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Wisconsin 2005 LSTA Grant Abstracts
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| Delafield Public Library | 13,466 |
| Alice Baker Memorial Library, Eagle | 5,283 |
| Elm Grove Public Library | 6,393 |
| Hartland Public Library | 13,410 |
| Town Hall Library, North Lake | 8,931 |
| Ocononowoc Public Library | 20,760 |
| Barbara Sanborn Public Library, Pewaukee | 11,233 |
| Total Service Population | 79,476 |
When thse libraries are added to the Cafe system, the total service population served by Cafe will be 294,126.
Winding Rivers Library System 05-160
WRLSWEB Expansion, 2005 $65,000
The LSTA Guidelines for 2005 state that, with the Shared Automated Library Information Systems category, "Funds will assist public library systems ... in ... adding libraries to existing shared systems." One of the types of eligible requests is "Grants to enable public libraries to join an existing shared automated system." The WRLSWEB Expansion, 2005 project consists of precisely these objectives. Winding Rivers coordinated the development of a shared automation consortium in 1998-99, bringing together the Black River Falls Public Library, Taylor Memorial Library, La Crosse Public Library, and WRLS. Libraries in Coon Valley and Wonewoc joined in 2000; libraries in Ettrick, Galesville, Kendall, Mauston, and Viroqua joined in 2002; libraries in La Farge, Necedah, Ontario, Sparta, and Wilton joined in 2003; libraries in Arcadia, Elroy, Hillsboro, New Lisbon, Trempealeau, and Westby are joining in 2004.
WRLSWEB is designed to serve the information technology needs of public libraries throughout Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau, and Vernon Counties in west central Wisconsin. Except for La Crosse County, the area is predominantly rural with the majority of the public libraries in communities with fewer than 1,600 people. The sharing of resources is a crucial matter for regional library users. The desire to foster cooperative ventures to accomplish this sharing is a hallmark of this region. Therefore, the WRLSWEB Expansion, 2005 project is designed to 1) enhance the availability of materials and resources for local library users through a collaborative venture and 2) move the consortium towards the ultimate goal of having all public libraries in this seven county region participing in the shared technology network. This project will allow the libraries in Blair, La Crosse County, and Norwalk to become full participating members in WRLSWEB by the end of 2005. The project is seeking the maximum $15,000 each for Blair and Norwalk, and the maximum of $35,000 for the five branches of the La Crosse County Library which serves a population of 56,000.
Funds from this grant will be administered by Winding Rivers Library System but will be utilized exclusively to provide hardware, software, and membership eligibility for the local libraries. None of the requested funds will be used to enhance capabilities or infrastructure at the central site which is founded on the Dynix Horizon platform. While the needs and priorities of each library differ, overall the grant funds will be devoted to the following categories of expenditure:
-- Peripheral hardware such as barcode readers, uninterruptible power supplies, adaptive equipment for ADA stations (monitors, trackballs, headphones, keyboard cables), and furniture to accommodate stations;
-- Initial and first year participation fees;
-- Software needed to assure network security and ADA compliance;
-- Contract costs to migrate La Crosse County Library's data from their local Dynix system to the WRLSWEB Horizon system;
-- Conversion supplies (such as item barcodes and barcode protectors).
Technical support for installation and training will be provided to the participating libraries through consortium contracts by staff from the Technical Services department of La Crosse Public Library and Winding Rivers, or by Dynix staff directly. These same staff will also provide guidance in performing the conversion process, though the primary responsibility for conversion will rest with the local public library.
By the end of this project, twenty-four (71%) of the thirty-four libraries in Winding Rivers will be full members of WRLSWEB. Of the remaining ten libraries, six have expressed interest in taking advantage of shared system grants in the future and some of these libraries already have dedicated telecommunications connections to WRLSWEB.
Winnefox Library System 05-162
Shared System 2005 $45,000
This project will pay for a portion of the automation charges for three Winnefox Library System member libraries to join the Winnefox Automated Library Services (WALS) consortium. The participating libraries are the Campbellsport Public Library, Neshkoro Public Library, and the Oakfield Public Library.
Campbellsport and Oakfield receive Internet access through local cable providers and offer public Internet access. Both are currently circulating materials on aging stand-alone systems. To fully automate the libraries need to install Teach T-1 lines and convert their collection and patron records. The cost to move from a stand-alone to a shared system is a significant hurdle for the libraries. Both have worked to secure funding from county and local sources.
Neshkoro has a Teach T-1 line. They are unautomated but because they are surrounded by WALS member libraries it is estimated that at least half of their patrons are already in the WALS patron database. About a third of their holdings are in the item database because they order and process materials through the Winnefox Cooperative Technical Services (WCTS).
Digitization of Local Resources
Appleton Public Library 05-164
Appleton Digitization of Plat Books, 2005 $1,412
The Appleton Public Library will work with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center to digitize the following local history plat maps that are owned by the library:
1. 1889 Outagamie County (Wisconsin) Atlas and Plat Book
2. 1917 Outagamie County (Wisconsin) Atlas and Plat Book
3. 1942 Plat Map of Outagamie County (Wisconsin)
4. Undated (1917-1925?) Outagamie County (Wisconsin) Plat
The electronic versions of the maps will be available to genealogists, historians, and the general public through the University of Wisconsin Digital Collection web site http://uwdcc.library.wisc.edu/index.html, the Appleton Public Library web site http://www.apl.org, and the Fox Valley Memory http://www.foxvalleymemory.org web site.
The collection will be delivered in the e-facsimile (page turner) model as described on the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center web site, and each page of the plat books will be saved in TIFF format. An HTML entry page will allow the audience to either browse through the electronic document as they would through a book or to use hyperlinks to each individual page, labeled by number and township. For additional value, the Appleton Public Library plans to offer an online index created in Microsoft Access to the digitized plat books.
The digitization project will preserve the information contained in the maps that are too brittle to be used directly by library patrons. The metadata created by the library staff will provide access to the information.
Fond du Lac Public Library 05-166
Local History Digitization Project $1,000
The purpose of this project is for the Fond du Lac Public Library to begin participation in the digitization of local history items. Out local history collection receives heavy use from patrons and we have seen interest from many states in our locally created index to Fond du Lac newspapers. Digitization allows us to increase the items available in our electronic branch.
The receipt of this grant would allow the library to train a librarian in using metadata descriptive headings, choose local history items to be evaluated, have them digitized by UWDCC, and have the items mounted on the web in two locations, the UWDCC website and the Fond du Lac Public Library website.
The library would be able to choose items to be digitized, both for importance and for preservation purposes. Training a librarian to create metadata descriptive headings would be a useful outcome that will benefit the library in the future. The metadata headings will allow patrons to search these digitized items from any location, including their home. This increased accessibility would be a demonstration of the benefits of digitization.
The library would be able to partner with the UWDCC for the actual digitization. Their technical expertise will be essential in this cooperative project. They will be relied upon to provide a usable finished product which can be viewed and searched by patrons.
The library will promote use of both the UWDCC website and the Fond du Lac Public Library website for usage of the digitized items. This project would introduce digitization to the library and its patrons.
Hedberg Public Library 05-168
Digitization of Janesville's Past $5,651
This project is intended to preserve local history materials through digitization and to allow web access for local and distant patrons searching Janesville's history. Five pictorial works have been selected, based on their local significance. All are either unique or owned by few U.S. institutions. Hedberg Public Library (HPL) will select titles and supply metagging information in cooperation with the UW-Madison Digital Content Group, which will digitize and metatag the materials.
Items selected for digitization are:
1) "The Art Work of Rock County," consists of pre-1893 photographs of Rock River views, residences, commercial and public buildings, and street scenes in Janesville, Beloit, and Edgerton, Wisconsin. Many of the structures no longer exist. This book of high quality photographs is rare. About 21 percent of the book presents unique territorial, pre-territorial, and statehood Rock County, Wisconsin, and Rock River area textual history to 1861. Local Indian mound and village descriptions, Indian treaties, and local movement of Chief Black Hawk during the 1832 war are among topics. Rock River area territorial history includes squatters claims, unwritten border law and earliest steamboat, railroad, settlement, and town development. The FirstSearch OCLC database shows ownership by only 3 other U.S. libraries.
2) "Headlight Souvenir Edition: Janesville, Wisconsin" was the May 1896 special issue of the serial, "Headlight: A Journal of Progress and Development." Hedberg is the only U.S. holding library. The "Headlight" was intended to attract new business and residents to the Janesville area, listing its advantages as an industrial location and for living. Written when Janesville's population was 15,000, it includes a town history, citizen and public official biographical sketches, schools and the Wisconsin School for the Blind, early newspapers, financial institutions, and a leading Wisconsin law firm. Hotels, including the Myers House, which was "one of the oldest and most widely known ... in the Northwest," are featured. Business descriptions include manufacturers of corn planters, carriages, textiles, beverages, transportation, and farm machinery. Business interiors as well as exteriors are featured. Janesville was the center for the Wisconsin tobacco market and related industries and is also claimed as "the commercial center of Southern Wisconsin," with city virtues typically described.
3) The "Janesville Fire Department Souvenir Album" was published in 1902 by the local newspaper for the benefit of the Firemen's Relief Association. This item is not only a pictorial history of nineteenth-century Janesville firemen and their horse-drawn firefighting equipment, but also portrays the residences, street scenes, and both exterior and interior shots of the many businesses they protected. The book also includes a chronological list of important dates in Janesville's history. According to FirstSearch, only two other U.S. libraries show ownership.
4) "Picturesque Janesville," published in 1888, is a compilation of George W. Wise's outstanding photographs of Janesville residences, schools, churches, bridges, river, and dams. Many of these structures no longer exist or have substantially changed. Though abridged versions of this book exist in three other U.S. libraries, HPL is the only library that owns the complete edition.
5) "The Gruver Photo Collection". aslo called "Janesville Wisconsin Photo Album" is Lowell Gruver's collection of 1,000 photographs--both historical and contemporary--of Janesville streets, buildings, people, and events. Lowell donated the photos to HPL in 1986 with the goal of sharing Janesville history with all interested residents and visitors. Digitizing this collection will expand his goal to the entire world via the Internet.
Lake Geneva Public Library 05-170
"Images of Lake Geneva" $2,250
Lake Geneva Public Library Board and staff seek $3,000 to fund "Images of Lake Geneva," the digitization project of key images significant to the preservation of the integrity of the Lake Geneva area local history collection. The Friends of the Lake Geneva Public Library have offered $1,000 to supplement the cost of the project. The Lake Geneva Public Library will provide over 160 hours, or $2584, of staff time from five individual staff members, who will facilitate the in-house management, installation, and publicity relative to the project.
