Gift made possible by Bladel Charitable Trust and Koski Family Foundation
Digital Launchpad tablets have been made available at all 10 Sarasota County Public Libraries, thanks to generous grants provided to the Library Foundation for Sarasota County from the Bladel Charitable Trust and the Koski Family Foundation, the Library Foundation has announced.
“Pre-loaded with educational and entertainment content for children, teens, and adults, Launchpads are mobile learning devices that circulate like books,” a news release explains. “Requiring no internet access, their curated collection of apps, videos, and games helps to reduce the digital divide, bringing technology to the nearly 50,000 Sarasota County households” without high-speed internet service, the release points out.
“We’re so grateful to the Bladel Charitable Trust and the Koski Family Foundation for helping our libraries to provide access to technology and digital learning for everyone in Sarasota County,” said Alisa Mitchell, executive director of the Library Foundation for Sarasota County, in the release.
“Launchpads are safe, ad-free, and portable,” the release notes. “With 100 Launchpads in circulation, as many as 1,700 children and families are expected to benefit each year from this new technology. “
“Launchpads are a terrific conduit for bridging the digital divide,” said Renee Di Pilato, director of the Sarasota Libraries and Historical Resources Department, in the release. “They are perfect for a broad audience — children, families, and even English language learners — seeking to sharpen their skills in an accessible manner,” she added in the release.
“Since its founding in 2011, the nonprofit Library Foundation for Sarasota County has raised more than $8 million in private funds for the benefit of Sarasota County public libraries,” the release says. To learn more about the Foundation and how to support its mission, visit SarasotaLibraryFoundation.org or call 941-404-3139.