Recipients
TSLAC Competitive Grant Recipients for FY 2016
See Also: FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022| FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 | FY 2015 | FY2014
Arlington Public Library System — Summer Reading Club, $3,000
The library will fund educational performers for the 2016 Summer Reading Club program, an annual, community-wide experience open to everyone to discover the joys of reading and guard against summer reading slide for children in school.
Bryan/College Station Public Library System — Burlington English for Mounce Library ESL Program (Bryan), $3,000
The Mounce Public Library will incorporate an ESL computer program, Burlington English, into its ESL curriculum to increase student exposure to an additional three hours of ESL instruction per week to help increase ESL level gains by students. The library will partner with TEA Region 6 Adult Learning Center (ALC) in Bryan to provide the classes.
Cedar Park Public Library — Teen Book Club, $1,790
The Cedar Park Public Library’s seeks to continue its Teen Book Club, a dynamic teen program that involves teens in reading in by providing them the opportunity to meet the Young Adult authors and discuss with them and other teens the issues, subjects, and themes contained in their books. The library will purchase copies of the monthly book selection and distribute to the teen participants before the author meeting.
Converse Public Library — Dia Family Book Club, $2,160
Converse Public Library will implement a new program, the Dia Family Book Club, to encourage all family members to read, discuss, and learn about contemporary children’s literature together. The Dia Family Book Club will consist of seven monthly meetings at which the chosen books will be read aloud and supplemented with activities.
Dallas Public Library — Stay-and-Play Program, $3,000
The Dallas Public Library (DPL) will implement the Stay-and-Play Program that will launch at seven DPL locations. The program incorporates child-friendly sensory toys and manipulatives into the storytelling process and includes a post- story time activity to aid children in further developing their literacy skills through play, as well as developing the motor skills and social skills necessary for successful participation in preschool.
Dublin Public Library — LIT Kits, $2,997
Dublin Public Library (DPL) seeks to create an outreach program that will introduce early literacy development resources to parents and young children in Dublin and surrounding communities. The library will create 15 individual early literacy kits for caregivers to use that will not only include reading materials, games and crafts, but also information packets focusing on the six early literacy skills and five early literacy practices that develop these skills.
Longview Public Library — Author Meet and Greet with New York Times Best Selling Author Drew Daywalt, $3,000
As part of its Summer Reading Club 2016 activities, the Longview library will host bestselling author Drew Daywalt at three meet-and-greet sessions where Mr. Daywalt will read his story, "The Day the Crayons Quit," do an interactive exercise of his choosing with the children, and participate in a Q&A session.
Round Top Family Library — Kid's Summer Enrichment and Education (Kid’s SEE), $2,970
To better serve the needs of community youth and further support their partnership with Round Top-Carmine Elementary School, Round Top will launch Kid's Summer Enrichment and Education or Kid’s SEE in 2016. Kid’s SEE program is directed towards children ages 4-13 and their families. Kid’s SEE is a comprehensive program that will include Summer Reading Days, passive learning, “Read to me”, outdoor reading, presenters, and classes/ activities.
Tom Green County Library System — On Your Mark, Get Set, Read! (San Angelo), $3,000
"On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!" will provide children participating in the summer reading program with copies of 4 health-related books by Thomas Kingsley to tie in with the themes of wellness and fitness. Over the course of the summer, children will learn about healthy choices and behaviors from guest speakers and activities to reinforce what has been read.
Tye Preston Memorial Library — English Language Class (Canyon Lake), $3,000
TPML will provide an English Language Learning Program twice a week during the school year for adult students whose native language is not English. Funds will help support a certified teacher to lead the program. This will be the only such program to serve the Canyon Lake, Texas, area.
Watauga Public Library — Watauga Reads Together, $1,432
This One Book/ One Community reading- focused program is designed to engage patrons in activities related to reading, to foster discussions, and to encourage a love of reading for pleasure among diverse groups in the community. The Library will create a space for conversation among adults, teens, and non- native English speakers with a book that can be read, understood, and appreciated by patrons with diverse educational, ethnic, and life experiences.
