“As everyone knows, libraries are cool. They are open to all (even ghosts, according to Ghostbusters), and can beat any Black Friday sale by offering free books on every subject every day (see the Instagram below). And way before WeWork was a thing, libraries had desks, Wi-Fi, and outlets for anyone looking for a communal workspace.

See? Libraries are amazing. That’s why Google is teaming up with the cool kids (aka libraries) to expand its Grow with Google network. Google and the American Library Association are launching the Libraries Ready to Code website, an online resource for libraries to teach coding and computational thinking to kids. The collaboration kicked off last June with pilot programs in 30 libraries across the United States. Now their “by libraries, for libraries” hub is open to all 120,000 libraries across the country, where library staff can choose the programs that are most relevant to their communities.

Google is also getting more involved with libraries. Starting in January, its Grow with Google workshops will be available in libraries in all 50 states, helping more people launch careers in IT by spending more time in more libraries. The workshops will teach digital skills that can help jobseekers and small businesses get involved with Grow with Google’s IT development tools and earn IT certificates. It will also offer library staff an IT and web dev curriculum they can use for free.

Finally, Google announced a $1 million sponsorship to the American Library Association, to create a pool of micro-funds that local libraries can access to bring digital skills training to their community, starting with an initial group of 250 libraries that will receive funding to support coding activities during Computer Science Education Week, which runs from December 3 -9.”