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.

LME Library Receives Grant Funds

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White awarded $530,104 in 2022 Project Next Generation (PNG) grants to 28 public libraries statewide. PNG is a mentoring program administered through Illinois public libraries. Project mentors work with middle and high school students as the participants develop skills to use various technologies, achieve success through project-based learning and gain life skills, such as effective communication, goal setting and conflict resolution.

“I am committed to improving the lives of at-risk youth in Illinois,” said White. “I established this innovative program when I first became Secretary of State to give students an opportunity to receive hands-on experience with the latest technological tools at their local library.”

PNG Grant recipients include two local libraries. The Lillie M. Evans Library District (Princeville) was awarded $12,838 to introduce field research, encourage scientific discovery, and develop interest in the natural sciences. The  Brimfield Public Library District was awarded $36,230 to support collaborations with the local schools by ensuring equitable access to technology workshops and related career exploration opportunities.  

Projects were awarded grants from the Illinois State Library using federal Library Services and Technology Act funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Grants are awarded to public libraries serving culturally diverse, low-income and underserved populations. For more information, visit https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/library/grants/png.html.

Community engagement meeting on May 4th @ Princeville Library

The Lillie M. Evans Library in Princeville is planning a community engagement meeting on Tuesday, May 4th at 7pm at the library. LME Library recently was awarded a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) to help establish a Library of Things. A Library of Things is any collection of objects that are outside the traditional items loaned by libraries. Objects can include items such as electronics, science kits, craft supplies, and equipment.

The meeting on May 4^th will be an opportunity to discuss the circulation of equipment we already own as well as consider items that the LME Library can purchase that could assist local residents, businesses, and organizations. We would like as many local organizational representatives as possible to attend this event. The grant discussion will allow us to better engage our community and execute our plan.

 

The Library of Things movement has expanded in the last decade and it makes sense to base it at the public library. Our library has established hours convenient to our community and is a safe and reliable place to pick up and drop off items. We have a powerful circulation system in place that can be adapted to circulate equipment and we have the ability to track a variety of statistics. People are familiar with borrowing materials from libraries so a Library of Things has the advantage of being both innovative and familiar at the same time.

The grant from the American Library Association (ALA) is part of the association’s Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries initiative. Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Our award includes facilitator training and $3,000 in grant funds. The initiative is part of ALA’s longtime commitment to preparing library workers for the expanding role of libraries.

“Through community engagement, libraries are continuing their important work on literacy and access, while also working to fill gaps in other areas that may not have fallen to libraries in the past,” said ALA President Julius C. Jefferson. “We are excited to provide the resources for hundreds of libraries to take on new challenges in their communities and look forward to seeing the great things they accomplish.”

Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is offered in partnership with the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL). Please contact the LME Library at 385-4540 for more information or visit our website at lmelibrary.org.

LME Library and Project Next Generation Grant

The Lillie M. Evans Library District was one of 29 public libraries statewide awarded a FY20 Project Next Generation (PNG) grants by Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White. Project Next Generation (PNG) offers grant funding to public libraries for establishing educational, after-school programs that not only provide access to computers, software and various technology devices, but also hire mentors who are crucial to helping students develop self-confidence and pride in their newly acquired skills. The goal of PNG is to bridge the digital divide by making recent technologies accessible to students who have limited access to computers.

The LME Library will be starting a Technology Ambassador program in fall 2019. We plan to:

• recruit and train junior high and high school participants to use some of our community’s most requested maker technology—audio/video production, Cricut machines, Silhouette machines, and 3-D printing.
• assemble and create written, video, and linked resources to provide documentation of targeted technology.
• create a technology ambassador program with participants team teaching adult learners who want to utilize these technologies.

Learners will cycle through training, documentation and teaching before moving on to the next technology. The goal is to increase access to maker technology in our rural community and allow students and community members to develop knowledge and skills. It will also provide inter-generational interactions and reinforce the library as a community anchor.

