Whiteville Library Goes Solar
Residents in Whiteville and those passing through the town can now get charged up at the Lee Ola Roberts Library using its new solar charging station.
The solar charging station was installed earlier this year with funds received from the TOP Grant, which is available for public libraries to provide services to its community.
“The library currently gets its hotspots from the TOP Grant,” said Glenda Doyle, Director of the Lee Ola Roberts Library. “We get our hotspots from the grant and every year, they give us something extra like a website or some kind of teaching grant, and this year they just happen to offer this.”
The solar charging station has four plugs with USB-A and USB-C ports that enable users to charge cellphones, laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices. Doyle sees the charging station as an asset to the community, especially after recent inclement weather the county experienced over the past few months.
“I thought people might need a place, especially if the electricity went off, to come and charge up their telephone or iPad. A lot of times when the electricity goes off around here, your phone is almost dead. All you need is a cord,” said Doyle who shared a comment from a recent visitor to the library. “After I told him what it was, he said, ‘Wow! We need one of those in every community around here’.”
Doyle made sure the charging table was put in the right place, so it would be conveniently close to the library, not under a lot of trees, and could get direct sunlight as needed to work.
“We are the first in the Hatchie River Region to get one of these,” said Doyle who has already seen a number of people from the community use the station.
The solar charging station is in front of the Lee Ola Roberts Library and accessible at any time of the day. All a user needs is a charge cable.
Author’s note: While interviewing Ms. Doyle at the library, my cellphone died and I had to use the charging station to charge my cellphone. My cellphone was charged and up and running again in less than five minutes after connecting to the charging station.
Read more local news by clicking here.
Stay informed on what’s happening in Hardeman County by following Hatchie Press on Facebook and subscribing to Hatchie Press e-mail updates.
Do you have community news you’d like to share? E-mail us at news@hatchiepress.com.