Arlington Public Library System — Books on Wheels, $9,797
Books on Wheels is a library initiative that connects neighbors to each other and to city services through home delivery of books to the homebound, many of whom are isolated senior citizens. With an FY16 Impact grant, the Library will enhance Texans’ access to electronic materials by expanding the Books on Wheels program to include Kindles, which will be pre-loaded with five to seven titles and delivered to Books on Wheels participants.
Balch Springs Library – Learning Center — Workforce Development @ the Library, $9,006
The Balch Springs Library will hire staff to help with workforce development and to set-up a job resource center in the computer lab. Working with the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the library will provide workshops on business-related topics and train potential employees on such topics as interviewing skills, Microsoft Office, Internet, writing a cover letter, marketing with Facebook, etc.
Bertha Voyer Memorial Library— Peek-A- Book for Children/BookView for YA (Honey Grove), $3,940
The library would like to add a Peek-A-Book system for the Children's department and a BookView System for the Teens/Young Adult (YA) department. The Peek- A- Book and BookView introduce children to books in a new and different way. Designed to entice the children with a piece of the story without giving too much away, the ultimate objective is for them to reach for the book on the shelf in order to learn how the story ends.
Bryan/College Station Public Library System — Teen Job Skills Training Program, $1,844
Bryan/College Station will develop a Teen Job Skills Training Program for the Bryan/College Station Library System. This workforce program will give teenagers in 9th-12th grades an opportunity to get job skills training, job experience, and leadership skills that can be used to meet scholarship and college entrance requirements.
Bryan College Station Public Library System — Literacy Starts @ Birth, $9,998
The Bryan/College Station Library System seeks to increase the number of participants and enhance the participant experience in the Literacy Starts @ Birth program. The program targets families with children ages birth to 5 years and provides early literacy training to parents, caregivers, and educators.
Bullard Community Library — ESOR (Employment Seekers and Online Resources), $4,510
The new program ESOR (Employment Seekers and Online Resources) will teach community members valuable skill sets in acquiring employment via online techniques and onsite personal instruction. This program will help citizens familiarize themselves with the Internet's online job banks and develop technical skills in their job search.
Bulverde/Spring Branch Library — Tech Training Time, $9,100
The Bulverde/Spring Branch Library will expand its digital literacy offerings to help patrons raise their digital technology competencies and help them acquire the skills needed to be competitive in the workforce. The library will work with the Chamber of Commerce, the local Economic Development Foundation, and other members of the community to determine the workforce digital competencies required. The program will include classes in basic computer and Internet skills, Microsoft Office software, social media training, and other digital competencies as determined.
Bulverde/Spring Branch Library — Family Room Improvement Project, $10,000
The Bulverde/Spring Branch Library seeks to increase knowledge and awareness of the early literacy principles outlined in Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library through improvements to the library's current Family Room. On a rotating basis, the library will promote a specific early literacy principle in the room through hands-on activities related to the principle. The room will also house handouts, displays, and resources for caregivers, in an effort to extend the learning experience beyond library walls.
Dallas Public Library — The Children's Center's Preschool STEM Traveling Workshop, $7,446
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library of the Dallas Public Library will implement the Children’s Center Preschool STEM Traveling Workshop Program. Designed to be mobile, the STEM workshops are capable of traveling to system-wide branch locations, daycare centers, and social agencies that serve children in need. Through hands- on projects and experiments intended to be age and skill set appropriate, programs offered through the STEM workshops will introduce preschoolers to topics such as buoyancy, magnetism, weight and balance, and building while broadening their vocabulary and language skills. Projects will encourage scientific experimentation and critical thinking while developing early childhood STEM literacy skills for both the child and their caregiver.
Dickinson Public Library — Books for Babies Early Literacy Program, $3,146
Dickinson Public Library proposes a Books for Babies early childhood literacy development program involving a partnership with local entity M. I. Lewis Social Services Center. The library will target low income families with children in the appropriate age group, newborn to 24 months. Programming includes distributing bilingual literacy kits to families with young children and a holding monthly Books for Babies storytimes emphasizing literacy development education for families with educational stimulation for babies and toddlers.
El Paso Public Library — Information and Resources for Adult Learners Preparing for and Taking the GEDAR Test Online, $10,000
The El Paso Public Library (EPPL) will expand its GED program and transition to a Pearson Vue Authorized Testing Center location at each of the 13 library branches. At each testing center, adult learners will receive support services to guide them through the entire testing process before, during and after taking the GED test online.
