Next week is National Get Online Week (16 to 20 October 2023). It’s an annual campaign run by the Good Things Foundation.
Knowsley Council will be supporting Get Online week, helping residents to get online safely, confidently and affordably.
Cllr Jayne Aston, Cabinet Member for Resources, said “Being online opens up a whole new range of opportunities for you – from how you shop, socialise, manage your money or find a new job. There is so much help and support available to you to help you to get the most out of being online. Plus if you haven’t got a phone, table or PC, come along to your local library and use ours. I’m delighted to be supporting Get Online Week and hope local residents show their support too and join us to get online.”
What’s happening in Knowsley during Get Online Week?
Tea and Tech – Get Online Week Special
Call in to one of the Borough’s libraries throughout Get Online Week for free and friendly help to improve your digital skills and get connected. You can bring your own device with you or use one of the library’s PCs. You can find out more about learning opportunities and banking facilities that are available online.
Get support with your tech over a cuppa on the following days:-
Monday – Prescot Library 15.00 – 16.00
Monday – Stockbridge Library 14.00 – 15.00
Wednesday – Halewood Library 14.30 – 15.30
Thursday – Kirkby Library 10.30 – 12.00
Friday – Huyton library 10.00 – 13.00
These sessions are aimed at beginners and take place on a weekly basis – everyone is welcome to attend, just call in. Digital Buddies will be on hand to help you with any digital query you might have.
Digital Buddies Session
If you can’t attend one of these sessions, then don’t worry as there are plenty of opportunities to help support you getting online. You can either book an appointment with a Digital Buddy on a day and time to suit you by ringing your local branch or completing an online form.
Digital Champions (Include-IT Mersey)
Alternatively, you can pop in to see our volunteer digital champion at:-
Halewood Library every Monday 10.30 – 12.30
Huyton Library every Wednesday 1.30 – 3.30.
This is a project delivered in conjunction with Digital IT-Mersey. If you wish to become a digital volunteer, then either pop down to the see the volunteer co-ordinator who will be available with the digital champion volunteer or find out more at Volunteer With Us – Include-IT Mersey (includeitmersey.org.uk)
Help access the NHS App
If you need help using the NHS App, then Mid-Mersey Alliance will be in our libraries during get online week to show you how to get the most out of the app. The NHS app allows you to access a range of NHS services, order repeat prescriptions, book and manage appointments, view your GP health record, register your organ donation decision and use NHS 111 online to answer questions and get instant advice or medical help near you. Drop in on the following days and locations:-
Huyton Library-Monday 10.30 – 16.00
Stockbridge village neighbourhood centre-Tuesday 10.30 – 16.00
Halewood Library -Wednesday 10.30 – 16.00
Prescot Library-Thursday 10.30 – 16.00
Kirkby Library- Friday 10.30 – 16.00
Roadshows
Digital Buddies are also joining Volair and the Knowsley Older People’s Voice as they travel around the Borough to celebrate older people throughout October, coinciding with International Day of Older Persons on 1 October. The roadshow will be at the following locations and days from 9.30am until 3.30pm:-
Wednesday 4 October Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park, Huyton
Wednesday 11 October Kirkby Leisure Centre
Thursday 19 October Stockbridge Village Neighbourhood Centre
Tuesday 24 October Halewood Leisure Centre
Additional help to develop your digital skills
For those of you who want to develop your digital skills further, there’s a range of digital resources that you can access in your local Library.
BFI Replay – an online video resources from the British Film Institute, featuring an archive of thousands of different videos mapping life in the UK from the 1969’s to the present day which can be access from the library’s public PCs. Find out more here.
Library E-Book Service – Library members can now access more than 200 weekly and monthly magazine titles to read on their personal digital devices via the virtual library service, https://knowsley.borrowbox.com/. The new expanded offer includes magazine titles such Woman’s Weekly, The Radio Times and Rolling Stone Magazine, as well as hundreds of other titles across lifestyle, crafts and hobbies, sport, music, entertainment and more. You can access BorrowBox on a computer, phone or tablet using your library membership number.
Learning to drive? – Theory Test Pro is a highly realistic online simulation of the UK’s driving theory test. It contains the entire official test question bank, hazard perception video clips and an online version of the Highway Code. All this material is licensed from the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), the people who set the tests. You can access Theory Test Pro from the PCs in your local library.
Interested in Local History? Visit the Archive Serviced based in Kirkby Library. Find out more here, plus can access Ancestry for free from our PCs in Libraries.