Lake Geneva Public Library proposes to digitize an estimated 138 historic postcards, 62 historic photographs and 300 pages from five select books currently held in the Library's local history collection to equal a total of 500 images. The books, published from 1889 to 1926, are within the public domain. Over the years, all of these items have been shelved in a cabinet with restricted patron access; some have also been preserved in acid-free storage boxes.
In addition to preserving these print images for future generations, the Library staff will accomplish the following goals as a natural progression of this project:
-Establish an accurate record of images of historical interest in Lake Geneva;
-Create a user-friendly index to the collection;
-Initiate an ongoing effort to identify locally available print images that qualify for digitization;
-Promote a partnership with the Geneva Lake Museum;
-Present a public program to inform the community about the project;
-Host an open house at the Library to showcase the collection;
-Educate fellow librarians and the community about the value of digitizing print images for preservation.
The success of "Images of Lake Geneva" has the potential to encourage staff at other small to medium-sized libraries to preserve their own unique local history collections.
Library reference staff depends on the Library's local history collection to answer an estimated 40-60% of reference questions annually. The current local history collection includes local newspapers on microfilm dating back to the middle 1800's, an Obituary Index compiled exclusively by Library volunteers, Walworth County Plat Books, works by local authors, estate files, and photographs and postcards dating back into the late 1800's and early 1900's. It is the collection of photographs, postcards and photographs from five select books that is of singular significance to the Library's request for LSTA support at this time.
Manitowoc Public Library 05-172
Manitowoc Local History Photograph Collection Digitization $5,642
Manitowoc Public Library (MPL) would like to make available through the Internet a collection of images that illustrate the history of Manitowoc County beginning at the turn of the century through 1995. Thanks to a previous grant, a collection of images has already been gathered, identified with descriptive notes, and arranged in a set of slides. These slides were then digitized in a low-resolution format. However, the digitized images are difficult to access since the indexing available to the public is not electronic and the images are only available on one computer. This grant would enable us to make this unique and valuable collection available to a much larger audience in a format that is easy to navigate. Individuals who would be interested in using the collection would include historical researchers, businesses, students, and anyone interested in learning more about the history of Manitowoc County.
Marathon County Public Library 05-174
Educational and Lifelong Learning Facilities $1,067
Marathon County Public Library is a member of the Central Wisconsin Digital Project (CWDP), a consortium of libraries, historical societies, genealogical societies and museums committed to preserving and disseminating the history of Marathon and Lincoln counties through the digitization of original sources and artifacts and their subsequent publication on the internet. The organizing theme of the CWDP's digital collection is "Community Life," construed broadly to include all aspects of community life, past and present, in these two counties. Under this broad theme, the collection will be organized into smaller topics such as education, industry, transportation, work, home, and family.
As an initial project, the CWDP has decided to begin with one of the central topics mentioned above: education. The member institutions have strong and significant collections in this area which will be of high interest to the public.
For this project, approximately 400 artifacts, primarily photographs, will be scanned. The Marathon County Historical Society, the Merrill Historical Society, and the T.B. Scott Free Library in Merrill will contribute photographs of the schools of Marathon and Lincoln counties. Most of these photographs show rural school buildings (many no longer in existence), and some also show classes standing in front of their school. The University of Wisconsin -- Marathon County will contribute photographs from its archives illustrating the current building, the Normal Institute, and students, staff and faculty.
Education is, however, more than the formal K-14 education represented in the above collections. Seeing education as a life-long endeavor, the CWDP has decided to include materials illustrating the history of the Marathon County Public Library, its branches, and its Bookmobile program. By focusing on the outreach activities of the library, it is our intent to convey the history of many of the communities of Marathon County. It is also our hope that this approach will make clear to website visitors that education is more than an aspect of childhood that occurs within a single building, but is rather a life-long process that is intertwined within the daily lives of all our communities and residents.
We are requesting 9 titles to be digitized: 3 atlases, 4 histories and modern indexes to one of the atlases and one of the histories. These resources make up a comprehensive collection for research in 19th Century Oshkosh and Winnebago County history. The resources were published between 1856 and 1909. Two modern indexes, which we have written permission to digitize and publish, will also help the users find the information they need.
There are a variety of users for these resources. Local history researchers, including casual one-time users, hobbyists, serious researchers and scholars, are among the largest user group. Other users include students and educators, genealogists and authors. They might be interested in prominent Oshkosh citizens, local business owners, local businesses and industries, farmers, or other people that lived in rural areas, or in the growth of the urban areas and the changing land use patterns.
We predict high use based on the current use of the print versions of these resources. Our 2003 Oshkosh Sesquicentennial has also heightened interest in local history. We also have an ever-increasing demand for reference assistance from online users, who contact us via our website comment forms, AskWisconsin Librarians chat and email contacts and feedback forms for our obituary index and digital projects.
Careful and thorough examination of collection in order to select materials of greatest benefit to our target audience also fits with our library's planning goals. We have vision, mission, strategic planning, core values, and annual strategic goals planning documents, all of which address digitization and the library's role in the community.
Collaboration between our public library and UW-Madison as well as with other project applicants from public libraries and systems will provide our library with unique opportunities. Our images will be of high quality, our metadata will be based on standards and best practices, and quality control will be based on standards and guidelines.
Department of Corrections Library Services
Department of Corrections 05-202
Coordination of State Institution Library Services $25,000
This grant application seeks LSTA funds in the amount of $25,000 to partially cover the salary of the Library Services Coordinator position and certain position related costs: travel, training materials, professional books and subscriptions, and training and workshops for institution librarians. The Departments of Corrections (DOC) and Health and Family Services (DHFS) will fund $74,128 (DOC $48,183; DHFS $25,945) towards the Coordinator's salary and fringe, and the Department of Corrections will absorb position related office overhead costs of approximately $260.
The position of Institution Library Services Coordinator was established in 1985 in the Department of Health and Social Services. In 1989 the Coordinator position was transferred to Corrections from the Department of Health and Social Services and is now administratively placed within Corrections' Division of Adult Institutions (DAI). When Corrections and Health and Social Services became separate agencies in 1990, an inter-agency agreement was drawn up confirming the unchanged nature of the Coordinator's job responsibilities and continued services to institutions in both departments.
The Library Services Coordinator has responsibility for planning, developing, coordinating, and evaluating all library services in DOC and DHFS institutions. The position reviews current policies and practices, develops and recommends alternative policies and programs to department heads, division administrators, institution wardens and directors, and the institution librarians. The Coordinator administers library grants and acts as consultant on all aspects of library planning and management, facilitates management decisions, and serves as liaison person with outside organizations and agencies on library related issues. Following the Spring 2003 structural reorganization of the Department of Corrections, the responsibility for coordination of education technology was moved to the Library Services Coordinator position.
The position seeks to accomplish both long- and short-term objectives, some of which are outlined in Section IV of this application. Most functions are of a continuous nature, but responsibilities and work assignments change as specific objectives are achieved and new needs arise. (See also attached position description).
DeForest Area Public Library 05-204
Brain Research-based Activities for In-Need Children $22,828
The DeForest Area Public Library is located in the northeast corner of Dane County. It is close enough to Madison to be considered a suburb, but it is also perched close to the Columbia County line and therefore also serves a rural population. The DeForest area is experiencing rapid growth and with this growth has come a more diverse population and a poorer population. The number of WIC participants has increased 46% in the past year and those children eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch at the DeForest Area School District has increased 9% from 2003 to 2004. The Dane County Public Health Nurse has recently been informed that there will be an influx of Hmong families into this area although the number of individuals is unknown at this time. Head Start numbers have also increased each year.
Previously, the DeForest Area Public Library developed a manual of story hour ideas for very young children based on early brain research. These activities and ideas were incorporated into the story hours presented at the library and which, by anecdotal report, seem to be improving Kindergarten screening scores for children who have attended the library's preschool story hours. Unfortunately, the children who attend the library's preschool story hours are often not those who qualify for WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program) or the Free and Reduced Lunch Program.
This project, developed in conjunction with various community partners -- the DeForest Area School District, the Dane County Public Health Nurse, D.A.N.N. (The DeForest Area Needs Network), the food pantry, Head Start, and JFF (Joining Forces for Families)-- will take these practices based on early brain research to where the children most in need are. The marketing materials created in the Public Library Association's "Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library" campaign will be used to promote the activities of this project as well as other materials developed locally.
The library's Outreach Librarian will visit the Head Start, WIC, Food Pantry, and Early Childhood sites at least two times a month. Kits will be created based on early brain research concepts and the 6 pre-reading skills described in the "Every Child Ready to Read" materials and be given away at each of the sites. Each kit will have directions for the parents written to a 4th grade Lexile level. These kits will contain all the items necessary to do the activity. The concepts these kits will be based on are simple, such as the color red so the type of items necessary might be a red crayon, a coloring sheet that has large pictures of things that are traditionally red (apple, fire truck) and a set of instructions helping the parent talk to the child about the concept. A kit for infants might include copies of black and white patterns such as checkerboards and bull's eyes which stimulate infant's visual acuity. Kits will be distributed at the WIC site, at Head Start, at the food pantry, and Early Childhood classes. These kits are intended for parents / caregivers to use with their infant or toddler at home. Lap sit story hours will be offered at these sites as well. At that time the Outreach Librarian will demonstrate how to use the kits and how to dialog appropriately with very young children, modeling this behavior for parents in attendance. A kit will be made for each of fifty concepts very young children need to acquire. These kits will be assembled by the cognitively disabled middle and high school students who come to the library on a weekly basis for work experience. Library staff has worked closely with school district Special Needs staff for over a decade in providing a sheltered work site for these students.
In order to perform the activities of this project, the Outreach Librarian's time will be expanded by 25% so that 20 hours a week are available for this project. 10 hours per week of the Outreach Librarian's time will be paid for by this project and 10 hours per week will be funded locally. This project will also require 10 hours a week to coordinate. A Project Coordinator will be paid from grant funds. Parents of the targeted children living in poverty, having English as a second language, or other barriers to promoting early learning will be identified by the partner agencies. Referrals to the Madison Area Literacy Council, or to local trained literacy or ESL tutors will be made by the Project Coordinator. Marketing and promotional materials will be created with funds from this grant and purchased from ALA. The materials necessary to assemble the concept kits will be provided by the library.