El Paso Public Library — Science Matters, $3,000
El Paso Public Library will implement Science Matters, a family literacy program with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The program is geared towards parents/caregivers with children in grades Kindergarten thru high school. Each biweekly program will consist of a reading component, a science discussion, and a hands-on science activity. The goals of the program are: to incorporate STEM components into a family literacy program so that parents and youth can become better familiar with the library’s existing science collection; to provide caregivers with the resources to execute simple science experiments at home with their children; and to demonstrate to families that examples of science can be found in just about any library genre.
El Paso Public Library — Mobile Digital Training Lab, $10,000
Through its Mobile Digital Training Lab, El Paso Public Library seeks to increase Internet-connected learning experiences beyond the current capacity of its sole techmobile and expand STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) project-based learning opportunities beyond brick and mortar facilities. The program will be aimed at addressing computer literacy in areas underserved by public computing capacity. These opportunities will also enable youth to experience, create and expand analytical skills in a technologically and scientific environment by creating and programming an Arduino Robot.
Harris County Public Library — Construction Industry Workforce Development, $10,000
Parker Williams Branch Library of the Harris County Public Library seeks to initiate an industry specific workforce development program by first purchasing circulating copies of NCCER (National Center for Construction Education and Research) training guides important to the careers of local employees. The library will also provide orientations in the use of the guides as well as information sessions about employment opportunities and career advancement in construction industries.
Harris County Public Library — HCPL Robotics and Coding , $10,000
HCPL Robotics and Coding is a comprehensive digital literacy learning experience designed for K-12 learners. This is a cross-curricular set and series of theme- based activities with an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts. Participants will be able to build robot models featuring working gears, motors and sensors; and program the model's actions by using graphics-based drag-and-drop software.
Harris County Public Library — Senior Adult Digital Experience, $10,000
Harris County Public Library (HCPL) will enhance current partnerships already established with senior adult centers, county services and programs to provide digital literacy instruction to senior adults. Library staff will train the public, volunteers, and program staff to navigate mobile devices and access digital content, including HCPL online databases.
Kyle Public Library — Kyle Mobile Initiative with eBooks, $10,000
The proposed funding will be used to develop a local eBook collection at the Kyle Public Library while continuing to build on a mobile initiative that began with the acquisition of mobile tablets through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission Mobile Solutions Program.
Lone Star College-North Harris — Career Advancement Program (Houston), $9,989
To support of the development of employer-desired soft skills, The North Harris campus of Lone Star College will create an information technology enhanced Multidisplinary Academic Learning Lounge (i- MALL) to serve as an active learning space. The i-Mall will be an environment where students go to use digital tools and resources for career needs. Funding would allow the library to purchase and deploy two interactive whiteboards to create an additional i-MALL for mock presentations and student collaborative work.
Marion Community Library — weeLearn at the Library!, $6,486
The Marion ISD Community Library will purchase two Advanced Workstations in Education, Inc. (AWE) Early Literacy Stations (ELS’s), along with two headphones for each workstation, to be placed in the newly repurposed Children’s Area of the library. The Library will collaborate with community Pre- K’s, the Head Start program, Kindergarten, and Primary grade teachers to disseminate information to parents and caregivers about the features of the ELS’s and the advantages of their regular use.
Plano Public Library System — STEAMaction, $10,000
Plano Public Library System (PPLS) presently coordinates and produces hundreds of in- house STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) oriented programs throughout the year including robotics, coding, and technology training. STEAMaction would be a mobile STEAM- based initiative to reach all areas of the City. In particular, targeting educational needs by demographics, state test results and identifying need based on conversations with leaders from the schools. This type of outreach aligns with PPLS current programming goals for staff and would support the community in enhancing digital literacy skills. As staff has become more proficient using these tools we would like to grow and reach out into the community to provide these tools, classes and resources to the community.
Port Isabel Public Library — Kids E-Club, $6,599
The Port Isabel Public Library plans to initiate e-books for children ages 4-9. The library will purchase tablet computers and provide a Tumblebooks subscription for children to use and access their digital youth collection. The library plans to develop workshops to instruct children and their families on how to access online databases and library eBook offerings.
