CLEARFIELD – Anyone who has utilized the Joseph and Elizabeth Shaw Public Library within the past two months has probably noticed the recent addition of seven brand new computers. The new desktops are available to patrons of the library, including free Internet access.
The Shaw Public Library was a recipient of a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation U.S. Libraries initiative. The Foundation focuses on public libraries serving communities in need and sets out to help them with hardware and includes a stipulation that libraries must provide free access to the computers and the Internet.
Assistance is dependant on economic need of the library and community and the library’s need of new computer hardware. One component to sustaining the grant is that a library must show a dedication to matching the money provided by the grant over a term of two-years. Friends of the Shaw Public Library generously committed to providing the necessary match so that the library could take advantage of this opportunity.
The library encourages the community to come and utilize the computers. “I hope that the Clearfield community will continue their generosity to the Friends of the Shaw Public Library next year,” stated Paula Marshall, library director, “Without their support this project could not have been completed.”
Library hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.