to 4pm
  • January 29 from 10 to 12 noon
  • February 15 from 2 to 4pm
  • March 4 from 10 to 12 noon
  • March 18 from 10 to 12 noon
  • April 4 from 2 to 4pm
  • April 18 from 2 to 4pm