Rockwall County Library — Let's Work it Out: Microsoft Office Word I,II,III and Excel I,II,III (Rockwall), $1,538
Let's Work It Out: Microsoft Office Word I,II,III and Excel I,II,III will be a set of 24 classes offered by Rockwall County Library that will focus on the most popular programs of the Microsoft Office 2013 productivity suite. Classes will be free and open to all adults 18 years old and up and aimed at users who are already familiar with the mouse, keyboard, desktop, and internet.
Seguin-Guadalupe County Public Library — Storytime PLUS! @ the Seguin Public Library, $4,476
The Seguin library seeks to improve its current storytime offerings by adding three new programs through Storytime PLUS! Storytime PLUS! Sensory Fun includes new sensory activities designed for children with special needs. Storytime PLUS! Crafts incorporates a die-cutting machine to allow efficient preparation of letter and number crafts to support early learning. Lastly, Storytime PLUS! Digital Literacy will add a digital element to existing storytimes, in which early literacy iPad apps will be demonstrated and used as a tool for training parents in early literacy development.
Southlake Public Library — Small Business Development Workshops, $7,100
The Southlake Library will partner with SCORE of Fort Worth, a nonprofit organization that works with the Small Business Administration, to offer four free business workshops for up to 25 participants per event, to kick start a free, small business mentoring program in the Library. The workshops would include key essentials for starting and growing a small business, such as Starting Your Own Business, Writing Your Business Plan, Marketing Your Business and Small Business Finance.
Southlake Public Library — Southlake Special Delivery, $7,012
The Southlake Special Delivery program will provide a goody bag for new parents in the Labor and Delivery unit of the area Baylor Regional Medical Center in Grapevine. The bag will include a baby-themed bookmark with Story Time information, a coupon for a free board book on their first visit with baby to the Library, and a Reading to Baby brochure that guides parents to successful reading interactions with their child. The program will also add 120 new board books to the current children’s programming collection and manipulatives that will be used during Story Time to engage babies.
Southwest Texas Junior College — Chrome and See It (Uvalde), $9,818
In collaboration with Sul Ross-Rio Grande College, Southwest Texas Junior College will purchase 32 Chromebooks to distribute to two of the college’s three campus libraries. The two largest campuses, Uvalde and Eagle Pass, will receive devices for students to check out to access to the library’s electronic resources outside of normal library hours.
Southwestern Adventist University — Tablet Lending Program (Keene), $5,300
The library at Southwestern Adventist University plans to establish a tablet-computer lending program with the goal of improving access to its relatively large collection of electronic resources, especially e-books. This is expected to benefit community users whose access to computers, the Internet, and information resources in electronic format is limited.
Speer Memorial Library — Peek-a-Book System (Mission), $9,895
Speer Memorial Library seeks to establish a Peek-a-Book system in its Children's Department for children ages 2-8. The Peek-a-Book system consists of a kiosk display case with a computer and touch screen monitor in which children will be able to view over 450 animated book reviews, book quizzes, and library skills. Children will then be able to check the referenced books out from the library’s collection.
Texas Tech University — Book Raider Phase 2 (Lubbock), $9,940
Texas Tech’s project aims to offer patrons a more complete connection to the library and resources by connecting patrons to additional research tools (such as recommended databases, Libguides, and subject liaison contact information) once a library item is scanned through the library’s mobile app. The app will also provide a method of notifying library personnel regarding environmental issues such as noisy floors, security issues, and malfunctioning stacks.
The Library at Cedar Creek Lake — Children of the Lake Early Literacy Initiative (Seven Points), $10,000
The Library at Cedar Creek Lake proposes to purchase three AWE Early Literacy Stations for use in existing programming, including story time, afterschool tutoring, and collaborative programming with local Head Start facilities, elementary schools, and day cares. The library further intends to make these stations available for public access use by children and their families.
Tye Preston Memorial Library — AWE Early Literacy Stations (Canyon Lake), $7,690
The Tye Preston Memorial Library proposes to purchase two AWE Early Literacy Stations to enhance its preschool programs. The AWE computer programs emphasize print awareness, letter knowledge, print motivation, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and narrative skills. The library will market the program to area schools and day care centers and introduce parents and caregivers to the equipment.
