Digital Inclusion Month: Digital Skill Building Pathways and eResources

Happy Digital Inclusion Month!

During the month of October, the San José Public Library is highlighting its commitment to digital inclusion for all. In our first blog, we focused on how we are building connected communities. This week, we want to shine a spotlight on resources related to one of the key components of digital inclusion: ensuring opportunities to learn and develop digital skills.

Digital skills encompass a wide variety of tasks, such as how to use the Internet to:

find information
communicate with others
design and create content
solve problems
protect your privacy

Digital Skill Building Pathways

In July of this year, the Library launched our Digital Skill Building Pathways programs. These digital skills lessons are easy to find and explore on our webpage. You can learn new skills and practice real-world tasks to become more comfortable with digital tools. Attend an in-person or virtual program hosted by the San José Public Library or learn at your own pace with 24/7 access to lessons.

Attend a Workshop at Your Local Branch

Many SJPL branches host digital skill building classes as in-person or virtual programs. These workshops are led by library staff and trained volunteers who are knowledgeable on the given topics. Most classes are 1 to 2 hours long.

Checkout what other folks have to say about completing an in-person digital skills class.

"I desperately need this class against fraud and identity theft and SJPL was able to help me"
"The instructors spend a lot of time explaining new techniques. I learned something new about scanning documents and adding places to Apple Maps. Thanks so much!"
"I like the class because we learn a lot [of] information. Thank you for the support"

Also, take a look at the great things they have to say about library staff leading and assisting the classes.

"I have a lot of fun learning in this class. The teachers are very good at facilitating and it's easy to understand. I like it a lot"
"The teachers are very thorough in facilitating and it's very fun when I'm in class"
"I very [much] like computer class because instructors [are] very nice, friendly, and dedicated towards us"

Self-Paced Online Lessons

Can't make it to a live workshop? Try our self-paced online lessons that are available 24/7 on our Digital Skill Building webpage. You will find lessons that are divided into categories such as digital skills, career, tech for fun, and online forms. Each lesson covers a different topic with definitions, examples, images & videos and more. This option is recommend if you already feel comfortable using the internet.

This week we are excited to announce our three newest lessons on the topics: Saving and Sharing Files, Social Media Overview, and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Three additional lessons have been updated: Accessing the Internet, Internet Safety and Security, and Navigating SJPL.org.

Review a lesson from an in-person class, learn about something new, or share your new skills with others. There is always something new to learn!

eResources

The San José Public Library system offers a wide variety of electronic resources, or eResources for short. These are available to any patron with a library card and are accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through the library's website. A San Jose Library Card and PIN is needed for home access to these eResources.

eResources includes access to digital library materials such as:

On the topic of learning and developing digital skills you can check out the Computers and Technology eResources page. Other eResources offered by the library include access to websites and databases of information on a wide range of topics. You can find everything from information on popular hobbies, to homework help for students, to programs on learning languages. Check out the eResources by Subject list to see all of the available categories.

Tech Mentor / Tech 1-1 sessions

Need help printing or using Word and Excel? Want to set up an email account? Need ideas on tech security? Questions on accessing SJPL eResources?

Library staff and volunteers are available to help you with tech questions during computer assistance sessions. These one-on-one sessions can be found on our Events site, where you can register for a slot.