In 2019, nearly one in four, or 23.2%, of people in Illinois lacked access to broadband internet. This lack of access leads to inequities in education, job mobility, healthcare, and more. These inequities create the digital divide. In recognition of Digital Inclusion Week, Illinois State University (ISU) Office of Research is excited to share its efforts in increasing digital literacy, equity, and access. This is now the third year of ISU working on these initiatives.

Dr. Harriett Steinbach, director of innovation and strategic partnerships at Illinois State, explains that in previous years, ISU collaborated with Heartland Community College on holding community training sessions aimed at connecting residents of 10 Central Illinois counties in the North Central region with digital education and access to broadband networks. ISU continues to collaborate with its community partners and recently hosted its first “Digital Literacy” session at the Bloomington Public Library led by Stevenson Fellow, Kat Johns. This session was held on October 8, 2025, during Digital Inclusion Week.

The Digital Literacy session at Bloomington Public Library (BPL) will be the first of many sessions as Johns collaborates with libraries in the North Central region. The BPL session was based on a tool called Northstar, which offers modules on essential computer skills, software skills, and technology in daily life. Future sessions will be offered on Northstar, resume building, email creation, and offline digital literacy for those who do not have access to the internet.

Increasing digital equity and access is a goal that is aligned with the State of Illinois Digital Equity Plan developed by the Illinois Office of Broadband (IOB) in collaboration with the Illinois Broadband Lab (IBL) at the University of Illinois System. Funded through The Broadband Regional Engagement for Adoption + Digital Equity (READY) grant, the Office of Research aims to continue this goal by providing reports to the North Central region libraries and county leadership on vertical assets that may be used for broadband device placement. These reports are derived from the ArcGIS work done by Dr. John Kostelnick, professor of Geography and director of the Stevenson Center, and his students. The reports can be used to illustrate areas of needed coverage paired with possible locations for device placement. Having access to this information may assist with workforce and economic development by providing opportunities such as precision agriculture. “By increasing access to broadband, we are not only increasing economic development, but we are also increasing digital access, therefore digital literacy,” said Johns. Residents seeking digital education and access in DeWitt, Fulton, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McLean, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford counties should visit their local public library for more information. Libraries interested in hosting digital literacy sessions should contact Kat Johns at kjohns@IllinoisState.edu.

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