Milwaukee Public Library 05-206
Books2Go -- Family Literacy $42,000
The Books2Go project has been in existence since 2000. It was funded by LSTA grants for the first three years and since then has been funded with private donor grants. The program was developed to reach preschool children through their childcare provider. Childcare providers are signed up for the Books2Go Program and receive a special library card for their center to use. Each center receives a visit from the Books2Go Outreach Coordinator who explains the many benefits of the library to the provider. The Outreach Coordinator drops off a backpack filled with books checked out to the center on their new card and makes arrangements for their first story time at a library.
Each center receives this initial visit that introduces them to the library and all of the library's resources. This has been very successful in renewing or establishing a relationship with some centers; however, we have found that some centers do not continue to use library resources after the initial visit or story time. We believe centers need more contact than the initial visit to become regular library users. In 2005 it is the goal of the Milwaukee Public Library to expand the Books2Go Program by 1) making more contact with providers and parents; and 2) providing training that will empower childcare providers and parents to make a difference in their children's lives in preparing them for school. This program will build upon the programs developed by PLA and ALSC by presenting the six skills necessary for developing pre-literacy skills in young children. These programs have a strong emphasis on brain development and incorporating fun, easy and educational activities to do that will make a considerable difference in the children's lives.
We will continue to recruit centers as we have done since Books2Go began. In addition, through this LSTA grant we will run a pilot program that will target 15 childcare centers that serve children ages 0-3 living in poverty, and their families. This pilot program will be a more intensive version of Books2Go. Each center will receive monthly visits from an Instructional Outreach Coordinator. At those visits, the Coordinator will present age-appropriate story times for the children and model for providers ways to interact with the children using stories, songs, rhymes, etc. The Coordinator will explain to the childcare providers what he/she is doing, reinforcing the training the childcare providers will receive. Through this program, training will be developed for parents and childcare providers. The training will focus on infant brain development and how parents and providers can support and enhance their child's pre-literacy skills. Each childcare center in the pilot program will agree to attend three training sessions specifically designed for providers. The sessions will focus on the six skills for developing pre-literacy skills: narrative skills, letter knowledge, print awareness, vocabulary, print motivation, and phonological awareness. The centers will also agree to encourage parents to attend the parent/child session on the six pre-literacy skills. In return, the centers will receive the monthly story time visits, monthly pick up and drop off of library materials, and a free book at every monthly visit. These books will be specifically chosen by children's librarians to support the skills targeted in the story times and training sessions.
The Goals of the program are the same as in past years:
1. Improve reading readiness skills of Milwaukee preschool age children.
2. Strengthen the capacity of the Milwaukee Public Library to respond to the needs of Milwaukee's preschool audience and their caregivers.
3. Expand outreach services to children, families, and childcare providers.
4. Promote and market library materials and services for preschoolers and their caregivers.
The library will partner with 4C's, WECA and MATC to offer the parents and provide classes to participants outside of the pilot group. Through these partners, childcare providers will receive credit toward certification or teacher continuing education credits. The library will work with these groups, hospitals, head start partner agencies, and childcare centers to provide training to parents.
South Central Library System 05-208
1,2,3 ... Read with Me $34,500
Imagine a world where every child enters kindergarten ready to learn. In this world, children are nurtured by adults who read books and tell stories to them from birth ; in this world they are cared for and they learn to care for others. Reading to young children does more than the very important job of preparing children to learn -- it fosters love and compassion and builds bonds between children and the important adults in their lives. 21st century libraries are at the forefront of early literacy education. Libraries are poised to be community leaders by providing services and programs for babies, toddlers and their parents. Many librarians embrace their role of early learning educators and create infant and toddler programs that employ infant brain development techniques to help build early literacy skills. 50% of a child's intellectual development takes place before age 4. Babies are not born with fully developed brains. The brains of babies and young children are vastly more active and complex than previously known.
1,2,3 ... Read With Me, will build upon the strengths of the 2003 statewide LSTA grant program administered by the Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning. Taking infant brain development concepts introduced through system workshops and a statewide institute in the 2003 program, 1,2,3 ... Read With Me will:
1. Introduce librarians in the South Central Library System (SCLS) to new techniques and methods for working with infants, toddlers and their parents.
2. Empower youth services librarians to be community resources for emergent literacy issues.
3. Connect youth services librarians to community agencies to build a strong network of early literacy providers.
4. Introduce parents, many of whom may speak English as a second language, or who may not be regular library users, to techniques for helping their very young children prepare their growing minds for reading, questioning and learning.
5. Introduce babies and toddlers to a world of learning -- a world where they attain the tools necessary to succeed in school and beyond.
Working with community partners, participating libraries will reach out to a target audience and provide new programs for babies, toddlers and their parents. Special attention will be given to new forms of publicity to attract families who come from foreign countries, families who live in poverty, teen parents and families who do not read together. Libraries will focus on the joys of reading and books, and additional attention will be paid to choosing materials and activities that not only build reading skills, but mathematic skills as well.
Adult, Family and Early Literacy Projects
Arrowhead Library System 05-210
Literacy Coalitions Build Bridges with Spanish Speaking Families $21,650
Literacy Coalitions Build Bridges with Spanish Speaking Families will contine an LSTA program that has created a strong bond between the libraries and literacy councils in Rock County. During the past two years, the Stateline Literacy Council, the Janesville Literacy Council, the Arrowhead Library System and the seven public libraries in Rock County have worked together to offer library and literacy services to Spanish speaking families in Rock County, building bridges between the organizations and Spanish speaking families in Rock County.
Staff training in speaking Spanish, translations of library information and promotional materials, bi-lingual programming for Spanish speaking families and computer training in Spanish at local libraries and the Stateline Literacy Council will be the focus of this grant.
Services to Spanish speaking famlies have improved greatly in the seven member libraries and there is still work to be done. The program has been so successful that the resource library, Hedberg Public Library, has launced their own programs in with a Spanish-speaking coordinator for services to the Spanish speaking community. Library staff in all libraries are encouraged to improve communication and offer bi-lingual information to their library patrons.
Although the programs have been successful, there is still a great need for services to Spanish speaking families in Rock County as this is a growing population. This grant will provide programs, translating services, and Spanish materials at the seven public libraries in Rock County, the Janesville Literacy Council, and the Stateline Literacy Council in Beloit.
Dane County Library Service 05-212
Let's Grow Together Literacy Project $9,418
The "Let's Grow Together" Literacy project will address the literacy needs of low income families whose parents have low literacy skills. This project will be a collaboration with Even Start Family Literacy Program, a family centered program that addresses the learning needs of both parents and children.
The Even Start Family Literacy Program provides participating families both classroom and home based instruction that focuses on: childhood education, adult education, parenting education, basic skills instruction, and home-based instruction that provides for the joint participation of parents and children.
This project aims to assist economically disadvantaged families who likely come from print/literacy poor environments through providing literacy support in both Even Start classrooms and through take home activities. The literacy support will be provided to Even Start families through both direct programming and providing the families with literacy materials that they may keep.
The first way we will provide literacy support to families is by visiting the Even Start classroom site with our Readmobile. The Readmobile will be used to provide parents and children access to library books, library cards, and information on how to use their local library. The Readmobile will visit the Even Start site on a monthly basis. The Readmobile will bring library books into the classrooms and will provide Even Start families an opportunity to receive a library card and to check out library books.
This project will also provide support to Even Start parents by providing monthly Motheread/Fatheread family literacy classes. Motheread/Fatheread is a humanities-based literacy program that uses picture books to connect parents and children. After each Motheread/Fatheread class parents are presented with a picture book that they may keep and share with their children. We will also partner with the First Book program on this project. First Book collaborates with existing literacy programs to distribute new books to children who, for economic reasons, have little or no access to books. After participating in the Let's Grow Together Literacy Project, families will have a small library of picture books to keep and share.
Research has shown that children do better in school when parents are activity involved in home based learning activities. To address this important need, Let's Grow Together families will receive a take home "Goodie Bag" once a month. The bags will contain literacy components that will compliment monthly themes used in the Even Start curriculum ("Getting to Know you" "What Time is it?" "Growing" etc). The Goodie Bags, which families will keep, will contain simple theme related literacy projects for the parents and children to do together.
Parents who participate in Even Start have a strong commitment to the education of themselves and their children. The Let's Grow Together Literacy Project will support literacy efforts in both Even Start classrooms and in student's homes. By offering literacy support, we will enable families to increase the amount of exposure they have to print materials in school and at home. As children's literacy levels are strongly linked to the educational levels of their parents, it is important to support the literacy efforts of the entire family. Studies have shown that helping low-literate adults improve their basic skills has a direct and measurable positive effect upon their children. By offering literacy support to the entire family, this project takes a holistic approach in helping families break the cycle of low literacy.
The Let's Grow Together Literacy Project is an exciting collaboration that addresses the literacy needs of low income families that have made a strong commitment to improving their lives.
Department of Corrections (Union Grove) 05-214
Mother and Child Prison Literacy Program $7,120
The Department of Corrections (DOC) is seeking LSTA funds to establish a new Mother and Child family literacy program at Robert E Ellsworth Correctional Center (REECC), a minimum security facility for female offenders. The new program will be based on an existing intergenerational literacy program model, already successfully implemented at other DOC institutions.
The goals of the Mother and Child program are:
1. Promote positive relationships between mothers and their children through literacy.
2. Encourage mothers to serve as positive role models to strengthen family bonds.
3. Provide mothers the opportunity to build their child's self-esteem and develop pride in their heritage through literacy.
4. Provide opportunities for mothers to engage in positive cognitive and affective activities with their children.
5. Provide mothers and their children with lifelong literacy and learning skills and the opportunity to apply them.
6. Encourage offenders to give back to the community by promoting literacy.
The program has the following components:
1. Eight-week classroom course that teaches incarcerated mothers how to: read to their children; be a good storyteller; engage in age appropriate activities with their children; use music to enhance storytellering; keep a journal about their relationship with their children; create their own story books and memory books.
2. Monthly support group meetings where mothers share experiences with using their newly acquired parenting and literacy skills.
3. Visits between mothers and children with planned activities using a variety of age appropriate resources.
4. Seminars for the children's caregivers.
5. Video and audio taping for those program participants whose children cannot come to visit on a regular basis. The mothers can record themselves reading to their children and can send the tapes and books home.
6. Music education: an outside vendor will provide the mothers with a seminar on how to use music to enhance storytelling.
7. The mothers will record a story on audio tape. The book and tape will be donated to the community based literacy organization.
The grant money will be used to purchase: children's books, video equipment and taping supplies, puppets and story telling kits, children's furniture.
In class, the mothers learn skills in oral reading, storytelling and selecting appropriate activities to share with their children. They will utilize these skills and acitvities during visits and, hopefully, at home after they are released. Grant money will also be used to pay outside vendors for classes on storytelling and putting stories to music.
