The Warwick Public Library on Sandy Lane has always been known as the place to check out and take home a book. Now, it’s the place to do the same with Internet access.

Thanks to the creative work of Director Chris LaRoux and his staff, those without Internet access at home will now be able to check out a device that grants access to the web. The technology will allow Warwick patrons who don’t have Wi-Fi in their homes to receive it, granting access to online information and opportunities.

“It’s a mobile hotspot about the size of a cell phone. It allows you to connect to it wirelessly with a device – your phone, laptop or other device, for example,” LaRoux said. “We’re pretty excited about this.”

The device, called a T-Mobile 4G HotSpot, allows borrowers to stay connected to the Internet wherever they go while carrying it. The service allows users to quickly and easily connect up to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices to the network and obtain access to a high-speed Internet connection.

“People are really at a disadvantage if they don’t have Internet access, and we get a lot of usage of our computers here,” LaRoux said. “But these devices are also useful if you’re going on a trip or traveling or have kids along that want to use the Internet in the car.”

After doing some research, LaRoux found that there were some libraries, including in Providence, loaning out wireless units. T-Mobile offered a package allowing the library to purchase five units inexpensively. Those are now available for borrowing. The library pays a flat monthly fee of $35, which allows for unlimited data usage.

“A few years ago we bought Chromebooks to loan out within the library, and most people weren’t taking them out of the library,” LaRoux said. “People tended to not want to borrow the Chromebooks, they wanted to use the computers. We eventually decided we would loan the Chromebooks out, but you have to have an Internet connection to use them because they really rely on the Internet to use.”

Given the current economic and employment environment in the state, LaRoux felt it was important to provide Internet access to those who may not have had the opportunity otherwise.

“Most people that take the iPads out seem to use them for other things, like a downloaded book, and may not typically need Internet access,” Laroux said. “We felt the Chromebooks would be different and people would be using them to apply for jobs online.”

The library currently has about 20 iPads and 10 Chromebooks available for borrowing with a valid library card. Borrowers of the new HotSpots must be 18 years of age and may utilize the device for two weeks after checkout. There is a $2 per day late fee for unreturned devices.

“We want to get a feel for how much they’ll be used before we buy more,” LaRoux said. “This worked out well for us because we were able to eliminate some of our internal phone lines. A lot of people are doing email, staff are using email and many now access our website, so they’re not calling as much. So we eliminated some of our phone lines and we’re using the savings from that to pay for the mobile devices.”

The devices are located near the main entrance close to the reference desk.

“People can come to the front, grab what they need from the shelf, and they can check it out at reference,” said Jana Stevenson, manager of public services at the library, noting that two devices were checked out almost immediately.

“We’re going to need more devices. We’re definitely going to need more.”