Local residents might be able to start enjoying an infusion of new technology at the Richmond Hill Public Library later this year.

That’s because the storehouse of knowledge at 9607 Ford Ave. recently received a $15,000 grant from the Praxair Foundation that will pay for the library’s first laptop computers. Library officials anticipate buying 10 laptops for students of all ages, as well as two laptops for volunteer instructors who will teach free computer classes to the community.

“The plan is to have the new classes up and running by this summer,” library assistant manager Maike George said Wednesday.

Praxair is a Danbury, Conn.-based industrial gases company with operations around the world, including a cylinder gases plant in Garden City. Company spokeswoman Susan Szita Gore said Praxair strives to support the areas where it operates.

For more, pick up a copy of the Feb. 26 edition of the News.