Wells Branch Community Library — Tumblebooks for The Wells Branch Community Library (Austin), $1,820
The Wells Branch Community Library will provide eBooks and learning materials and digital learning opportunities for children. The library will provide Tumblebooks, an interactive digital library where children grades K-6 can explore picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, math stories, and National Geographic videos. The library will also educate children and their parents on how to access and use Tumblebooks, as well as other library eBook software through programs, workshops, digital storytimes, and demo tablets located in the children's library.
Western Texas College — Implementation of EBSCO Discovery Services (Snyder), $8,334
The Western Texas College Learning Resource Center/ Library will incorporate EBSCO Discovery Services into their website in order to enhance patron access to the existing catalog and databases. A discovery tool service is basically a single search box that enables a user to search the entirety of the library’s databases and catalog with a single search, rather than having to repeat the search process over and over for each database. Implementation of the service will cut down both the time and energy spent performing research for faculty, staff, and students, and it would change bibliographic instruction for the better, allowing the library staff to teach more search skills rather than simply the different aspects of each individual database.
Abilene Library Consortium — David Castle Architectural Drawings, $35,000
The Abilene Library Consortium (ALC), in cooperation with the Tittle Luther Partnership of Abilene, Texas, seeks to preserve valuable pieces of Texas history through digitization of the David S. Castle Architectural Drawings. The Davis S. Castle Company dominated architecture in Abilene and the western region of the state during the first half of the 20th century. The collection includes over 600 sets of drawings and plans.
Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin — Cataloging and Creating Digital Access to the Banquet Negatives in the E. O. (Eugene Omar) Goldbeck Papers and Photography Collection, $22,675
The Harry Ransom Center would like to create digital access to the 900+ banquet negatives from the extensive papers and photography collection of the San Antonio-based commercial photographer E. O. (Eugene Omar) Goldbeck (1892-1986). The project would provide the first searchable resources to promote discovery of the images, and it would offer new opportunities for research into the early part of Goldbeck's career and the history of panoramic photography in Texas. It would also provide a glimpse of San Antonio during the 1910s, '20s, and early '30s when it was the largest city in Texas.
Southern Methodist University — George W. Cook Dallas/ Texas Image Collection Digitization Project (Dallas), $24,990
SMU proposes to digitize and annotate 1,317 photographs, documents, and ephemera from the George W. Cook Dallas/ Texas Image Collection (Cook Collection) at the DeGolyer Library collection (Cook Digitization Project). The Cook Collection can be used for many purposes, including the study of Dallas and Texas history, culture, business, and architecture, ca. 1829-1950s.
University of North Texas — Digitizing the Texas Jewish Post, 1947-1965 (Denton), $24,662
The UNT Libraries propose a project to digitize 19,417 pages of the Texas Jewish Post, which has served the North Texas Jewish community weekly since 1947.
University of Texas at Arlington — Digitizing for Accessibility: The Texas Disability History Collection Project, $25,000
The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) requests funding to digitize and make accessible the Texas Disability History Collection, housed in the Libraries’ Special Collections. As a whole, the collection documents UTA’s preeminent role in making higher education accessible to students with disabilities, driving the development of adapted (or disability) sports nationwide, and spurring disability rights activism in the north Texas region. It also documents how the disability rights movement has reshaped the lives of the roughly 20 percent of Texans with disabilities.
Weatherford Public Library — Digitizing the Doss (DtD), $34,955
The Weatherford Public Library (WPL) and the James & Dorothy Doss Heritage and Culture Center of Parker County (the Doss) seek to digitize four collections in the Doss’s holdings of particular local interest and historical value and make them accessible through WPL’s Preserving and Expanding Access to Culture and History (PEACH) service. The collections include correspondence, photographs, etc. from the lives of Douglas Chandor, Mary Martin, Larry and Maj Hagman, and Grace Cartwright.
Arlington Public Library System — Read It Again, $48,016
As neighboring public libraries, Arlington (APL), Grand Prairie (GPL), Kennedale (KPL), and Mansfield (MPL) seek to expand their partnership to include multiple libraries located in southern Dallas and Tarrant counties and northern Ellis and Johnson counties. These libraries will come together to implement Read It Again kits that would be shared on a region-wide basis. Each theme-based kit contains books, a video or sound recording, and puppets or other manipulatives that can be used by parents, childcare centers, and schools to build early literacy skills.