Our partners, Cops-N-Kids Reading Center Inc, Ken Lonnquist, Carthage College, and the Graham Public library will provide workshops for the mothers in oral reading, storytelling, bringing stories to life through music, and journal writing. Our institution will contribute local funds to purchase art supplies for the journals and memory books, children's books, as well as staff time.
The institution library staff manage the program and monitor its outcomes.
Evaluation methods include tracking of book usage by the mothers and visiting children, evidence of skills learned and applied through entries in personal journals, the production of a memory book and a story book, and observation by program and security staff.
We estimate that this program will serve approximately 600 people. For the first year, 75 offender mothers averaging 2 children per mother (150 children), and each of the children's caregivers (75), will be involved. With the donation of 25 books per session, we estimate that 300 children will check out a donated book and tape. These numbers do not include other family members and members of the community who may be affected by this program.
Kenosha Public Library 05-216
Family Literacy Outreach $13,695
Kenosha Public Library is applying for this grant on behalf of the Kenosha County Library System, for which Kenosha Public Library (KPL) acts as an administrative and fiscal agent. Kenosha County Library System (KCLS) is a single-county library system comprised of two multi-branch public libraries. The Kenosha Public Library is located in the city of Kenosha and consists of four branches and a Bookmobile, while Community Library serves the western part of the county with libraries in Salem, Twin Lakes and Silver Lake.
In the 2000 Census data reported by Kids Count for Kenosha County, there were 40,502 children under age 18, of whom 9.9% or nearly 4,000 were living below poverty. Nearly half of these children, 1,862, who are living below poverty, are receiving care in a regulated daycare facility. There are also 468 children ages 3 and 4 in Kenosha County who are enrolled in the Head Start program, with another 100-150 three and four year-old children on a waiting list for the Head Start program. One third of these children enrolled in Head Start are from homes where English is the second language. The ESL (English as a second language) children are overwhelmingly Spanish speaking, however, the Arabic, Korean and Chinese-speaking populations in Kenosha County are on the rise.
This "Family Literacy Outreach" project will provide an opportunity for parents and caregivers of low-income children and ESL children to improve their literacy skills and aid their children in becoming better readers and thinkers. One goal of this project is to educate and train caregivers working as daycare providers in providing meaningful literacy experiences for the ESL and low-income children in their care. Another goal of this project is to educate parents on how to enrich their lives and their relationships with their children by using children's books and to help them become reading role models for their children. Finally, bilingual books and AV materials (Spanish/English, Arabic/English, Chinese/English and Korean/English) for children will be purchased, as well as literacy themed teacher resource materials for daycare providers and parents. Promotional materials to support this project will be developed in English and Spanish, as necessary, to reflect the needs of the community.
To meet the goals and objectives of this project, the Kenosha Public Library will partner with several community agencies in the Early Childhood Council that provide services for children and their caregivers including the Kenosha Achievement Center/Early Head Start, the Spanish Center, Kenosha County Department of Human Services/Division of Children & Family Services, Head Start and Even Start Family Literacy Grant classes.
Kenosha Public Library staff and members of this coalition of agencies will achieve the objectives of this project by educating daycare providers on the importance of early literacy through a hands-on literacy based workshop. The objectives of this grant will further be achieved by training library staff and select staff from the Early Childhood Council in the Motheread/Fatheread humanities-based family literacy program. The personnel that are trained in the Motheread/Fatheread program will then present classes to parents, which will enable parents to read and discuss books with their children. Library staff will also promote the collection of bilingual books and teacher resource materials purchased and encourage parents and childcare providers to visit their local library, acquire library cards and check out these materials.
Throughout the year, the library will work closely with the community partners to reach the target audience and monitor the progress of the grant.
Lakeshores Library System 05-218
Libraries and Literacy: Services for Spanish Speakers $29,525
The Spanish speaking population in the Lakeshores Library System and Mid Wisconsin Federated Library System service area has grown significantly from the 1990 census to the 2000 census. In Lakeshores, Racine County has had the number of Spanish speaking residents increase 66%, while the Hispanic population in Walworth County has increased 304%. Mid Wisconsin's Dodge County has seen an increase in Spanish speakers of 140%, Jefferson County's Latino population has increased 161% and Washington County's has increased 128%. The "Libraries and Literacy: Services for Spanish Speakers" will provide the Spanish speaking youth, families, and adults at the 42 member libraries in the two systems with programming, materials, and enhanced library services. In 2003, Lakeshores Library System and Mid Wisconsin Federated Library System agreed to work together to share services provided by each system. These services include continuing education coordination and consulting for youth services and special needs. This project reinforces the previously funded LSTA grants promoting library services to Spanish speakers received by Lakeshores Library System in 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004 and supports collaborative efforts between the two systems in 2005.
The member libraries of Lakeshores and Mid Wisconsin, the Racine Literacy Council, and the Walworth County Literacy Council look forward to promoting library services to Spanish speakers in our communities.
"Libraries and Literacy: Services for Spanish Speakers" includes the following components:
1. Hire a bilingual Storywagon series performer for summer library programs in 2005.
2. Sponsor a workshop on Library Services for Spanish Speaking Families for Mid Wisconsin, similar to the workshop held for Lakeshores in 2004.
3. Sponsor a workshop on Spanish language and bilingual storytime programming.
4. Offer conversational Spanish classes.
5. Translate member library card applications, policies, and brochures.
6. Market services to Spanish speakers through the member libraries, literacy councils, and community agencies.
7. Purchase professional collection materials to benefit member libraries and their Spanish speaking patrons.
8. Offer mini-grants to member libraries to purchase Spanish language, bilingual, and ESL materials in a variety of formats.
9. Sponsor a family program at each library receiving mini-grants during Hispanic Heritage Month.
This is a great opportunity for Lakeshores Library System and Mid Wisconsin Federated Library System member libraries to promote library services to Spanish speakers in their individual communities.
Madison Public Library 05-220
Playing to Learn, Learning to Play $23,547
"Play offers a chance to be literate." (Christie, James. Play and Early Literacy Development, Addison Wesley, 1991). Play Literacy is based on the premise that children learn by playing. Madison Public Library and the Dane County Library Service have collaborated on the Play Literacy project since 2002. Play Literacy focuses on developing prereading and prewriting skills in the preschool classroom through the use of guided, book-based, thematic play.
This proposal seeks to provide training and support in Play Literacy for a variety of caregivers in Madison. Playing to Learn, Learning to Play creates, markets, implements and evaluates play literacy training primarily for teachers of low-income three to five year olds, including Spanish-speaking care providers. Continuing education hours will be available for each teacher, through our collaborative partner, 4-C (Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc). Support for teachers who have received training includes circulating themed prop boxes and a quarterly Play Literacy teacher newsletter. Marketing of training and support for teachers will be done with collaborative partners 4-C, using their mailing list and newsletter and with Madison's Office of Community Services Child Care Unit e-newsletter. 4-C is able to identify centers that have the highest enrollment of low-income children and this gives us the ability to target training recruitment to those centers, to insure that the benefits of the grant reach the priority teachers and therefore, the children. Marketing for Spanish speakers will be through 4C's established communications with these care providers. MPL will market the concept through presentations at the UW, MATC, professional early childhood conferences, journal articles and web postings.
In addition, we will visit two sites twice a month with Play Literacy programming for low-income children. At the time of this writing, we are considering the Bayview and Wexford Head Start sites in Madison. These "deep sites" will receive visits, an opportunity to checkout books for the classroom from the Readmobile, teacher training, teacher support in the form of theme-related toys, ephemera and a classroom book collection. In addition, teachers and children will be encouraged to get library cards and each site will visit their nearest library twice.
Our ultimate goals are to have children succeed in school and to develop children and teachers (and parents) into life-long library customers. But before that can happen, we need to make sure they know about the public library, and feel welcome and find value here. And to make sure that can happen, we must take our show on the road and become involved in the literacy training of teachers and the literacy education of children, as part of a network of community groups. We feel our goals, as exhibited by this project, emulate the goals of Wisconsin's Library Service to Youth with Special Needs.
Milwaukee Public Library 05-222
Books2Go-Libros Para Llevar $33,080
Books2Go ... Libros Para Llevar is a continuing outreach program for Latino children 3 ... 5 years old, their parents, and childcare providers in the city of Milwaukee. In 2003, the program's first year, the Forest Home Library service area was targeted because of the high concentration of Latinos living there (60%). In response to reports from community partners and library staff regarding increases in Latino patrons and childcare provider residences, the second year was expanded to the neighboring libraries and the River West area. In the third year, the grant will continue to focus on the Latino community in these areas as Latinos continue to move west and south in the city.
This program builds upon the award winning Books2Go Preschool Program, which was started as an LSTA project in 2000 and continued as an LSTA project through 2002. The Books2Go Program for English speaking providers and children is currently funded through private grants. The Books2Go ... Libros Para Llevar Program specifically targets the Latino population to develop pre-literacy skills in children 3 ... 5 years old. Continuation of this program will focus on educating families and childcare providers on child developmental milestones related to reading and language development. This program will promote how the library supports families and childcare centers to enrich young children's lives. Staff will work closely with community partners in the Latino community. Library staff will be taught Spanish in order to better serve the Spanish speaking community.
A key component of the Books2Go ... Libros Para Llevar program is the bilingual Outreach Coordinator. The Outreach Coordinator will be the main promoter of the program and will distribute most of the marketing materials. The Outreach Coordinator will be responsible for contacting and visiting Latino childcare centers, signing them up as members of the Books2Go ... Libros Para Llevar Program, and distributing library cards, library materials, and promotional items. The Outreach Coordinator will model read-aloud techniques, schedule the first story time, and maintain statistics for the program. The Outreach Coordinator will also provide classes for parents and childcare providers of children 3 ... 5 years old. Presented in Spanish, these classes will focus on the six skills necessary for developing pre-literacy skills (narrative skills, letter knowledge, print awareness, vocabulary, print motivation, and phonological awareness) and have a strong emphasis on brain development and incorporating fun, easy, and educational activities will make a big difference in the children's lives. These classes will be modeled after the PLA and ALSC initiatives, "Early Words" and "Every Child Ready to Read."
