$10,000 Grant Will Help the Libraries expand service offerings, update resources, and provide new materials.
Walnut Public Library District has been selected as one of 310 libraries to participate in round two of Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.
The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library provide essential updates and new resources for our community.
“We are so proud to be chosen again for this amazing opportunity and to collaborate with the Bureau Valley Junior High and High School library,” said Library Director Jaclyn Trujillo. “This second round of funding will provide our library with an additional grant to help us continue what we started in the first round and provide the Bureau Valley Junior High/High School library an opportunity to update essential resources and provide new materials for students .”
As part of the grant, library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a conversation with residents and teachers gathering feedback about community/student needs within the libraries.
School librarian Mary Heing states “New seating creates a fun, engaging and welcoming environment. Flexible seating has been shown to increase communication and critical thinking skills not to mention new seating provides more space to socialize and to collaborate with peers.”
Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.
“Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”
