Grant Recipients for Fiscal Year 2019
| Texas Reads Grants: recipients | program information |
| Impact Grants: recipients | program information |
| TexTreasures Grants: recipients | program information |
| Library Cooperation Grants: recipients | program information |
| Special Projects Grants: recipients | program information |
See Also: FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 |FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 | FY 2015 | FY2014 | FY2013 | FY2012 | FY2011 | FY2010 | FY2009 | FY2003 | FY2002 | FY2001
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Texas Reads Grants — FY 2019
Arlington Public Library System — ArlingCon Authors, $10,000
ArlingCon, the Arlington Public Library’s annual, one-day festival, takes place in the summer and provides an opportunity for the community to experience the comic convention culture locally, in a family-friendly and easily accessible venue. A 2019 author visit will be geared for ArlingCon participants and will feature a discussion and Q&A session. This project celebrates reading, diversity, community engagement and collaboration.
Balch Springs Library - Learning Center — Space Exploration @ the Library, $6,100
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) theme for 2019 is space/space exploration. The Balch Springs Library-Learning Center is requesting funds to set up a NASA display in the library for two weeks during its Summer Reading Program (SRP) to include an Apollo spacesuit, Apollo helmet, planet display, and space food samples exhibits. The library plans to buy and display non-fiction, space-themed books to enhance the learning experience. Each weel, it will showcase educational entertainers and have space-themed crafts and space movies for the SRP.
Bay City Public Library — Early Literacy Rotating Collection Kits, $7,900
The Bay City Public Library seeks funding to introduce Early Literacy Rotating Collection Kits to early learning centers in Bay City, Texas. These kits will feature materials that will be conducive to developing early literacy skills for children ages 1 to 4, enhancing knowledge of early learning tools for caregivers for this age group, and developing a lifelong love of learning and libraries.
Bryan+College Station Public Library System — Texas Reads ESL Expansion Program, $4,664
The Mounce Library Adult Literacy volunteer-based ESL program (founded in 2012) has expanded in two ways. The ESL students who have been with the program are growing in their English language attainment levels and are in need of textbooks at higher ESL levels. The program has also expanded in participation and now meets at two locations. To accommodate the needs of this popular expanding ESL program and the student participants, the library seeks funding to purchase more skill-level appropriate textbooks for both locations.
Central Texas Library System, Inc (CTLS) — Reading Dogs Across Texas (Austin), $9,517
The Central Texas Library System will collaborate with 17 public libraries across Texas — from Bay City to West and Fort Davis to Mt. Pleasant — to provide reading therapy dogs to assist reluctant readers in improving their reading skills by reading to a non-judgmental canine. This type of program has been very successful in the Austin area and many places around the country. Libraries in farther-flung locations have no dogs and handlers nearby with the needed training. This grant hopes to eliminate that problem by providing funds for training the dog handlers and a library staff member to connect libraries with nearby dog/handler teams where they exist.
Corpus Christi Public Libraries — 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten: Turning Readers Into Leaders, $8,370
Corpus Christi Public Libraries plans to revamp their 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. This new venture will provide the youngest residents of Corpus Christi with the services and resources necessary to become literate members of the community, preparing them for academic, social, and personal success. Extensive community outreach, special programming, and milestone celebrations will encourage families to enroll their children in the reading program and reap the benefits of early literacy and family bonding. With the guidance and assistance of library staff, parents will be expected to support their children and each other in this vital endeavor.
El Paso Public Library — Little Star City Readers, $9,989
The El Paso Public Library (EPPL) seeks funding to launch the nationwide initiative, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, using a theme that celebrates El Paso culture, named after the city’s star on the mountain landmark. The program targets children from birth to 4 years old and their parents and caregivers to provide them with resources and encouragement to promote early literacy and school readiness. The program will be a new component to EPPL’s early literacy efforts to tie into and launch during EPPL’s 23rd annual Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los Libros event and summer reading club. Community engagement and outreach will bring this program to WIC center waiting rooms, Headstart, and other agencies.
Harris County Public Library — Read it, See It, $10,000
Read It! See It! is a book-to-movie book club designed for students between the ages of 10 and 13. These students are considered reluctant readers or non-readers who are reading at or below grade-level. The program will serve as an intervention for struggling readers, using technological innovations attractive to this age group in order to introduce literature. The goal is to develop and encourage a love of reading among middle school students. Students will read five books from a designated list of diverse titles. From there, the program will include vibrant book discussions, analytic sessions on book-inspired movies, interactive online activities, and introductions to new technologies.