In addition, a pilot program will target three childcare centers that serve Latino children 3-5 years of age who are living in poverty. This pilot program will be a more intensive version of Books2Go. Each center will receive monthly visits from the Outreach Coordinator. At those visits, the Coordinator will present age-appropriate story times for the children and model for providers ways to interact with the children using stories, songs, rhymes, etc. The Coordinator will explain to the childcare providers what he/she is doing, reinforcing the training the childcare providers will receive. Through this program, training will be developed for parents as well. The training will focus on infant brain development and how parents and providers can support and enhance their child's pre-literacy skills. Each childcare center in the pilot program will agree to attend three training sessions specifically designed for providers that will focus on the six skills for developing pre-literacy skills. The centers will also agree to encourage parents to attend the parent/child session on the six pre-literacy skills. In return, the centers will receive the monthly story time visits, monthly pick up and drop off of library materials, and a free book at every monthly visit. These books will be specifically chosen by children's librarians to support the skills targeted in the story times and training sessions.
The library has worked with many community agencies through this grant and, as suggested by our contact at La Causa Family Resource Center, the program for 2005 will include focus groups to find out what the community really thinks of the library and what they need from the library. Four focus groups will be formed: 1) childcare providers; 2) community leaders; 3) current users of the library with young children; and 4) non-users of the library with young children. An outside agency will be contracted to conduct the focus groups and will report the feedback to the library. Based on our findings from the focus group, we hope to better understand the community and what services they need most.
In accordance with the results of the focus group, materials will be purchased for use with children in the target age of 3 ... 5 years.
Outagamie Waupaca Library System 05-224
Reaching People for Whom English is a Learned Language $14,650
This grant addresses adult literacy special needs focusing on individuals for whom English is a learned language. Through the grant Outagamie Waupaca Library System proposes offering a diverse group of resources (online and in print) available at and through local libraries for this special needs population.
First, several Outagamie Waupaca Library System libraries have a growing need to start English as a learned language and emergent reader collections and popular Latino reading collections. Through library collections that emphasize personal and professional development, job skills, self-improvement and recreational reading, this is an attempt to offer services to the entire individual through a diverse range of resources at local OWLS libraries. Partnering with local agencies that have frequent contact with the identified population creates cooperation between the library and local agencies and to this end promotes the resources the libraries strive to collect.
Second, Outagamie Waupaca Library System would like to test the usability of an electronic test preparation and practice testing product that allows for access within the library or remote access from home. The Learnatest online product is an excellent alternative to replacing outdated and frequently stolen print materials. System wide electronic access to a test taking, preparation product would increase access for all patrons and would allow for the most current preparation materials to be available 24/7. Libraries with small budget lines would not be constrained to single copies of GED preparation materials.
Southwest Wisconsin Library System 05-226
Teens Read: Reaching At-Risk Teens $19,450
The Southwest Wisconsin Library System serves twenty-seven public libraries in the five counties of Crawford, Richland, Grant, Lafayette, and Iowa. Within these counties there are over thirty-one thousand children ages birth to seventeen. 9.6% of the children are living below the poverty level and 16% do not graduate from high school. 22% of the children living in these counties and attending public schools qualify for free or reduced lunch based on income level.
Many programs have been directed toward infants and emergent and beginning readers by public libraries, schools and service groups. Successful summer library programs have many younger children enthusiastically participating in reading activities. Unfortunately, library use decreases as children get older. Surveys sent to the SWLS librarians indicated the need in this area. Most librarians listed their teen use as minimal to moderate, and all librarians wanted to increase teen use.
Poor literacy is the number-one risk factor for dropping out, and according to Wis Kids Count, 2001, poverty may well be the underestimated culprit that contributes to a student's poor literacy. Students who struggle in school are more likely to become drop-outs. Public Library Services for Youth With Special Needs defines youth with special needs as "Youth under age 18 who are poor and/or have disabilities." "Youth with special needs include, but are not limited to children and teens that are economically and educationally disadvantaged".
This project will include socio-economically disadvantaged youth ages 12-17 in the planning, implementing and evaluating of teen library services. A survey will be given to teen public library users and non-users, by coordinating with the schools, to discover why or why not teens are using the public library. Library staff will create programs and provide materials relative to the lives of these youth, based on teen input. Training will be given to library staff in activities and materials to attract socio-economically disadvantaged youth to the library and to keep them returning to the library. Posters and flyers will be provided by the System to the libraries to help to publicize the new teen programs and materials. These goals relate directly to the goals established by Public Library Services for Youths with Special Needs. (Goal 1, Goal 2, Goal 3, Goal 4 and Goal 6).
Spooner Memorial Library 05-228
Traveling Librarian $9,300
With this grant, the Spooner Memorial Library, with cooperation from the Shell Lake Library, the only two libraries in Washburn County (857 square miles), proposes to complete the 2003/2004 LSTA Grant Traveling Librarian. Traveling Librarian is an outreach of library services to children in Head Start, childcare facilities and home based daycares. The services provided in the 2003/2004 grant included rotating collections, story hour visits and library programs scheduled for the convenience of working parents and child care providers.
Traveling Librarian 2005 LSTA Grant will continue to provide Head Start, child care facilities and Home Based daycares with rotating collections and library programs scheduled for the convenience of working parents and child care providers, however story hour will be accomplished by the child care providers. The grant was begun with the idea of modeling methods of storytelling with small children and providing appropriate and stimulating literature. We believe, from the responses provided by the providers, that we have accomplished this and it now time to let individual providers establish their own programs. To insure their progress continues, we plan to continue supplying them with materials during 2005 and continue to act as a resource for their programming needs. We will also be working with the parents of birth to three, in cooperation with the Washburn Public Health & Human Services through the Women Infants & Children (WIC) program to insure new parents are aware of library resources for their children and themselves. The Shell Lake Library will still be active as a resource, but because of the director's current pregnancy the Spooner Memorial Library will take the lead in completing the grant and accomplish the delivery of the materials as well as the programs.
Traveling Librarian targets children from birth to three years olds, their parents and their caregivers, where they gather, in order to meet the rising educational, literate, social and socioeconomic needs. There are many children who don't have access to a library because they live in a remote location. Thus, the libraries must reach out to these children and bring library services to where they gather. The library's focus will be on home based daycare providers who do not have the means to bring groups of children to the libraries, preschool and Head Start, who concentrate on serving socio-economically disadvantaged children and parents of newborns in the county who may lack awareness of the library as a resource.
Major activities include weekly (for 10 weeks) site visits during the summer to at least 14 home based daycare providers by the Traveling Librarian who will provide each visit with a rotating tub of materials. Provide monthly material rotations to the Head Start classes in Spooner and Salem Lutheran Preschool in Shell Lake at the Shell Lake Public Library during the school year. The Spooner Memorial Library will offer two evening and four afternoon programs at their Library to promote literacy in the context of family and multi-generational units at appropriate times when families usually spend time together. Both libraries will also work in cooperation with Washburn Public Health & Human Services to offer the parents of all birth to three aged children information about library resources, how to get a card, hours of services and additional information on the importance of reading to children as well as a video on parenting skills. WIC's cooperation with the distribution of information targets the audience we are working to reach. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children - better known as the WIC Program - serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, & children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
If the libraries hope to continue to reach at-risk children, they need to continue going out into the community where children gather and provide the same level of resources to them as to the ones who can access the library.
Seniors / Sensory Disabilities Projects
Arrowhead Library System 05-230
Seniors with Special Needs-Reaching Out, Bringing In $12,400
Seniors with Special Needs - Reaching Out - Bringing In" is a program with both outreach services and promotion of library services to Seniors With Special Needs. In a coordinated effort with the Rock County Council on Aging, the Arrowhead Library System will provide information to Meals on Wheels participants, programs to meal-site attendees, and multi-generational programs at Rock County nursing homes. The project focuses on intellectual stimulation and social interaction of participants in book talks and remembrance writing workshops at Rock County meal sites. The project creates a model for future programs for Arrowhead Library System member libraries. In addition the project will update and improve the Arrowhead Library System's BiFolkal collection, the large type collections in the System's member libraries, and the System's rotating collection of large type books to area nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Burlington Public Library 05-232
Services to Seniors: Expanding Their World through the Library $5,452
The Burlington Public Library strives to be accessible to all people, and to achieve this goal, we need to update and expand some of our services and equipment, especially for the senior citizens of our community.
Burlington Public Library has a good working relationship with Mount Carmel, a nursing home and rehabilitation center: once a month large print books and videos are checked out and delivered to the facility for residents to read and use. A continued and expanded partnership is one of the goals of this grant: Burlington Public Library will sponsor or provide occasional programs at the home, thus bringing the library to the residents who cannot physically come to the library.
To make the library itself more accessible, Burlington Public Library plans to retrofit an electronic door, create large print application cards and policy brochures, subscribe to two new large print magazines, expand the GED collection and provide a wheeled walker with a basket for in-house use.
Burlington Public Library will also explore new avenues of advertising the library and its services within the community, making sure seniors know what is available for them.
Eastern Shores Library System 05-234
Serving Those Who Care for Persons with Alzheimer's $4,180
Eastern Shores Library System is applying for funds to develop a more extensive collection of materials for those who work with and care for family members and patients who have dementia or Alzheimer's.
The counties of Ozaukee and Sheboygan in Eastern Shores have a total of 45 nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Four facilities are in areas served by the ESLS bookmobile. The others are located in communities with libraries. An estimated 3,580 residents of both counties have dementia. 678 of these individuals are residing in nursing homes.
Eastern Shores will purchase two additional Bi-Folkal kits to add to its collection and create 10 other similar kits for use by bookmobile customers and to be loaned to other libraries for their customers. The bookmobile will purchase at least 60 items for its collection in the areas of working with and caring for individuals with Alzheimer's, as well as books for children that explain Alzheimer's. The items will be available to all residents of the system through the shared catalog.
We will create bibliographies about the materials and services and share them with the nursing homes, assisted living facilities, offices on aging, and Alzheimer's support groups. The bookmobile will market the materials directly to their customers at their stops. Member libraries will market them to their customers directly and to the nursing homes and assisted living facilities in their communities.
Eager Free Public Library 05-236
Providing Library Services to Senior Citizens with Special Needs $2,200
"Senior Partners: Providing Library Services to Senior Citizens with Special Needs" stems from the large number of senior citizens living in the Evansville Area that have special needs. Most small towns don't have a residential care facility, or perhaps they have one nursing home. Evansville has three residential care facilities, one of which also has an adult day care program. Many senior citizens with long term care needs move into our small town because of the care these facilities provide. Eager Free Public Library had already been providing outreach programming at two of the three facilities. In addition to this, the library has a homebound delivery program and offers many special services, such a large print books and a magnifier-reader on site.
Even with the current attempts at service provision, senior citizens with special needs are still not being well served by the library. The goals of this grant project are that "area senior citizens with special needs have full and convenient access to programs and services at Eager Free Public Library (EFPL) that are responsive to their needs" and that "senior citizens with special needs are aware of library services in the Evansville area."
