Magness Library will be offering free computer classes through a federal and state grant. These grants, which total more than $1.2 million, are the product of a partnership with the office of the Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the Tennessee Department of Economic Development and Community Development, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.The grant applications were written begun by former library director Mary Robbins and completed by current library director Brad Walker.“Libraries in rural areas play an especially important role in connecting citizens with the resources and opportunities that are oftentimes isolated to urban areas,” said Hargett. “These grants will go a long way toward providing vital access to computers and the Internet, which is particularly helpful in some of the areas that were hit the hardest by the recession.”Magness is one of 70 libraries across the state receiving the grants.