Connectivity is a community issue. Diverse people struggle in Nashville’s digital divide. Disconnected, they live on the fringes of today’s digital world, unable to easily pay bills, apply for jobs, or email teachers and employers. We collaborated with the Nonprofit Technology Network to embed a Digital Inclusion Fellow in our Library. Together, our Digital Literacy team travels our community, promoting inter-generational digital inclusion and literacy. The team joined forces with our Studio NPL makerspace staff, mentors, and volunteers, inviting local teens to produce digital inclusion PSAs. Three winning PSAs were premiered at a screening in the Studio NPL theater.

This project gave local teens an opportunity to flex their multimedia storytelling skills in our Library makerspace. It raised the visibility of our digital literacy efforts, as teens’ creativity inspired adults to build their online skills. Teen PSA creators and directors came from all walks of life, including a local juvenile detention center, local schools, and various library branches. This was a first-ever video project for our first-place winner, whose soundtrack was produced by the band Lonestar. She is now exploring a film career.

This project earned significant attention. This raised the Library’s profile as a serious digital literacy partner and also exposed our targeted audience to the exact space (cyberspace, that is!) we want people to explore, understand, and master. On Facebook, PSA content inspired more than 82 actions (liking, sharing, commenting), and total impressions reached 7,987 people. Meanwhile, total engagement on Twitter was 252 actions, and impressions reached 9,956. In all, this campaign reached 17,956 social media followers, inspiring 334 people to respond or engage online in some way.