We will accomplish these goals by providing outreach programming at four locations outside the library, by holding special programs at the library during special "Senior Days", by providing free transportation to the library on those days, and by providing an ADA accessible computer workstation in the library. We will serve as a resource for senior citizens with special needs by creating and distributing a large print directory of local services specifically geared towards their needs. We will also provide large type brochures and applications, and advertise and promote library services to seniors with special needs throughout the year, using five community partners. The Evansville Manor, The Kelly House, Inn Care, Evansville Meals on Wheels and the Rock County Meal Site have all agreed to work with us to accomplish these goals. Together we will provide better access to improved services for the targeted group, and will continue to do so after the grant period has ended.
Lakeshores Library System 05-238
Homebound Delivery and Services for Seniors with Special Needs $10,450
Lakeshores Library System is a two county public library system serving fifteen member libraries in Racine and Walworth Counties in southeastern Wisconsin. According to 2000 census statistics compiled by the University of Wisconsin Extension and Applied Population Laboratory, 27,000 residents or 14.5% of the population in Racine County (188,000 total) are age 62 or older. In Walworth County, 14,000 people or 15% of the total population of 94,000 residents are age 62 or older. Of these, 6,500 householders in Racine County and 3,200 householders in Walworth County were living alone.
Lakeshores Library System will be working in conjunction with the Walworth County Retired and Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) to establish delivery of library services to individuals who are homebound. An informal survey of the Walworth County libraries indicated that three of the ten libraries already offer some type of homebound service for their patrons, and four others were interested in starting a service for these patrons.
"Scan N Talk" readers will be purchased for each of the fifteen public libraries in Lakeshores Library System to enable patrons to read magnified text or have text read aloud to them in English or Spanish. RSVP volunteers will be available at libraries in both counties to train patrons on using the readers.
The member libraries of Lakeshores and the Walworth County Retired and Seniors Volunteer Program volunteers and staff look forward to promoting services to seniors with special needs in our communities.
"Homebound Delivery and Services for Seniors with Special Needs" includes the following components:
1. Purchase "Scan N Talk" readers for each member library.
2. Offer beginning or expanded homebound delivery services.
3. Sponsor a workshop on providing library services to seniors with special needs.
4. Produce library brochures, card applications, policies, and other forms in large print format for all member libraries.
5. Offer in-library training for patrons on using "Scan N Talk" readers at each member library.
6. Offer mini-grants to member libraries to purchase materials and periodicals for seniors with special needs.
7. Purchase professional collection materials to benefit member libraries and their patrons who are homebound and seniors with special needs.
This is a great opportunity for Lakeshores Library System and our member libraries to provide library services to homebound patrons and seniors with special needs in our communities.
Manitowoc-Calumet Library System 05-240
Library Services to Patrons at the End of Life $9,983
The six public libraries in the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System are responsible for the delivery of materials to shut-ins and the provision of collections to assisted living facilities and nursing homes within their service territories. Although these services have been offered at the local level since 1998, each of the six libraries perceives a range of needs that are not being met. The libraries decided to develop a project to improve Special Needs services with a specific focus on patrons who are at the end of life. Once we had a focus, we turned to area hospice service providers as logical partners for the project. This grant application is the result of a collaborative effort between the six public libraries and hospice service providers in Manitowoc and Calumet Counties.
The 1,000 or so people who are at end-of-life in 2005 in Manitowoc and Calumet Counties, and their families and caregivers are the primary target audience of this grant proposal. End-of-life patrons and their families and caregivers require library services that are sensitive to their rapidly changing needs. Most important, this target audience needs to be informed that library services are available and convenient. Targeting participants in area hospices seems an excellent way for libraries in MCLS to start to improve their special needs service in 2005.
Manitowoc-Calumet Library System (MCLS) is a small two-county public library system serving about 115,340 residents of east central Wisconsin through member libraries in Brillion, Chilton, and New Holstein in Calumet County and Kiel, Manitowoc, and Two Rivers in Manitowoc County. Brillion, Chilton, New Holstein, and Kiel are in similar sized communities of about 3,000 each. Another 12,292 Calumet County residents live within the cities of Appleton and Menasha, but these people are not counted in the MPCLS population because Appleton and Menasha belong to other library systems. Two Rivers has a population of 12,600, and Manitowoc's population is about 34,000. Manitowoc Public Library serves as the system resource library. By most measures, including state aid, MCLS is the smallest of Wisconsin's seventeen public library systems.
We deliberately planned to undertake a "small" project that will be feasible for our small system, and will have a direct and personalized impact on the people in our area with special needs. Our goal, particularly at the two larger libraries (Manitowoc Public Library and Lester Public Library in Two Rivers) is to focus on hospice participants and other patrons at end-of-life. The smaller libraries have a more general goal, that of encouraging patrons in need to utilize special needs delivery services.
The libraries share an on-line catalog and circulation system. Manitowoc Public Library, the resource library, utilizes the circulation system's Homebound Module. The other libraries see advantages to using this module in their special needs services applications. Federal funds will be used to cover the initial expense of additional licenses for the five other libraries. Ongoing maintenance expenses will be supported by local funding in 2006 and subsequent years.
In planning for this project year, we also recognize that we need staff training about end-of-life service needs. Other activities of the project are geared at informing a larger number of people about special needs services in general, particularly at the smaller libraries where these services are under-utilized. To do this, we needed print brochures that market these services. Activities are planned to address these needs.
With this grant, MCLS will be able to carry out objectives from its annual System Plan as well as model a very specific project to demonstrate the role of public libraries in providing adult and family literacy services, as called for in the LSTA Five-Year Plan for Wisconsin.
Menomonie Public Library 05-242
Project LOOP Menomonie-Menomonie Public Library $7,388
The Menomonie Public Library seeks to improve communication in the library with seniors and others who have sensory disabilities, including hearing loss, in order to better meet their informational needs. Approximately 10% of the population suffers from hearing loss and one-third of the population over age 65. Project LOOP Menomonie will provide for the installation of up-to-date communication technology in the Menomonie Public Library. It will work to remove communication barriers for people of all ages that use the public library meeting room for lectures, recitals, business meetings, family programs and other functions. The project will use funds to purchase and install a LOOP system and captioning technology for people with hearing loss, learning disabilities and visual impairment. An induction loop system with individual receivers for large gatherings will be installed. Voice activation equipment will be purchased and installed. For smaller gatherings and one-on-one conversations the project will purchase and make available personal FM systems. A portable Fixed InfoLoop induction loop will be purchased for use at the checkout counter.
Project LOOP Menomonie will also serve as a model for other libraries and public facilities in the area. The library installation will be part of an effort to train and educate community leaders, employers and employees, and people with communication disorders about the technology and its application to other facilities and workplaces. The project will be conducted in cooperation with The Center for Independent Living for Western Wisconsin, Inc. and the SHHH (Self Help for Hard of Hearing)--Menomonie Chapter.
Shell Lake Public Library 05-244
Words on Wheels $10,363
With this grant, the Shell Lake Public Library in conjunction with Lakeland Manor and Evergreen Apartments will re-new partnerships of service to adults with special needs housing units. Glenview Assisted Living, Terrace View Living Center and Ventures Unlimited will join the group as new participants. Words on Wheels will provide a monthly rotation of materials in alternative format to adults with special needs housing units and convenient and equitable access to materials at the library to meet their informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs. As added components to this grant a wheelchair and a walker with a basket will be purchased and housed in the library for patrons to use, push plates will be installed near the entrance doors to offer patrons who are able to travel to the library such as Ventures Unlimited and Terrace View Living Center clients barrier free access to materials. Doors can let you into a room or a home. They can also keep you out. Shell Lake Public Library looks forward to becoming handicap accessible!
Waukesha County Federated Library System 05-246
Elders and Caregivers Using Services Everywhere-Especially Libraries! $14,950
This project is designed to promote the role of public libraries in Waukesha County in meeting the information needs of seniors, especially those with special needs, and those family members who care for them. It addresses the need to "increase and make more accessible" library services to seniors with special needs and their caregivers in response to the increasing senior population in Waukesha County.
The "aging" of Waukesha County's population is taking place at a rapid pace and the need for public libraries to address this growth is apparent. According to "Waukesha County's Older Population: A summary of data from the U.S. Census, 2000" prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Aging and Long Term Care Resources on January 30, 2002, "The rate of growth in the older population since 1990 has been much faster in [Waukesha County] than in the state as a whole (45.1% versus 7.9%). In all, 43,434 people in this county are age 65 or older and 5,447 of these are age 85 and older." During a March, 2004, planning session conducted by Barb Huntington, Special Needs Consultant with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning, representatives of public libraries in Waukesha County identified serving the aging population as the most pressing special needs issue facing libraries in the next three years.
While established relationships between the System and the following agencies have existed for a number of years, recent consultations with the Waukesha County Director of Senior Services and Advisory Committee members of the Southeastern Wisconsin Area Agency on Aging have further indicated strong support for such a project at this time. In fact, the County's Department of Senior Services director indicated that in 2005, they are targeting public libraries to offer information for caregivers of seniors in conjunction with Older Americans Act funding they receive for the National Caregiver Support Program.
There are three components to this grant: establishing an advisory committee and re-establishing connections with agencies that serve the targeted populations (seniors with disabilities and family caregivers); marketing, including in-house marketing in the form of a continuing education for member libraries' staffs increasing the accessibility and relevance of member libraries collections through collection development and placement of wheeled browsing carts in 14 member libraries.
An advisory committee consisting of members from the targeted population as well as from agencies serving these groups will be formed in order to determine specific large print materials that seniors with special needs (and their caregivers) most want. In addition, this committee will work with representatives of member libraries to determine the best type of wheeled cart to purchase for member libraries. This committee will have a role in developing and implementing the marketing plan which will include the development and printing of large-print brochures and materials promoting services available for seniors at member libraries. And committee members will review member libraries' library card applications to ensure a large print version is available. WCFLS staff will develop a continuing education workshop to give member library staffs the opportunity to learn more about serving seniors with special needs and also to "revisit" current home delivery of library materials, an ongoing program that was established through an WCFLS 1988-89 LSCA grant project.
The purpose of this project is to increase the use of public libraries by seniors with special needs and their caregivers. The first goal is to connect with the targeted populations to educate them about library services as well as to solicit input into developing library services that will meet their needs. The second goal is to increase awareness about library services to seniors with disabilities and family caregivers among member libraries' staffs, service providers and the general public as well as the targeted populations. The third goal is to increase accessibility and relevancy of member library services to seniors with special needs and their family caregivers.