Hockley County Memorial Library — 2019 Summer Reading Program: A Universe of Stories (Levelland), $6,500
The Hockley County Memorial Library will host exhibits from the Johnson Space Center throughout the summer reading program to expose students to the variety of information and benefits provided by space exploration. The library will also host an astronaut or speaker from one of the NASA space centers at one of the weekly story times to present information on being an astronaut or what NASA does and how reading influences their lives.
Irving Public Library — Hispanic Heritage Celebration with Author Carmen Agra Deedy, $4,391
Irving Public Library's East Branch will present an author event featuring Cuban-American author Carmen Agra Deedy during Hispanic Heritage month in September-October 2018.
McAllen Public Library — McAllen Book Festival - Author Visit, $10,000
TSLAC funds will support the McAllen Public Library (MPL) by covering costs to invite an author to the 2018 McAllen Book Festival, an event designed expressly to promote literacy and the love of reading among children and teens in the Rio Grande Valley. The McAllen Book Festival is a celebration of culture and imagination linking young readers with authors, performers, and publishers on the doorsteps of the library. The invited author’s goal is to teach kids coding and immerse patrons in technologically-charged literature in an economically disadvantaged, historically illiterate area.
The Library at Cedar Creek Lake — Cedar Creek Lake Summer Reading Program (Seven Points), $5,000
The library provides summer programming each year for both the youth and adult population in an effort to promote reading and educational programs hosted at the library. With volunteers, staff, and educational programs and reading logs, the library will offer summer reading programming five days a week during June and July. Funding will support a summer hire, theme-related books and activities and age-appropriate educational programes.
Impact Grants — FY 2019
Arlington Public Library System — Small Business and Leadership Program, $9,974
Arlington Public Library seeks to implement a new series of programs for small business owners and other leaders in the community. This six-month pilot program will include intermediate to advanced level computer classes, expert led workshop sessions on topics of interest to small businesses, and a leadership book club series.
Arlington Public Library System — Multicultural Storytimes, $10,000
Arlington Public Library will implement the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program for the pre-K audience, encouraging young children and their parents/caregivers to read together and prepare for success in school. One hundred backpacks with 10 books each will be assembled and available for checkout through Arlington Public Library locations. Participants will be able to track their performance with reading logs.
Arlington Public Library System — Nonfiction Children's E-content, $10,000
The Arlington Public Library wishes to expand its shared e-content service to include nonfiction materials for children.
Balch Springs Library - Learning Center — GED Student Support @ the Library, $10,000
The Balch Springs Library is currently hosting GED classes provided by Eastfield Community College. The GED students are required to log onto a support site that helps them with their studies. The library would like to support those students with the tools necessary to succeed, namely, 15 laptop computers and a mobile charging station. The computers will also help Eastfield ESL (English as a Second Language) students access online resources.
Bedford Public Library — L.A.P.S.: Literacy Apps for Positive Screen-time, $10,000
The Bedford Public Library will create a mobile digital literacy collection using Launchpad technology to educate and provide parents with opportunities for positive screen-time for children 0-5 years through award-winning educational content apps.
Bedford Public Library — English & Citizenship To Go, $9,940
The Bedford Public Library requests funds to expand its English as a Second Language (ESL) offerings through Launchpad technology. With this award, BPL intends to purchase five different English language learning titles from Playaway Launchpad, the Pre-Loaded Learning Tablet. Specifically, these titles are: Learn U.S. Law, Learn English Grammar, Learn English Phrases, Learn English Spelling, Learn English Writing. The English Learning community will benefit greatly from an interactive learning tool that is not constrained by scheduling, classroom capacity and lack of access to a computer or the Internet.
DeSoto Public Library — The DeSoto Public Library "Fashion / Sewing" Studio, $9,874
The DeSoto Public Library plans to create a fashion/sewing studio that will offer patrons professional level software, hardware, sewing machines, and additional tools and training to enable them to digitally sketch, design, pattern, and create a garment or other project. In doing this, the Library hopes to help foster creativity and imagination and to also help patrons develop valuable technical, design and sewing skills that they can utilize to pursue education, career, and entrepreneur interests.
DeSoto Public Library — 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program, $8,038
The DeSoto Public Library plans to promote early literacy by targeting pregnant DeSoto mothers for the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program. The goal is to register 200 babies and mothers, who over the course of a year will receive 8 different packets of literacy resources, including a total of 20 free board books, information regarding library programs and literacy opportunities, reading logs to track 1000 books progress.
DeSoto Public Library — My Digital Life: Innovate, Inspire, and Impact Your Community, $9,949
The DeSoto Public Library will create and offer several new programs inspired by the upcoming Texas Library Association’s 2019 conference theme, “Connecting to Innovate, Inspire, and Impact.” This new program series will introduce new ways for the DeSoto community to utilize library resources including creating innovative new business concepts and product prototypes; inspiring them to organize and take control of their digital lives by learning best practices for scanning, archiving, and preserving family photos; and encouraging them to make an impact on the environment and their community by helping them to go green by eliminating clutter and learning the best methods for storing digital copies of personal, financial, medical, and other important documents instead of filling up multiple filing cabinets full of printed paper.
