St. Louis Libraries to Offer Free WiFi Hotspots To Go

Dec 14, 2017 at 8:16 am
click to enlarge St. Louis' Central Library isn't just gorgeous; it's also useful. - NAGEL PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK
NAGEL PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK
St. Louis' Central Library isn't just gorgeous; it's also useful.
As if St. Louis' public library systems weren't already the bomb, they've now got an even sweeter offering for patrons: free WiFi hotspots.

The St. Louis County and St. Louis city systems have purchased 30 of the devices, the Post-Dispatch reports, and they'll be making them available to patrons for take-home use. Beginning Friday, you can check out the device just like you would a book — and then, using any WiFi enabled device of your own (smartphone, tablet, laptop), connect to the Internet for unlimited free browsing. As long as you're not miles and miles from a cell phone tower, speedy Internet should be yours.

And here's the really crazy part: You can keep them for weeks on end.

As the Post-Dispatch reports, county patrons get borrowing rights for two weeks, while city patrons get three weeks (again, just like a book). You can even renew them after that — although the library will cut off service if you fail to do so.

So: Say goodbye to your ludicrously spotty U-Verse service and say hello to a new hotspot courtesy of the library!

There's only one catch to this amazing offering: Did we mention there are only 60 of these devices total, in the city and county combined? How many patrons do you think plan to bring them back after just a few days of use when they could keep using them for six glorious weeks?

In other words, if you thought you spent a long time on the waiting list for new John Green book, just wait til you see the demand for these babies!

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