In Cook County, Libraries Become the Digital Navigators

On a quiet Saturday morning in Markham, Illinois, a small group of senior citizens gathers in the public library’s multipurpose room, learning how to spot phishing emails and recognize malicious pop-ups. The pace is thoughtful, with plenty of questions and moments of discovery.

Just a short walk away, others who could benefit from the same class are unable to attend. It is not due to a lack of interest or need, but because of how library services are structured. In many areas, library access is determined by municipal boundaries. As a result, residents who live closer to a neighboring library may still be excluded from its programs if they fall outside its official service area. This creates real barriers for communities that are geographically close but divided by funding lines, leaving some without access to critical digital literacy support.

I spoke with Kyla Williams Tate about that divide.

As the Director of Digital Equity for Cook County and recently named a 2025 Digital Equity Champion by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Tate is leading a locally funded effort to redefine what digital inclusion looks like. With an $850,000 equity grant awarded to the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), the county is launching a Digital Navigator Network that reimagines how digital support is delivered. This Network will be co-designed with libraries, municipal leaders, and other stakeholders. 

“We are actually challenging and disrupting this notion that digital navigators are individuals,” she told me. “In this instance, we believe that digital navigators are libraries themselves.”

The Digital Navigator Network is one part of Cook County’s broader Digital Equity Action Plan, released in 2023. The plan is organized around four cornerstones: Access, Confidence, Safety, and Infrastructure. Each cornerstone is supported by three IMPACT Solutions, which are Innovative, Measurable, Purposeful, Actionable, Collaborative, and Timely. Shaped by months of community outreach and public input, the plan outlines how the county will close gaps in broadband access, digital skills, infrastructure, and online safety. Cook County will have launched all twelve IMPACT Solutions by the end of 2025.

The $850,000 allocation from Cook County’s Equity Fund is a pivotal part of that effort. Funded entirely by Cook County, the investment aims to intentionally direct government resources toward addressing historical and ongoing disparities in Black and Latine communities. It also seeks to bring advocates, service providers, and other stakeholders to the table as thought partners and decision-makers.

RAILS, a regional library system that supports over 600 member libraries, will administer the funds to suburban Cook County libraries participating in the navigator network. This program will expand access by equipping more libraries across Cook County to serve their own communities, helping close long-standing service gaps. These funds will help libraries to purchase Wi‑Fi hotspots, upgrade technology, and expand digital skills training in spaces residents already know and trust. 

“Libraries are the first place someone goes when they need help,” Tate says. “They see a friendly, smiling face and ask a question. We have to keep that going.”

Traditionally, digital navigator programs rely on individuals, trained staff, or volunteers placed in community organizations to help people get online. But those positions are often grant-funded and disappear when funding ends.

Tate wanted a more sustainable approach. Instead of short-term staffing, Cook County is investing in policy, systems change, and lasting infrastructure.

Libraries have long done the work without the title. They’ve provided internet access, loaned out devices, and taught digital skills, often without dedicated funding or formal support. The Digital Navigator Network doesn’t redefine the role of libraries but rather supports them. This shift has sparked excitement across Cook County’s library community. 

Cook County understands that even modest investments are producing a measurable impact. One example is the Niles Maine District Library, which received support through Cook County’s IMPACT Small Grant Program. This program supports digital inclusion efforts while also providing storytelling training, equipping organizations to highlight both their programs and the real-life experiences behind the data. With the funding, the library increased its hotspot inventory and reduced long wait times for high-demand devices. For residents who cannot afford home internet, the impact is immediate, making it possible to work, study, or access healthcare online. The Digital Navigator Network will incorporate lessons learned from all three libraries (Niles Maine, Markham, and Forest Park) participating in the IMPACT program as it expands its reach across the county.

“The Digital Navigator Network is a systems change initiative,” Tate says. “We need to change how libraries are funded, how they interact, and how we support them as hubs of digital inclusion.”

Tate’s work is deeply informed by her own family history. As a Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund Fellow with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, she is producing a podcast called Digital Determinants. The series studies the complex systemic reasons behind the presence of digital inequity and the challenges surrounding digital adoption within communities comprising generations from the Great Migration.

“Participating in digital society is not optional anymore,” she says. “It is the gateway to navigating and dismantling the systemic barriers that still shape our daily lives.” That conviction fuels every aspect of her work, where digital inclusion is not just a service, but a strategy for justice and lasting change.

Tate understands that the path forward will require persistence and care. In Cook County, libraries operate independently, each shaped by its own governance, resources, and priorities. Without a unified system or shared infrastructure, collaboration can be difficult to sustain. Yet within this complexity, Tate sees an opportunity to build connections, guided by trust, shared purpose, and a commitment to digital equity.

“They say, ‘We’re Markham. We’re Hinsdale, and that’s part of what makes each library special, because they are rooted in their own community,” she says. “But we need to connect those roots to create a countywide impact. The next step is helping them see that they also belong to a larger story, one where collaboration and shared purpose can open doors none of us could open alone.” 

That’s the heart of this local investment. Not just funding individual programs but building a countywide ecosystem that can evolve with the digital age.

As federal broadband initiatives face rollbacks, including the termination of Digital Equity Act funding and NTIA’s move to restrict which community anchor institutions qualify for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) support, Cook County’s model offers a compelling blueprint for how local governments can act now.

“If we can get systems changed here in Illinois,” Tate says, “maybe it’s something that could spread to other states so libraries aren’t so challenged, and we protect them.”

Her advice for other communities? Love your libraries out loud. Invest in them. Share their stories. And most of all, treat them as essential, not optional.

Here at SHLB, we couldn’t agree more.

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For any questions related to this blog, please reach out to: sdinesh@shlb.org