El Paso Public Library — Become A Digital Citizen Superhero!, $9,900
The El Paso Public Library Armijo Branch will develop a "Become a Digital Citizenship Superhero!" program engaging teens and young adults in learning nine digital citizenship principles. The nine principles will be compared to the principles in U.S. Citizenship utilizing the new Bloxels program. Bloxels is a hands-on platform for kids to build, collaborate, and tell stories through video game creation. Students can use coloured blocks to design their superhero citizen character and settings to tell their own digital citizenship stories.
El Paso Public Library — Super-Size Lite Brite Board, $7,825
Memorial Park Branch Library would like to propose a “Super-Size Movable Lite Brite Wall”. The primary use of the movable wall is to promote “emergent literacy,” also known as "reading readiness” or “Story Time,” by allowing children to express themselves through drawings and writing. The program is geared to young children not attending school or those in half-day programs. When not in use, the movable wall would be placed in the Children’s Area so that it could be enjoyed by children up to 10 years old.
El Paso Public Library — Teen Tech Time, $10,000
Teen Tech Time is a teen program with a focus on information and technology-based education that coincides with current and future academic enrollment. The goal of this program is to incorporate mobile devices, 3D printers, STEAM surfaced technology, and the appropriate charging stations to develop, familiarize, and strengthen the usage of information and technology.
Hockley County Memorial Library — Grow with 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, $6,758
Hockley County Memorial Library will implement the Grow with 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program for the preschool audience. The purpose is to encourage parents and caregivers to read to young children and prepare for success in school. In conjunction with the preschool story time, the program will be used to encourage reading, expose readers to a variety of topics and genres, and build a foundation for school.
McAllen Public Library — Get Started with Computer Basics, $6,000
McAllen Public Library (MPL) proposes to establish its “Get Started with Computer Basics Program” with TSLAC funding. The program offers patrons an 8-week computer basics literacy course that will be provided three times per year. The program also seeks to improve patrons’ technology and business skills to enhance the region’s workforce readiness. Funding will be used to print and bind 40 textbooks and 100 student workbooks from a local printing company, which will also support the proposed program.
McAllen Public Library — STEM & Storytime Backpack Program, $10,000
McAllen Public Library (MPL) proposes to expand its STEM & Storytime Backpack Program with TSLAC funding. The award will fund the purchase of materials needed to create 40 STEM and 40 Storytime backpacks, increasing MPL’s inventory of backpacks from 12 to 92. The proposed project is an innovative approach to address illiteracy and STEM deficiencies in McAllen, a historically impoverished area, and will provide patrons enhanced access to STEM and literacy materials.
Plano Public Library System — 3D Printing Across Plano, $8,570
Plano Public Library serves a well-educated and technology-savvy community, with many patrons eager for more in-depth technology instruction including 3D printing. To make 3D printing classes and services more accessible across Plano, Plano Public Library (PPL) plans to add 3D printing services and instructional classes to its libraries at opposite ends of the city: Harrington in east Plano and Parr in far west Plano.
Rita & Truett Smith Public Library — STEAM Kits@SPL, $10,000
Smith Public Library wishes to create STEAM kits to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) concepts to children from preschool to high school. Children will learn about various scientific concepts, engineering, math and art through the kits. The kits will include a hands-on activity plus a book and/or DVD component.
San Jacinto College District — Improving Access to Physical Collections, $4,372
The San Jacinto College library system proposes a program designed to improve and increase access to its libraries’ physical collections (the catalog) for our San Jacinto College community by purchasing a cataloging enhancement product. Through the concerted efforts of all campus library personnel, this program seeks to enhance the gateways to the collection, examine ways in which it can open new avenues to information access, and provide the latest technologies for information access at all San Jacinto College libraries. The goals of these efforts and technological upgrades are to better prepare students in search techniques and research skills, and to provide updated and effective methods of information retrieval and instruction for faculty and staff.
Smithville Public Library — Digital Literacy for the Smithville Workforce, $10,000
The Smithville Public Library, in partnership with the Smithville Independent School District, the ACE Afterschool Program (Parent University), and the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce, plans to establish a curriculum in digital literacy and use the course materials to provide workforce and technology training to the unemployed and under-employed residents and small business owners of Smithville and the surrounding area. The program will help patrons gain the job and marketplace skills they need to be successful in the workforce and/or as business entrepreneurs. Courses will be offered throughout the year, and will be recorded and available in an archive as a "webinar" for future reference and online training.
