Wendell Free Library RECEIVES NATIONAL GRANT FOR SMALL AND RURAL LIBRARIES
$10,000 Grant Will Help the Library Work with Residents with Disabilities to improve Library Accessibility.
Wendell — Wendell Free Library 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 increase the accessibility of its services, facilities, and programs to the population of the community with physical disabilities.
“We are so excited to be chosen for this opportunity to better serve Wendell residents with mobility, sight, and hearing difficulties” said Library Director Miriam Warner. “This grant will allow our library to get to know our residents with disabilities better. It will help us improve our services to ensure this population feels welcome and comfortable in our space.”
As part of the grant, Wendell Free 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 about desired improvements to library materials and services and facility, and use the grant funds to begin those improvements.
For example, there are available assistive listening technologies that would be of great help for library programs but could also be used by the town for town meetings and other town events to make them more accessible to residents with hearing disabilities.
If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact Miriam Warner at wendell@cwmars.org, or visit wendellfreelibrary.org for more information.
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).”