Bringing A Device To Your Door – Suffolk Libraries Launches Laptop Lending Scheme

Suffolk Libraries is launching a new scheme to help people get online at home by lending them laptops.

The new Device to Your Door scheme has been funded by Suffolk’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund. The aim is to provide help for those with no access to a computer or the internet. 

The scheme offers the loan of a laptop and 4G dongle for 48 hours so people can get online to complete vital tasks such as job seeking, benefit applications, schoolwork, a GP consultation or booking vaccination appointments. Device to Your Door also brings a laptop to you so it’s ideal for those without their own transport.

Anyone interested in the scheme can call 07735 609303. This number is staffed from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday and you can leave a message outside these hours. Alternatively, you can email devicetoyourdoor@suffolklibraries.co.uk

Suffolk Libraries staff will arrange for the laptops to be delivered directly to people’s homes and collected two days later.  All the devices are cleaned after use and delivered in a COVID-safe manner.

Bruce Leeke, Chief Executive of Suffolk Libraries, said:

“Living without internet access can be a major disadvantage in a digital society but it’s often the people who need it most who can’t afford a computer or the costs of broadband. We wanted to launch this new scheme to help people get connected to conduct essential tasks like job seeking, benefit applications or schoolwork.

“People regularly use library computers for this type of thing, but due to the current lockdown this service isn’t going to be available again for a few more weeks and is likely to be in high demand when it returns. Device to your Door will help many more people across Suffolk get online and keep people safe at home whilst we’re still in lockdown.”

Anyone interested in the scheme should have a Suffolk Libraries account which can be set up quickly and easily when you call. 

Suffolk County Council’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund uses funding from the Department of Health and Social Care to restrict the transmission of Covid-19 in communities.  As part of this, third sector and community settings were invited to submit proposals with their ideas about protecting local communities. 

Cllr James Reeder, Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health, said: 

“We had several excellent projects submitted around digital exclusion and the impact that could be had on Covid-19 transmission by improving digital skills and access to devices. Suffolk Libraries’ ‘Device to Your Door’ project is a great example of this, and we believe that it will help us both reduce inequalities and keep Suffolk residents safe.”

To find out more, visit: https://www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/borrow/device-to-your-door