For the complete press release, go to: https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/news/2019/july/190723d1.pdf

The Lillie M. Evans Library receives Back to Books grant

The Lillie M. Evans Library District recently received a Back to Books grant for $4,500 from the Illinois State Library.  The Back to Books grant is a collection development grant offered to libraries for the acquisition of books and other materials. Grant funds have been used to purchase books, audios, and DVDs in the non-fiction areas of library & information science, education, languages, sciences, applied sciences, and geography & travel. Materials are appropriate for the adult and young adult age groups. 

To introduce these resources, we will have a series of 3 programs focusing on the materials purchased with this grant.  The first program will be an open house highlighting the collection.  Please visit the library on Wednesday, July 31 during our regular hours of 9am-8pm.  Materials selected for this grant will be displayed and available for checkout.

The second program on Wednesday, August 28th will target homeschoolers and resources available from the library through our newly created homeschool resource web page.  As part of the grant, we will be developing a section of our website for our homeschooling parents and students.  This will include links to online resources as well as tips on using the library catalog.  The page will also have information about any local groups that focus on homeschooling activities.

The final program will be a travel program at 6pm on Wednesday, September 25^th.  It will start with a showing of one of our new travel DVDs (we will choose one that meets our public performance license) and will include a book talk of some of our new materials in this area.  Visit our website at http://lmelibrary.org for more information about this grant and these programs.

The funds from this grant will make it possible for us to better meet the needs of our local community.  Materials were purchased through a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the Illinois State Library using funds provided by the U.S Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Libri Foundation grant for children's books

Thanks to the generosity of the Libri Foundation and the Friends of the Library, the Lillie M. Evans Library recently added 74 new books to our children's collection. The Libri Foundation is dedicated to donating quality children’s books to rural public libraries and through an additional donation from Hal Berenson and Laura Ackerman, the LME Library received a bonus of $350.00 worth of math & science books. The Friends of the Library supported the grant with a 1-to-2 match on the Libri Foundation funds. Youth Services Librarian, Anita Routh, chose the books from a list of over 700 titles of the best books for ages Pre-K through Young Adult. “There were so many wonderful books, it was difficult to narrow our choices; however, we feel we’ve made some great selections for our community. “

Books were selected from all age groups and categories, but the LME Library staff is particularly excited about the selection of biographies. Biographies are extremely popular with our juvenile readers and the staff has been working to expand this section. The addition of the Math and Science books has been a wonderful bonus to this great program.

Each Libri Foundation book has a bookplate to identify it. A sampling of titles includes: ER Vets: Life in an Animal Emergency Room; Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse; Shadow Life: A Portrait of Anne Frank and Her Family; Race Cars Up Close; Space, Stars and the Beginning of Time; Computer Animation; and Ballerina Dreams. The books will be displayed throughout December and January in the new children’s reading area. Funds to purchase the child-sized soft furniture in the reading area were provided by the Friends of the LME Library.

This grant and the assistance from our friends have allowed us to provide some additional children's resources even in these difficult economic times. Thank you to the Libri Foundations and the Friends of the Library for continuing to make the LME Library a great place for children in our community!

Lincoln Exhibition coming to Princeville in 2014

Recently, the Lillie M. Evans Library District and the Princeville Heritage Museum partnered to write a grant for the traveling exhibition “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War.” We are pleased to announce that Princeville is one of the two hundred sites selected to host the exhibit. However, the exhibit won’t be here until spring 2014, so mark your calendars!

Funding for the exhibition and tour is provided by a major grant from NEH. Each site will receive a $750 grant from NEH to support expenses related to exhibition programming. Participating institutions will present at least two free public programs featuring a lecture or discussion by a qualified scholar on exhibition themes. All showings of the exhibition will be free and open to the public. This grant is provided by American Library Association (ALA), in partnership with the National Constitution Center (NCC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

More information can be found through the press release dated 10/11/11: ALA, NEH announce 200 site tour for “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” traveling exhibition. Watch for information about the Princeville exhibit and programs in the fall of 2013.