This is one of the most interesting sections that I've attended. Four of the panelists were the were the recipients of the grant. This was awarded by the Dollar General. Each library was awarded a one time grant of five thousand dollars to use for programming and collection development.
Boyton Beach City Library used the money to fund a program calls "Women's Circle Literacy Project". The goal of the project was to help women enhancing employment skills, becoming more self sufficient and active leaders in the cultural communities.Their participants were 1/3 Haitians, 1/3 African Americans and 1/3 Hispanics. These women also get to choose materials to learn and use at home. Bilingual cookbooks, home repair books and Oxford picture dictionary were among the most requested items. I find it's really interesting and helpful that they have teen volunteers to play and read to the children so that the mothers can concentrate on learning.
Miguel Vincente from Pinewoods Library mentioned that they have a health seminar that provide information about dental care, heart disease and other heath issues for the Hispanic community. He mentioned that a lot of patrons come from very poor communities and the health seminars help them learn to identify symptoms and look for help at the early stage.
While everyone's programs differ a little, they all emphasized the importance of building trust when working the cultural communities.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I attended this session as well. The presenters had great energy and enthusiasm about their projects. In addition to what Truc posted, I appreciated how the High Plains library partnered with Head Start to provide services where they are really needed at a place (Head Start classroom) convenient to parents and children. Another aspect of their program was how they brought people into the library - Head Start Open House's at the library. What a way to introduce parents to the library in a nonthreatening way.
What they had to say about privacy issues was interesting. They weren't Aha! moments, but good reminders that while we know that we keep personal information private and do not send it to any other government agencies, to the immigrants in our communities we are part of "The Government" and there can be some fear associated with signing up for a library card.
Post a Comment