Get Online Week 'Try one thing' bingo challenge

Get Online Week, from 17 to 23 October, is a week-long celebration of digital inclusion organised by the Good Things Foundation that inspires people to do more online and helps them learn how.  The theme this year is Try one thing.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Libraries said; Wiltshire Council is committed to empowering people to live full, healthy and enriched lives and having the ability and confidence to access information and services online is an important part of enabling people to do this.

All Wiltshire Libraries offer free access to Wi-Fi, computers and scanners and charge a small fee for printing.  Our larger libraries also offer 'Tech made simple' digital support appointments to help people to gain confidence using the library computers and their own devices. I would encourage people of all ages to book one of these free appointments.

At the end of a 'Tech made simple' appointment on the library computers, one customer said: Couldn't believe it was so simple. I feel a bit silly of how worried I was about using them. Thanks so much for the help.

For those already online and wanting to try something new, there are also a range of online services, such as Ancestry and eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines, which can be accessed by library members.  In 2021/22, 154,233 library eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines were downloaded.

Contact your local library or visit the Wiltshire Council website to find out more about the computer access, online services and Get Online Week activities provided by Wiltshire Libraries at Libraries.

Background statistics

The Good Things Foundation identified that, in the UK, nearly one in five adults lack the   most basic digital skills needed for everyday life, over one in 20 households have no internet access (neither fixed line nor mobile) and two million households struggle with affordability of internet access.