Wisconsin Valley Library Service 05-248
Library Services for Seniors with Special Needs $25,950
"Library Services for Seniors with Special Needs in North Central Wisconsin" proposes to provide equality of library access for seniors with special needs and to better acknowledge and respect them as library customers. WVLS along with twelve of its member public libraries and their community partner agencies have targeted this segment of the senior population and their families/caregivers for improved library services in 2005. National trends demonstrating the graying of America are also reflective of the north central Wisconsin population. US Census 2000 data revealed that the proportion of people age 65 and older in Wisconsin is higher than that of the nation as a whole (13.1% v. 12.4%). Almost all WVLS member counties have a much higher proportion of residents aged 65 and older: Clark Co. = 16%, Forest Co. = 19.3%, Langlade Co. = 18.8%, Lincoln Co. = 16.4%, Oneida Co. = 18.7% and Taylor Co. = 15.2%. 3,584 persons aged 65 and older in WVLS counties lived below the poverty level in 1999. 2,098 resided in nursing homes; and 7,865 noninstitutionalized persons aged 65 and over reported one type of disability in the 2000 Census.
While numbers such as those above give us a snapshot of the challenges facing seniors, the reality is that "in the struggle to live with independence and dignity as we age, everyone has a story and each story is unique and deeply personal." (AARP Public Policy Institute: "Beyond 50.03: a Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability, April 2003) Library outreach delivery programs frequently help to break down barriers of isolation experienced by many seniors and persons with disabilities. "'You can go anywhere in the world with a book,' says Rib Lake resident Bob Scott, who finds it difficult to physically go anywhere outside his own home. Bob is one of the first area residents served by a new Rib Lake Library Partners program to bring books and magazines to those who can not easily get to the public library. (Medford Star News, Feb. 12, 2004, page 4) In 2005, WVLS libraries in Rhinelander and Three Lakes propose to begin new outreach delivery programs, while Crandon, Minocqua, and Withee will expand existing services to new locations. Other WVLS public libraries with established outreach delivery programs will increase the publicity/promotion of their services to raise public awareness of their availability.
As the US population rapidly ages and Americans live longer, more families, friends, and caregivers struggle with great emotional and physical stress as they cope with the physical and mental changes in their aged loved ones. Caregivers must juggle many responsibilities and adjust to new and changing roles. To meet the needs of the growing population of caregivers, libraries in Antigo Merrill and Marathon County will develop caregiver and Alzheimers' support collections as well as special programming and training sessions for them.
To better ensure the accessibility of library buildings and materials, Rib Lake and Tomahawk libraries will retrofit their entrance doors with electronic openers, and join libraries in Antigo, Loyal, Merrill, Minocqua, Marathon County, and Withee in the purchase of assistive technology devices. Library materials collections in Crandon, Greenwood, Loyal, Rhinelander and Withee will be expanded with additional large print books and periodicals as well as books on tape for use in outreach delivery programs. WVLS will also add these materials/formats for its nursing home deposit collection service.
While in many cases service to older adults is a matter of awareness and focus, only two of the twelve participating libraries had sent a staff member to a training session on library services to seniors with special needs in the past three years. To provide this sensitivity training and education, WVLS will offer a full-day workshop emphasizing knowledge of the demographics and diversity of the older adult population, learning abilities and styles of older adults, community services and resources targeted to older adults, and techniques and strategies for adapting materials and services for older adults with disabilities.
To increase public awareness of library services/materials for seniors with special needs, a formal marketing plan will be created with the help of UW-Marathon Campus marketing interns. Library card applications and brochures about services for seniors will be created in large print format and distributed throughout the communities. Press releases on library services for seniors will appear in local media, and articles will be published in cooperating partner agencies' newsletters as well as church bulletins. Presentations will be made to groups such as the North Central Activity Directors Association, the Parish Nurses Association, and the Alzheimers' Support Groups.
Brown County Library 05-310
Library Cards and Library Visits for Diverse Families $9,994
The Brown County Library card, with its distinctive purple background and dramatic swooshes of magenta, turquoise and ochre, will symbolize the "Rainbow Umbrella," a library promotion campaign targeting diverse and underserved population groups in Brown County. This multi-faceted campaign will promote library card sign-up and library use to: 1) teen parents and their children; 2) families served by schools in low-income neighborhoods with high proportions of ethnic and cultural minorities; and 3) the Green Bay area's growing number of families for whom English is a second language, including those who speak Spanish, Hmong and Russian.
Major activities will include translating library card applications and related promotional flyers into three languages.
Special events for the targeted audiences will include bi-lingual storytimes and library tours, and educational presentations such as "storytime booktalks" for teen parents and their children scheduled to enable them to take advantage of free meals offered at the library through the Summer Nutrition Program.
This campaign will also feature a pilot project and card sign-up campaign conducted with Fort Howard Elementary School. The rewards for participating and meeting goals will include class trips to the library for fun and educational class visit programs. To extend this project year-round, the Fort Howard/Jefferson Family Resource Center will be designated as a "satellite" site for the library's 2005 summer reading program. Fort Howard Elementary School has just this year worked its way off of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's "Schools Identified for Improvement" list.
To attract our newest families, books will be purchased in Russian, as well as in the Green Hmong and White Hmong dialects. The Central Library's existing Spanish collections will be made more inviting and user-friendly, featuring display units and community information. Also targeting Spanish-speaking families, the library's highly successful "Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los Libros" event will be repeated and tied into a library card sign-up campaign.
To remove one of the key barriers to participation in these library activities, this grant will provide bus transportation for the targeted audiences.
Brown County Library will reach these audiences by teaming with educational and social service organizations that already have strong connections with the targeted groups. Teen parents will be reached through cooperation with East High School's teen parenting classes; Marion House for teen mothers; the Adolescent Parenting Coalition's annual conference for teen parents; and the federally funded summer nutrition program of the Green Bay Area Public School District. Diverse, low-income families will be reached through Fort Howard School, the Fort Howard/Jefferson Family Resource Center, and schools serving similar population groups. Specific ethnic and cultural groups will be addressed by working with churches, the Literacy Council, the Hmong Association of Green Bay, and local employers.
Aram Public Library 05-312
READ-READ-READ! $5,320
The purpose of this grant is to not only make the general public more aware of the services that are offered in the Aram (Delavan) and Darien Public Library, but to specifically target two very under served populations in our communities - the Hispanic and those who are deaf or profoundly hard of hearing.
To accomplish this task we will develop a basic brochure in both Spanish and English telling of the services in each library. This will be handed out to every student (public and private), every church, Literacy center, Head start, and to the Civic/Social groups (i.e. the National Fraternity of the Deaf) that meet in the two communities. We will hold library card sign up "kick off" parties at both libraries to get the target populations to the libraries. These will be tri-lingual to include English, Spanish and Sign language. In addition library cards will be redesigned to include "read" in different languages including Spanish, Sign language and English.
To assure that all people feel welcomed and served in the library, workshops will be held to make staff more comfortable serving the Spanish Speaking Patron and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing User. In addition to developing staff skills, library materials will be enhanced to include more Spanish language materials and audio/visual materials in both Spanish and captioned formats.
Eastern Shores Library System 05-314
Promoting Lakeview and Oscar Grady Libraries $6,200
Eastern Shores Library System is submitting this grant on behalf of two member libraries--the Lakeview Community Library of Random Lake in Sheboygan County and the Oscar Grady Library of Saukville in Ozaukee County. Of the 13 libraries in the two counties served by ESLS, these are the two who have less than 50% of their local residents as registered borrowers. The circulation to their local residents is also slightly less than the average at the other eleven libraries in the system. The areas served by the two libraries are not contiguous, but are geographically close. We believe that a cooperative application is in their best interests, since it does not have the two libraries compete against each other in the same category. Also, the residents of both municipalities listen to the same radio station and subscribe to some of the same newspapers.
Using grant funds, we will take out newspaper ads, produce and air spots on a local radio station, purchase banners to be hung in the downtown areas of the communities, contract with entertainers for family programs, run contests, offer door prizes, distribute bookmarks, and display posters. Both libraries have actively promoted their services in their communities, but have had to rely on free or very low-cost activities to do so. The costs associated with the activities outlined in the grant are well beyond the reach of both small public libraries if they had to include them in their annual operating budgets. Staff at the two libraries also plan to survey new borrowers to see if we can determine which promotion is the most successful. This information will be useful for future promotions for the two libraries involved in the grant, as well as other libraries in the system.
Manitowoc-Calumet Library System 05-316
Library Cards for Kindergartners $7,688
Registering kindergarteners for library borrower's cards and encouraging their use of public libraries in the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System (MCLS) is the goal of this grant project. MCLS librarians are very enthusiastic about this type of registration drive. It sounds like something we can do without overworking our staff. We are sure it will be successful. It will be inexpensive to sustain in future years and can serve as a model for other libraries. It will reach children in need, including Hispanic and Hmong children and their families, as well as the general population of five year olds. The most significant components of the project center around registration drives at the 11 kindergartens and open houses at the 6 public libraries. These activities are intended to make kindergarteners, and their siblings, parents, and teachers, feel welcome at their local public libraries and to encourage their continued use of these facilities.
The area schools predict a total enrollment of 1,016 kindergarteners for the 2005-6 school year. From the statistics showing children at 200% of poverty in Manitowoc and Calumet Counties in 2000, we can infer that there will be 228 to 230 needy kindergarteners enrolling for the 2005-6 school year in the MCLS area. These children and their families (an estimated 700 people, if families average 3 people) are the target audience for the proposed project. Hmong children in Manitowoc, and Hispanic and Hmong children in Kiel and Manitowoc (the schools where there will be enrolled at least 5 Hispanic or Hmong children), are also included in the target audience regardless of income levels.
Registration statistics from the circulation system shared by the MCLS libraries show that only 187 children born between September 1999 and August 2000 (those who will be 6 in time for the 2005-6 school year and presumably entering the 1st grade) are registered for library borrower's cards. Of the children eligible for kindergarten in 2005-6, only about 8% already have library borrower's cards (83 children). MCLS libraries offer borrower's cards to children from birth, but few parents register their very young children.
We have deliberately planned to undertake a "small" project that will be feasible for our small system, and will have a direct and personalized impact on the people in our area with special needs. Manitowoc-Calumet Library System (MCLS) is a two-county public library system serving about 115,340 residents of east central Wisconsin through member libraries in Brillion, Chilton, and New Holstein in Calumet County and Kiel, Manitowoc, and Two Rivers in Manitowoc County. Brillion, Chilton, New Holstein, and Kiel are in similar sized communities of about 3,000 each. Another 12,292 Calumet County residents live within the cities of Appleton and Menasha, but these people are not counted in the MPCLS population because Appleton and Menasha belong to other library systems. Two Rivers has a population of 12,600, and Manitowoc's population is about 34,000. Manitowoc Public Library serves as the system resource library. By most measures, including state aid, MCLS is the smallest of Wisconsin's seventeen public library systems.
