Internet access in public libraries, while helpful, is not a substitute for equal access to education or jobs. In neighborhoods described as digital deserts, including New York City and Kansas, libraries lend Wi-Fi hot-spot devices for a year to enable access at home. But as Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library, argues, because libraries alone cannot mend this socioeconomic ill, city governments should take a more leading role in turning on the digital light for all.

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