Blanco County South Library District— English Language Through Library Services and Technology (Blanco), $33,970
The Blanco Library in partnership with Community English Classes (CEC) plans to integrate technology as a complement to teacher-mediated English language instruction. The partners will work together to provide English Language Learners (ELL) the necessary tools to advance their language and technology/digital education through better access to and understanding of computers, e-readers, and e-content.
Central Texas Library System — 'Bots and Books (Austin), $75,000
‘BOTS & BOOKS @ Your Library encourages children in grades 3-6 to develop skills in teamwork and programming with robotics using children’s literature favorites as a basis. Based on four popular children’s books, the program will offer youth at 10 public libraries a chance to gain the technical skills to create and manipulate robots that will act out the characters in the books. This is the second year funding request.
Dallas Public Library — GED Testing and Workforce Development Project, $73,808
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library of the Dallas Public Library will begin a second year of the Library’s GED Testing and Workforce Development Project. Funds will support staffing the Testing Center which administers the four- subject, computer-based test and provides bi-monthly information sessions on GED preparation and workforce development resources for adults. This is the second year funding request.
Fort Worth Library — Worth Reading Year-round Literacy and Education Program, $75,000
The Fort Worth Library will continue building upon the success of its year-round literacy and education program, Worth Reading. In addition to program operating expenses, funding will be used to hire a consultant to evaluate, improve, and expand Worth Reading’s language arts- and science- related programs and classes – identifying educational objectives, creating lesson plans, developing convincing performance measurements and tying programs to Texas educational standards. This will be the third and final grant under this program.
Houston Public Library — Astrodome Memories: Community Engagement Project, $65,000
The Houston Public Library seeks a second year of funding to continue developing a community focused model that will increase the awareness of the Astrodome Memories Project and its archival partners. Grant activities for SFY2016 will include developing a process to allow the community to submit their scanned memorabilia and memories to the Astrodome Memories Website; having community events that promote the project and educate the public; developing at least one curriculum module to educate school-aged children about the Astrodome; and increasing the visibility of the project by utilizing social media as a marketing tool and catalyst for awareness.
Nancy Carol Roberts Memorial Library — GED Test Prep (Brenham), $8,800
Nancy Carol Roberts Memorial Library plans to serve as a state approved distance learning (online) program for GED students facing financial barriers to internet and technology resources. GED program participants will be offered the opportunity to use a GED designated laptop, high speed wireless internet, and online test preparation resources.
Schulenburg Public Library — Digital Inclusion (DI), $75,000
Schulenburg seeks to implement a program of Digital Inclusion (DI) to create a cooperative effort between Flatonia ISD libraries, Schulenburg ISD libraries, St. Rose of Lima Catholic School Library, and the Schulenburg Public Library to share e-books and provide tablets for the schools.
University of North Texas — Day at UNT (Denton), $24,840
The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries seeks to expand the existing “Day at UNT” program. The program is a collaboration between the University of North Texas College of Arts and Science (CAS), the University Libraries, and the Denton Independent School District (DISD) with the overall goal of immersing local 7th grade students in a behind-the-scenes look at University Life. Grant funds will support visiting DISD students as they learn about academic research libraries, primary source materials, and the basics of engaging in primary source research using digitized cultural history materials on the Portal to Texas History (texashistory.unt.edu).
Austin Public Library — My Library Keeps Me Healthy - Free Health Information at the Austin Public Library, $75,000
The Austin Public Library (APL) proposes to address identified community health concerns in five underserved neighborhoods and at the Faulk Central Library in downtown Austin by collaborating with the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department. This collaboration will provide person centered services to include health screenings in APL locations and a personalized introduction to the free services and health information available at Austin Public Library.
Central Texas Library System — 3-D Labs @ Your Library (Austin), $75,000
The Central Texas Library System will provide five selected libraries in West Texas with 3-D printers, the hands-on training to use them, any needed assistance in carrying out 3- D printer programming, and a network of library colleagues with whom to share expertise. Libraries in this grant will carry out their mission more effectively by providing cutting edge technology and imparting the ability to use it.
