The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG.
Choosing the right devices
Supplying devices to meet the needs of each individual user was a challenge experienced by some Connecting Scotland projects. This can be an issue in terms of offering multiple laptop or tablet options, and for ensuring accessibility for older and disabled people with the relevant accessories or smart devices. A few projects noted that WiFi dongles were less popular than expected and the loan option that was most likely to remain unused.
Who will use your device lending library?
Your organisation may be supporting a wide range of people in different ways, or specialise in helping a particular group or demographic. In both cases, it's important that you are aware of the needs and motivations of your potential borrowers and why they might like to use a loaned device. This will help you decide on the types of devices you're going to offer, whether there is a need for connectivity, as well as how you will advertise the service. Don't assume that you already know - speak to your users and find out more about their digital needs.
You may decide to lend devices to any service users who need them, or only to those who take part in a specific service or programme that you run (e.g. a course). This may influence what devices are most suitable to your borrowers. For example, learners on a language course are likely to benefit more from a laptop option with a keyboard, whereas tablets might be more suitable for creative activities.
Tenants have reported an increase in confidence and less reliance on the support available now that they have had their devices for a while. We have found that tablets have been the most well used devices as they are more accessible for tenants with young children and older tenants with limited digital literacy. Due to financial barriers, a lot of tenants cannot afford to buy new devices or have Wifi packages so these devices have supported tenants to have access for every day use.
- Lending Library grantee