LME Library Receives Accessibility Grant

The Lillie M. Evans Library in Princeville has received a $20,000 Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant to start a community garden. Funds will be used to add an accessible sidewalk into the hosta garden and to start a community vegetable garden. The library is hosting a community conversation on Thursday, June 1st at 6:30pm in our large meeting room to discuss how to make our garden more accessible for all community members. Please join us—we’d love your input!

Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities grants are an initiative from the American Library Association (ALA) that offer more than $7 million to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. For this grant round, 240 funded proposals represented 43 U.S. states and the Northern Mariana Islands. Of the selected libraries, 65 percent serve communities of less than 5,000 people.

“Congratulations to the libraries selected for the first round of this important award,” said ALA President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada. “With projects ranging from ADA accessibility to strengthening library partnerships with local organizations that serve disabled community members, the impact of this grant will improve library access for thousands of library users across the nation.”

The Lillie M. Evans Library was one of one hundred libraries that received $20,000 awards. The other 140 libraries received grants of $10,000. Eligibility was limited to communities with populations less than 25,000 and that are located at least five miles from an urbanized area, in accordance with Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) definitions. A full list of funded libraries can be found at https://www.ala.org/tools/librariestransform/libraries-transforming-communities/access/libraries.

“The Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) sends our congratulations to the first round of LTC: Accessible Small and Rural Communities libraries,” said ARSL Executive Director Kate Laughlin. ”All 240 institutions are so deserving of this funding, and we look forward to seeing their proposed projects bring big change to some of the country’s smallest communities.”

Since 2014, ALA has distributed Libraries Transforming Communities funding to foster community engagement skills among library workers and support need-driven projects. Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is offered in partnership with the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) with support from a private funder.

Long-Range Planning for the Library

As we move toward another new year, the Lillie M. Evans Library District has embarked on developing our next long-range plan. The library last held a long-range planning process in the fall of 2003. Members of many different facets of the district were invited to participate in a community visioning committee, and the process resulted in a presentation to the school board, the village board, and the library board. The Board of Trustees of the Lillie M. Evans Library District took the results of that report and used them to develop the 2005-2008 Long Range Plan.

Three major roles were seen for the library: 1) Providing the community with information on Current Topics and Events, 2) Supporting Life-long Learning for our community, 3) Providing a Commons, an area where the community can gather for information, recreation, and socialization.  The goals and objectives that were created have directed many library decisions regarding services and programs, providing current technology resources, and creating an inviting atmosphere that encourages public gathering and interaction. As we move to the future, there are endless possibilities for ways that your library can provide for the needs and desires of the people who live here.

“Excellence must be defined locally—it results when library services match community, needs, interests, and priorities.” (Sandra Nelson, New Planning for Results)

Throughout November and December, the Lillie M. Evans Library District invites you to participate in the long-range planning process for your library. We are looking for input from the community as we evaluate new possibilities and develop a three year plan for our wonderful facility and staff. Some of you have been asked to attend a focus group and others will be asked to complete a survey. Community input is essential in the planning process and we appreciate the support of both our users and non-users. Superior library service doesn’t just happen. To achieve excellence, you need a plan. The Board of Trustees is committed to developing a long-range plan with a series of objectives that support the vision that our community has presented. In the spring, the Board will be sharing this long-range plan with you as we continue to seek new and better ways to serve our community.

Get Fit & Stay Active @ Your Library!

Did you know the library an exercise group that meet on a weekly basis?

Every Monday & Friday morning at 9:15 am we have an adult yoga class. Participants stretch and workout to "Yoga for the Rest of Us."

In addition to our exercise class the library also offers several yoga, aerobic, cardio and fitness VHS and DVDs to checkout for free. If you are looking for something specific, simply ask one of our staff members and we will see if we can borrow it from another library for you.

Are you in the mood to try a new diet? We have a wide variety of diet books including diets for specific health conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy and heart disease. Eat your way to a better you!

Our staff is here to help you. If you need a book, video or movie on fitness, dieting or general health let us help you find the perfect item for you. The library can be an invaluable resource when it comes to your health and fitness.

Loving the small library

I love working in a small library. Our library is small by any standard: small population, located in a small town, and in a small building; I love it. I love the fact that I know the people I serve. My office looks out at the interior of the library and when I see someone tucked into a corner engrossed in a book or magazine, I love it. I know the families, sometimes three and four generations of them. I love that they like just dropping in to say hello or to see what's new. Having the technology to get the information for my patrons, just like a big library, means I can usually find information that they might need quickly and efficiently.

Last evening just reminded me of all of these things as we were one of a number of locations used in the filming of a community DVD. There was a hum of excitement and lots of chuckles as we local residents served as film stars for the night. We try hard to meet the needs of the community, it's our home.

Techno Bingo!

The Lillie M. Evans Library wants to encourage adults and teens to try something new and have fun learning about technology. Play Techno Bingo and learn about MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, the library’s databases, Wikipedia, Hulu and more!

You can print your board here and get started right away! If you have any trouble completing any of the squares, there is an online tutorial and a printable tutorial available on our website to help you complete the tasks. For an additional challenge, try completing the entire board! The Lillie M. Evans Library is also proud to announce a new service called “Book a Librarian” where you can schedule one-on-one time with a library staff member to get help completing a square or for other research and training needs. You can sign up to Book a Librarian here on our website or schedule an appointment by phone 309-385-4540.

We would love to hear your feedback on this. Please feel free to comment here or send us an e-mail at lill@lmelibrary.org.

Welcome from the garden bench

Welcome to the library's blog, "From the Garden bench." Funny name for a library blog, you say? Well, the idea of sitting in the garden thinking and dreaming or talking with your best friend was very appealing to us and we hope it is to you too. That's what this blog is about, just sharing ideas and thoughts about library things together. You are welcome to add your ideas and comments here too. Some of you will be doing just that as a part of our adult summer program, TECHNO BINGO. If you want to join us, there is more information on the homepage. Sharing ideas, telling you about favorite movies and books, telling you about new programs, asking your advice and listening to your suggestions is what this is all about. This time of year, the garden is especially beautiful so spend a while sitting on one of the garden benches and then share your thought with us here. We, the staff, will all be contributing to the blog. We will all be using the "Library Lill" as a signature.