Dallas Public Library — Homeless Engagement Initiative, $75,000
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in Dallas seeks a second year of funding for one full- time engagement coordinator and one part- time library associate to continue and expand the Homeless Engagement Initiative (HEI) and the TSLAC- funded Community Exchange. The project will affect approximately 4,000 customers through specialized services, engagement programs, and community partnerships.
El Paso Public Library — Sow.Grow.Reap.Eat. Seed Library & Demonstration Garden Program, $36,260
El Paso Public Library is pursuing funds to create a program that empowers the community to grow their own food to ensure food security and promote healthy lifestyles, while conserving the region’s biodiversity. All 13 locations will house a seed library supplemented by instructional programs, with one pilot keyhole garden site. Successful execution will be possible through partnerships with two City departments and an education agency.
Frisco Public Library — Frisco Public Library STEM Education, $41,613
Frisco Public Library seeks to extend its current Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) resources and classes by creating 50 STEM Backpacks geared to students grades K-5 and 66 Maker Kits for students grades 6-12 and adults. Both the STEM Backpacks and Maker Kits will be circulated for convenient home use. The library will also partner with the Frisco ISD Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) to recruit high school interns to teach classes and demonstrate the library’s STEM resources during the summer of 2016.
Irving Public Library — North Texas Teen Book Festival, $74,980
To serve tweens, teens, and adult lovers of young adult (YA) literature, Irving Public — along with other key stakeholders throughout the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex and the state of Texas — is requesting a second year of funding to host the second North Texas Teen Book Festival (NTTBF) in March 2016. The book festival will feature over 30 authors of middle grade (MG) and YA literature.
Johnson City Public Library — Discovery Academy, $13,212
Johnson City Public Library seeks funding to continue Discovery Academy, a science and math enrichment program for third through fifth grade students. To instill in children a lifelong love of the sciences and learning, the program includes hands-on learning with experiments, demonstrations, and visits from working scientists.
Lee College — Lee College Huntsville Center COEP Project, Phase 1 (Baytown), $31,200
Lee College Huntsville Center has established computer labs in several Texas corrections units in which they provide courses, but lack of Internet access severely limits the amount and kind of resources and information literacy skills that may be taught. With grant funding, Lee College will purchase Corrections Offline Education Platform (COEP) servers for 3 units to provide millions of educational resources from thousands of web sites. Interactive information literacy tutorials will be created and housed on the servers. As a result, LCHC students in these 3 units will have access to far more content than ever before and will gain experience in searching, finding, and evaluating information essential in the modern job market, thereby enhancing their opportunities to succeed.
Nueces County Library — Tech, You’re It! @ the Library (Robstown), $74,719
With funding, the Nueces County Library System (NCLS) would like to create the Tech You’re It! @ the Library program, which targets lower income and at-risk youth 2 to 19 years of age. The program will create the Youth Learning Center (YLC) and the Youth Technology Center (YTC) to provide more access to computers and the Internet. The program will also provide instructional classes and materials to expand informational literacy.
Pottsboro Area Public Library — Connect Here!, $41,385
The Pottsboro Area Library proposes a collaboration with the Pottsboro ISD Life Skills classes, the Pottsboro Senior Center and Workforce Solutions Texoma to target students with special needs, seniors, and the unemployed, as well as address the digital inequity of all patrons in the rural, underserved community. This project will provide digital connectivity via the library’s free public access technologies; provide on-demand Techsperts who will offer one-on-one technology help; and offer programs and services around key community needs such as health/wellness, education, employment, etc.
Rita & Truett Smith Public Library — Seniors @ SPL (Wylie), $6,920
The Rita and Truett Smith Public Library and the Wylie Senior Center are partnering to offer computer classes to seniors at the library. The library will contract with professional teachers with experience in adult education to teach the classes. Staff will also implement a new book group combining reading and movies at the Senior Center using print, book-on-CD, and downloadable audio and e-books.
University of North Texas — Beyond Books & Bytes. Promoting Creative & Hands- On Learning @ A University Library (Denton), $75,000
The UNT Libraries seek funding to expand services, tools, and trainings offered through our existing makerspace and experimental technology lending service, The Factory. Funding will allow patrons from a variety of socio- economic backgrounds and with varying technical skills access to novel advanced technologies not typically available within most library contexts.