Working in libraries gave this leader a roadmap for tackling digital inequity

Tackling digital equity is a daunting task, and Lo Smith isn’t shy to acknowledge the severity of the problem.

The Better Waverly resident, who leads the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition (BDEC), argued that while the region has improved digital access, there is still a lot of work to be done. 

“Digital equity work is a little bit like working in climate change,” Smith told Technical.ly. “We are sprinting, and unfortunately, the problem is bigger than us.”

Their job is a part of that sprint, through which the organization’s executive director connects other leaders in digital equity, hosts events to forge partnerships, and helps people design training and apply for grants. 

For this edition of the How I Got Here series, Smith discussed fighting digital redlining after the pandemic and how their past roles with library systems influenced their work in digital equity, and offered advice for people interested in a similar career path.  

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

When did you get interested in digital equity? 

I’m from South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley. Back when I was growing up there, I would not call it an opportunity-rich region. I had a computer because my parents were college professors, and they had the free dial-up internet that college affiliates got. We used computers at school, but they were very classwork-y. None of us could type fast. It was kind of a disaster.

From there, I had complicated teenage years. It’s really hard when you don’t know you’re queer and trans, and you’re living somewhere between an urban city and a rural setting with strong Appalachian culture. Ended up not doing well in high school. At the very end, I turned it all around, headed off to college and came down to Baltimore. 

I always wanted to be a teacher. Digital inclusion is the thing that I found because it linked together my desire to be a teacher with my desire to help. 

When did libraries come into play?

I got hired as a part-time librarian at Baltimore County the summer after I graduated — bananas. 

I helped our branch redesign the way we did [a digital skills training program].[But] the county library was not for me, and I was looking for something new to do. There was a very vague job description [put] up by Enoch Pratt. It said “technologist.” I sent my resume in, and they emailed me immediately: “Can you interview tomorrow?” 

I was in this position to bring digital equity to not just Pratt but the state, to train our staff, to train the city. 

For the first two years [of the COVID pandemic], I worked six days a week, about 12 hours a day, between the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition, the Enoch Pratt Free Library and then the needs of other organizations stepping up to work with us, to bring online programming to being able to get people connected to each other. 

When I train folks in libraries — and even digital navigators, because I’ve trained close to 1,000 — I always tell them you are going to see people on their worst day. 

No one comes to the library to ask for help as a first line of defense. They go to their neighbors, their churches. They talk to their friends, their family members. They go to the library when you are the last person they know to ask. They come to you as a digital navigator to do something on the computer when they are overwhelmed, and it has taken such an emotional toll on them that they are willing to ask a stranger for help. 

Bringing the compassion of libraries, and the understanding of just how hard it is to be a human being these days, to supporting people with technology is so important.

What does your BDEC role involve? 

I joined BDEC, honestly, the worst day to be a transgender person working in equity — the 21st of January, 2025. 

I am the executive director, but that’s also the only role right now. We previously had more staff. What I do is coalition-building and then program support and support for folks who do digital inclusion work. 

When I was with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, we were providing support and information nationwide. What BDEC basically does is similar, but a lot of what I try to do is bring folks together to talk to each other so they’re not all talking to me. 

A lot of it is me trying to facilitate relationships, matchmaking, but also then offering what I have as expertise. I’m hoping to bring more training to our communities, so that when we’re putting together digital inclusion programs, we can train the staff involved. 

What are your feelings about the state of digital equity in Baltimore? 

I’m feeling optimistic. But one thing I will always say is that sometimes when we’re framing our work, we’re saying that we’re going to close the digital divide, and I’m trying to eliminate that phrase from my vocabulary. 

So many people saw the early stages of the COVID pandemic, 2020 to 2022, as the acute moment for digital equity work. They don’t see the way that it is a perpetual experience. 

This is something that I bring up regularly when I talk about digital inclusion and digital equity: If I gave everybody in the city of Baltimore a laptop, does that mean we’ve done it? No, because half the houses are going to put that laptop on a shelf because they don’t have internet, because they don’t have the digital skills to use it, because they’re not comfortable, because they don’t know where to go when they get online. 

I know that we’re chasing down the digital divide, but we’re seeing things like AI expanding it. We’re seeing that a lot of funds that used to go to equitable internet access are now moving over to things like AI access and AI training. I love that you’re offering AI training to community members. However, if they can’t use a computer to start with, how do you think they’re going to engage with your AI? 

Unfortunately, I often feel like we’re also always in the equity Olympics. It’s hard for me sometimes doing this work because as a trans person, I am fighting a completely different fight the second that I log out of executive director mode. 

What advice do you have for people who want to pursue a career similar to yours? 

The big thing that I did is, if you find out you’re weirdly good at something, do that, follow it. Even if you just did a master’s degree in a completely different area, follow the thread of both the thing that you are good at and the thing that you like to do. 

I do this because I’m good at it. There are a lot of other things that I also love to do. I teach partner acrobatics, I’m a yoga teacher. I play roller derby. I’ve been a great librarian, I’d like to say. I love vintage fashion. I could run a vintage fashion store. 

There’re so many things that I could do, but I have chosen to do this one because I think I’m good at it, and I think my community likes what I do, and it’s just been the ribbon that I chose to follow through everything.