At its September 2021 meeting, the Board of the State Library of Ohio approved $60,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support licenses to Northstar Digital Literacy (https://www.digitalliteracyassessment.org) for all of Ohio’s public libraries through OPLIN. The purpose of acquiring Northstar is to

  1. help individuals assess their current level of digital literacy,
  2. provide tools for individuals to develop competencies,
  3. provide optional curriculum for library staff to assist in developing digital literacy skills among their patrons, and
  4. provide an optional certification process for libraries that are interested in helping their patrons gain credentials.

OPLIN is implementing Northstar statewide for all library sites simultaneously, but adoption at a local library level will be up to the libraries. Based on current interest, we are expecting at least half of the 251 public libraries in Ohio will go live with Northstar by early January. First-round training started in late November and will conclude in late December.

Additional training will take place in early 2022 for second-round adopters.

Libraries will have the opportunity to self-select with regard to assessment proctoring and certification. Our goal is to have at least one proctoring library in each county by September 30, 2022.

Additional updates for Digital Literacy Partners will be posted here as they become available.