MSL Tiny Tech Training - Hot Spots

Watch the Video

Resources to Explore

Visit your dashboard (If you are library staff managing Hot Spots).

Links open in new windows

T- Mobile Dashboard

Library staff with an email address associated with their organization or nonprofit (ie, .org or .gov) can register for an account to manage their libraries' hot spot devices directly through T-Mobile's online administrative portal. 

First, if you need to confirm the phone numbers for your devices, please contact Cara Orban and she will send you the list. You will need your phone numbers to manage the hot spots.

Email Cara Orban

Verizon Dashboard

Library staff can register their email address for an administrative account to manage their libraries' hot spot devices directly through Verizon's online administrative portal. Please open a help desk ticket to have this account set up for you.

If you need to confirm the phone numbers for your devices, please open a help desk ticket and MSL staff will send you the list. You will need your phone numbers to manage the hot spots. Other helpful numbers to keep include the hot spot's SIM card number and the IMEI number (the number which identifies the physical device).

Open a Help Desk Ticket

Hot Spot Knowledge Base Articles

Example Policies and User Agreements

Hot spots are valuable and high-demand items, and so it is prudent to include them in your library's circulation policy and to share a user agreement with your patrons. 

Visit this Knowledge Base article to see examples and templates in a new window.

Setting up and Troubleshooting Hot Spots

This article opens in a new window. It will help you set up, use and reset a hot spot. It will also tell you what to do when it says it is out of data. 

Replacing Hot Spot Accessories

You can order generic replacement accessories for your hot spots from various online distributors. This article will help you search for them. It opens in a new window. 

Evaluate your program

Patron feedback is an important data point for the dashboard and for our own program planning. Please print out paper copies of the linked survey (Opens in a new window) for patrons who participate in the program and enter the paper survey responses into the online survey. 

Fun with data!

You can view statistics on your library's hot spot use on the MSL data dashboard.

Think About It

This video had a lot of information. Here are some questions to consider:

1. Are you or is someone on your staff set up to manage hot spots from your T-Mobile or Verizon accounts?
2. Do you know how to troubleshoot your hot spots?
3. Where are your hot spot policies? Can you find them? Do you know what they are?
4. What does the Hot Spot Data Dashboard tell you about your hot spot program?

Move on to Reflect on Hot Spots