SF Tech Week free workshops at libraries

San Francisco’s public library is doing something pretty practical this week — turning branches and partner sites into free tech classrooms. SF Tech Week runs from Friday, May 9 through Saturday, May 16, and the point is simple: help people actually use the digital tools that now sit between them and jobs, services, school, and basic daily life. The news here isn’t just that the event exists. It’s that SFPL has packed more than 30 workshops into one week, with a real mix of beginner help, accessibility training, language-specific sessions, and drop-in support. ### What is SF Tech Week, exactly? It’s an annual San Francisco Public Library program built around free classes, tutorials, presentations, and tech help. SFPL is running it with a coalition of Bay Area groups, including Tech Exchange, Dev/Mission, Community Living Campaign, digitalLift, Felton Institute, Curry Senior Center, and SF Tech Council. The library’s framing is less “cool gadgets” and more “take your next step with technology.” That’s a useful distinction — this is about access and confidence, not hype. (sfpl.org) ### What’s happening today? Wednesday, May 13 is a good snapshot of the whole week. The Main Library is hosting a three-hour session on scanning and preserving photographs in English and Chinese, a virtual workshop on digital communication, a Cantonese session on cybersecurity and AI scams, and all-day tech support. Later in the day there’s also an in-person class on accessibility tools for public library computers. Those aren’t random topics. They map closely to the stuff people actually get stuck on — old photos, scam risk, confusing interfaces, and basic troubleshooting. (sfpl.org) ### Why the accessibility angle matters? One of the more concrete workshops this week covers Morphic, which SFPL says it recently added to all public computers. The tool lets users customize the experience by making text larger, changing cursor visibility, and reading text aloud. There’s also a separate workshop on accessible social media. Basically, the library is treating accessibility as core digital literacy, not as a side topic for a small group of users. (sfpl.org) ### Is this just for beginners? Mostly, but not only. The schedule includes very basic help like Zoom training and drop-in support, but it also stretches into Excel, digital art, cybersecurity, AI for home improvement, DJ lessons, and language-learning tools. Some events are hybrid or virtual, some are in person, and some are offered in Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino. That mix matters because “digital divide” problems are rarely one-size-fits-all — one person needs help joining a Zoom call, another needs safer social media habits, another needs a spreadsheet. (sfpl.org) ### Why is the library doing this now? Because the gap hasn’t gone away. San Francisco’s digital equity work has been running since 2018 to help residents get online, build skills, and get tech support, especially people facing disability, language, and income barriers. The city says that program is expected to end in 2026. At the same time, the need is still obvious: the effort has touched 210-plus affordable housing properties, more than 20,000 units, refurbished 1,954 devices, and put over $3.6 million into local digital access projects. (sfpl.org) ### So what’s the real takeaway? This week’s workshops are small-bore in the best way. They won’t “solve tech” for San Francisco. But they do something more believable — they give people a place to ask dumb questions, learn one concrete skill, and leave less locked out than they walked in. In a city where so many services now assume you’re already online and already fluent, that’s not minor. It’s infrastructure. (sfpl.org) (sf.gov)