LIVERMORE FALLS — In the Treat Memorial Library on Friday, Feb. 8, Ernie Steward of Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education sets up his laptop and gets to work. Some days, he has a row of clients waiting to ask specific questions relating to their newly purchased smart phone, and other days it’s relatively quiet. As the digital literacy instructor for the the adult education program, Steward is prepared for any kind of question.
Steward is a part of a community outreach program put together by Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education, Greater Franklin Economic and Community Development, and the local libraries in the area. According to Steward, the program has been going since January and they are slowly building up momentum.
“The first month was pretty slow,” Steward shared with the Livermore Falls Advertiser. “I might get like one or two students a week, and now it seems like I can’t go to a library without a couple of people being there.”
Jay-Niles Memorial Library, Treat Memorial Library and the Wilton Free Public Library are the only participants in the program so far. At the Jay-Niles Memorial Library, Steward is available every Monday from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and at the Wilton Free Public Library he can be seen every Tuesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
After the Wilton Public Library, Steward heads over to the Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education building, located at 9 Cedar Street in Livermore Falls. Once there, he holds classes from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday and from 4 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday. Steward closes out the week on Friday at the Treat Memorial Library, where he is available from 3 to 5 p.m.
A lifelong resident of Jay, Steward is a tech person with more than 25 years of experience under his belt. He worked for Expenet Technologies for roughly seven years before moving to RSU 73 to be a network specialist.
According to Steward, they have approximately 22 students enrolled in their program, but enrollment is not a requirement if you just want to stop by and ask a tech question.
“Most of it is people bringing a device in,” Steward said. “You know, ‘how do I operate this phone?’, “how do I run this computer’, and things like that. A lot of it is kind of like working with a family member. You know, helping them out and showing them the ropes.”
Steward does recommend those who are interested in meeting with him with these types of questions call the library in advance to let the stuff know they will be dropping by. Steward is prepared to cover a range of topics, including cyber security, Office Suite, Google Suite, laptops, tablets, telehealth, social media, smart phones, online banking, email, Windows, and MyChart.
Steward feels programs like this one are more important now that the community is getting greater access to broadband services. Charlie Woodworth of the Franklin County Broadband Initiative told the Wilton Board of Selectmen at their meeting on Tuesday, March 5, that approximately 98% of Franklin County will have access to broadband and fiber optic internet services in some form by mid-summer.
With the goals of the Franklin County Broadband Initiative finally being realized, Woodworth said the next phase is to invest more into digital skills training. He stated the Greater Franklin Development Council would be looking into getting funds for the adult education programs in RSU 9 and RSU 73 to hire more instructors to engage with other parts of the county.
“A lot of it right now is the people that have never had the technology in their lives,” Steward said. “They’re just starting out learning how to use this. It’s great for them to be able to sit down and learn how to use that new technology that they have access to now.”
For more information on the community outreach program and more of what Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education has to offer, visit the website at rsu73.maineadulted.org, or call [207] 897-6406.
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