The project fits into the 2004 MCLS Annual Plan under the Services to Users with Special Needs as a new or priority activity for the year. It fits into the goals and objectives outlined in Public Library Services for Youth with Special Needs: A Plan for Wisconsin. It fits into the goals and objectives outlined in the LSTA Five Year Plan for Wisconsin, 2003-2007, under Goal 2B (school-age children) and Goal 2C (family literacy).
Menomonie Public Library 05-318
Project Smart Card-Menomonie $2,112
The City of Menomonie has a population of 15,271. Currently, less than 50% of the population of Menomonie is signed up for a library card. Project Smart Card ... Menomonie seeks to achieve 2,000 new cardholders during the year 2005 by reaching out to the K-12 student population and their parents in cooperation with the School District of the Menomonie Area. The library will include "Go To" events where we seek new card sign-ups by featuring library services and doing library card sign-ups at community events and service agencies that attract families. "Visit the Library" events will also be part of the yearlong project that will include monthly, family oriented programs, school classroom visits to the library, and instructional classes on using the library. Community participation will be encouraged with press releases, an official proclamation and prizes to "Show us your smartest card." An increase of 2,000 cardholders, an increase in library visits and an increase in the circulation of materials will be the measure of success.
Milwaukee Public Library 05-320
Go Back to School with a Library Card $10,000
The overall purpose of the Milwaukee Public Library's library card campaign is to encourage students in grades 1-5 to go back to school in September with the most important school supply - a library card.
The library will produce a handout that will be given to all first through fifth grade students in the City of Milwaukee. The library will partner with the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association to reach students in Milwaukee Public Schools. The library's secretarial support services staff will mail the handouts to first through fifth grade private school classrooms in the City of Milwaukee.
Students will be encouraged to visit their library to get a library card ... the back-to-school supply they'll use all year.
The handout, which will be shaped like a pencil, will say:
"Bring this 'pencil' to any Milwaukee Public Library when you get or use your library card and get a free pencil."
When students present the handout at the library when they register for a library card, they will receive a free pencil (or other small gift).
If a student already has a library card, he or she will receive a free pencil (or other small gift) when he or she checks out a book from the library and presents the handout at the circulation desk.
When students turn in their handout at the library, they can enter their name into a free drawing at the library. One grand prize will be given away at every library location. The prize, yet to be determined, could include books, videos and school supplies.
As part of the distribution, every teacher will receive a handout entitled, "Have a Field Day @ your library" which explains the various field trips available to classes at the library. This will help encourage teachers to bring their classes to the library to get cards and learn how to use the resources available to them.
Northern Waters Library Service 05-322
Library Card Sign-up and Promotion Project $10,000
The Northern Waters Library Service (NWLS) library promotion project is designed to help member libraries promote their services with the assistance of the library system. The project is designed to be flexible enough to permit local libraries to determine their own promotional needs, while also encouraging them to attend activities and work with agencies that will help them reach audiences who may not be familiar with the wealth of services provided by public libraries.
NWLS staff will work with each member library to design and produce an item to promote the individual library. Promotional items may include posters, brochures, magnets or bookmarks, as determined by the library. NWLS staff will design the promotional material, produce and print it, and send it to the library for distribution.
In order to receive the promotional materials, member libraries must:
--Agree to attend a public event at which the promotional items will be distributed. Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to: parades, county fairs, community festivals, seniors' fairs, and health fairs. Library card applications must be distributed along with the promotional information.
--Contact a school, day-care facility, or social service agency whose students and/or clients are believed to be underserved by the library and work with that agency to develop a method for promoting library use among its students or clients.
Racine Public Library 05-324
Library Card Sign-up $10,000
The Racine Public Library will launch a year-long campaign to register every child in the library's service area for a library card. Within the target area, 20,700 (58%) juvenile residents have library cards. The purpose of this grant is to close that gap, so that all children in the library's service area have a library card and have access to library materials. A library card is the first step to literacy. This will be accomplished by library staff and volunteers (including the library's Teen Advisory Board) working together in partnership with Cops 'N Kids, the Racine Area Manufacturers And Commerce (RAMAC), Racine Unified School District (RUSD) and other local schools, Racine Reads, local health care professionals and other local businesses to educate the public on the importance of having a library card, and to sponsor programs and activities that will encourage library card registration. The Racine Public Library Board of Trustees is committed to reducing the barriers to obtaining a library card.
The Cops-N-Kids Reading Program is the vision of city of Racine Police Officer Julia Burney. The program started out with officers distributing books to area children while on routine patrol. The concept caught on and the residents of the community rolled up their sleeves and pitched-in. Thousands of book donations later, the program has gained national attention (including an Oprah Winfrey "Use Your Life" Angel Network Award) and a new neighborhood reading center is now open.
The purpose of the Cops-N-Kids Reading Program is simple. It's all about the children. As a police officer, Julia Burney came into contact with many children. Whether mediating a civil disturbance or handling an accident, this compassionate officer took time to enrich the lives of those she comes in contact with, especially children.
As a former educator, Officer Burney is a strong advocate of reading. Burney knows the life-changing power of books and the value of reading regularly. Many children she interacts with are at-risk or otherwise economically constrained; however, these children are now expanding their minds and their horizons through the small gift of books. Actually, the books represent something more to the children who receive them. They represent hope. The future is bright for the children of Racine and across the country as long as their guardian angels are on patrol.
Julia Burney has posed for an American Library Association sponsored celebrity READ promotion poster, which says "READ ... Julia Burney for the Racine Public Library."
Shell Lake Public Library 05-326
FREE @ Your Library $6,193
With this project, FREE @ Your Library, the Shell Lake and Spooner Libraries will promote library use and library card sign-up to, families with teen parents, families with a parent living in jail and families living in poverty. Less than half of the Washburn county population holds library cards according to statistics from both libraries.
The Shell Lake and Spooner Libraries-the only libraries in the county, will advertise signing up for a library card and using it, on billboards located on the only main highway that travels through the county for one year. One sign will be purchased and switched half way through the year to target families living in poverty, teen parents and family members visiting inmates at the Washburn County jail. University of Wisconsin Extension reports the poorest people always find a way to travel to Wal-Mart to get the best deal. Placing billboards between them and Wal-Mart would be a sure bet to reach this captive audience. This project will also pay for shipping costs of storybook character costumes to be worn by library representatives who will participate in parades during small town celebrations advertising the libraries with giveaways such as; personalized colored bookmarks by ALA and lollipops with a READ logo on sucker and Shell Lake Public Library and Spooner Memorial Library imprinted on stick. Pens, flyers and bookmarks will be distributed to grocery stores, Head Start story hours, Public Health Nurse (WIC centers), county jail, school kids, Health and Human Services counter, child support counter, clerk of courts counter and gas stations throughout the county. A separate banner for each library to use will advertise libraries and their services at county fair booth, kindergarten round up, parades, Shell Lake Public Library spelling bee, library card sign-up month and national library week. Library WEB sites are accessible to the public twenty-four hours a day.
Southwest Wisconsin Library System 05-328
Get It & Use It @ the Library! $10,000
Of the 125,000 people living in the SWLS, only about 53,000, or 46% are registered borrowers. This is well below the Wisconsin average of 68%. The purpose of this project is to increase the registered borrowers in the SWLS to 63,000, or 50% of the population in the next year. The effort will continue in subsequent years, to reach the State average within three years.
To fulfill this purpose the SWLS organize its efforts into two major activities:
1. Evaluate the traditional methods used at each SWLS library to attract new borrowers or to increase the usage of the library by borrowers already registered. These traditional methods either are not being used at all, not being used consistently, or may need to be modified to suit the current economic, social, or educational characteristics of people in the SWLS.
For example, many of the SWLS librarians visit school classrooms to tell kids about the library, and hand out library card application forms. They report that many of the kids who fill out the form and get the library card never visit the library. This project will take up where this traditional process leaves off; that is, after the kids sign up, a series of additional contacts and incentives will be directed at them, to encourage them to visit the library enough times for it to become a habit.
The libraries will be asked to look at their policies for charging fines, and make exceptions for new borrowers, so they are not discouraged by having to pay fines before they get into the routine of borrowing and returning items.
A special effort will be made, with workshops and frequent distribution of articles from the library literature, to overcome the inertia that has discouraged such efforts in the past. After all, what incentive does a librarian have to increase the amount of work involved in first soliciting new borrowers, and then working harder with more items to check out, check in, shelve and weed, purchase, process, and catalog? It is a delicate matter to suggest that the librarians work harder, without implying that they are not working hard enough now!
With more support from the SWLS headquarters, the librarians will find themselves able to accomplish more. The SWLS staff can provide backup support for the promotion of the library, automation hardware and software to make it easier to catalog and circulate items, and statistical reports to help with weeding and purchasing items. A System-wide effort will establish a momentum for increasing library usage that will overcome the inertia of each library attempting to do it all on their own.
2. Present new methods to attract non-users or increase usage of existing borrowers.
In the SWLS, 26 of the 27 member libraries use the Dynix/Horizon ILS, which records detailed statistics about borrowers and their usage of the library. The librarians currently focus on statistics needed for the Annual Report, but this project will help them to learn more about using the statistics to promote their libraries, and evaluate library usage for planning, not just reporting. Workshops and tutorials will be provided on analyzing borrower demographics and usage patterns.
The potential of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will be used to correlate borrower information with other demographic and geographic data. The GIS software will integrate census data, geographic data from ESRI, public school data, and other local data with the library's existing database of borrowers. The SWLS will work with software developers to provide monthly and quarterly maps showing patterns of library usage, and break down the categories to show current borrowers compared with low-level users and non-users of the library. The maps will include detailed demographic information, to identify prospective borrowers, track usage by newly registered borrowers, and correlate new borrower usage with library collections, to help with collection development.
The GIS software will create lists of people who are not registered, and generate mailing labels, so they can be sent customized letters or brochures inviting them to visit their local library. A separate mailing can be customized for those who are registered, but have never visited the library.
Additional follow-up, with a long-range program of incentives for visiting the library regularly, also will be developed, and customized for each library. The usage patterns of new borrowers will be used to evaluate existing collection development policies at each library.
Last updated on 2/25/2008 9:03:03 AM
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