Southlake Public Library — Summer Reading Enhanced, $10,000
The Southlake Public Library requests funding to support the development of more age-targeted programs and hands-on workshops to support the enhancement of summer library activities and respond to community requests for elevated programming for youth and adults. The proposed program will be offered in a two-phase approach to launch a new initiative mid-summer that offers unique opportunities for hands-on learning and skill development which lends itself to all ages and stages of life. The first phase of the program is a traditional style summer reading program.
Southlake Public Library — Econtent Delivery Listening for Summer, $10,000
Southlake Library wishes to promote reading on the go for busy seniors, adults, and families with a summer initiative called Listening for Summer. The program will provide and promote downloadable eAudio resources as an option to summer (and year round) reading.
University of Texas at Arlington — VR/AR and Game Development Station, $10,000
UTA Libraries requests $10,000 to build a virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) station to help students prepare and participate in the growing VR/AR game development industry. Gaming generated $109 billion in global revenue in 2017 and employed 65,678 people in the U.S. Beyond gaming, analysts anticipate significant growth in VR/AR relating to health sciences and retail. Building on UTA Libraries’ value of “democratizing access,” we propose to develop this VR/AR station in the library so that all students may test and develop their skills in preparation for the jobs of tomorrow.
TexTreasures Grants — FY 2019
Austin Film Festival — Austin Film Festival Archive (Austin), $33,000
Austin Film Festival’s (AFF) Archive, housed at The Wittliff Collections (TWC) at Texas State University collects, preserves, and shares oral histories from film, television, and media creators that detail the process of bringing their stories to the screen. Unique from other collections, this curation provides intimate access to the process behind the finished product, compiled from over 24 years of digitized and recorded panels and master-classes captured during AFF’s renowned Writers Conference and year-round events. Funding from this grant would go toward digitizing material from 2003-2006, subsequently closing the gap between prior digitization initiatives, yielding 12 consecutive years of archived and available content.
County-City Library — Flying High in the Texas Sky - Preserving the WASP Legacy (Sweetwater), $34,908
In partnership with The National WASP WWII Museum, the Sweetwater County-City Library seeks funding of $34,908 to continue the preservation and digitization project for the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) archives. Located in Nolan County, the WASP museum collects and preserves the contributions made by American women pilots to victory during WWII. WASP documents, correspondence, photographs and journals during 1942-1944 depict a new age of American women entering the male dominated world of aviation. As a continuation to previous TexTreasures grants, this collaboration project will safe guard the museum's valuable materials and provide open access to their digital content on the West Texas Digital Archives and the Portal to Texas History.
Houston Community College — HCC Historical Fashion Collection, $24,988
Houston Community College (HCC) seeks funding to continue the digitization of 280 costumes from its Historical Fashion Collection and make them accessible through an in-house fashion database created by the HCC Library. The costumes in the collection date back to 1750 with a large segment of the collection having Texas provenance. Creating and improving digital access will provide the opportunity for people in Texas and throughout the word to see vintage costumes that were part of the state’s history and assist with the preservation of the collection. The collection will also be available through the SharedShelf database. The initial report on the program may be accessed at: http://fashionarchive.hccs.edu/
Houston Public Library — Texas Films Revealed- Take Three, $34,975
The Houston Public Library and the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HPL/HMRC), in partnership with The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI), will continue to digitize and make widely accessible historically important and previously unavailable Texas films. Staff from HPL and HMRC will work with contractors to describe the films using standard metadata practices that make them more findable for the public. The films, currently in the HMRC collection and recording significant events in Texas from 1940’s to 1970’s, are in fragile and deteriorating condition. Digitization will preserve their content and make them accessible state-wide through the TAMI online library, the Houston Area Digital Archives, and multiple HMRC programs. A representative selection of the films will be available for streaming from the TAMI library and as a gateway link to the HMRC website.
Southern Methodist University — Texas Banknotes: The National Period, 1865-1935 (Dallas), $25,000
The DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (SMU), holds an exceptional collection of National Bank Notes, 1865-1935, representing 349 Texas towns and hundreds of individual Texas banks. The DeGolyer Library and Norwick Center for Digital Solutions (nCDS), both units of SMU Libraries, are requesting a TexTreasures 2019 grant of $25,000 to digitize and make available on the Internet 556 Texas National Bank Notes comprising 1,668 files. The freely accessible files may be used for many purposes, including the study of Texas history, banking, commerce, numismatics, and genealogy.
Texas A&M University Kingsville — George O. Coalson Annotated Bibliography of South Texas Historical Resources, $24,861
South Texas Archives, (STA) at the Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville seeks funding to create catalog records, digitize, and physically preserve the George O. Coalson Annotated Bibliography of South Texas Historical Resources collection. Coalson’s collection consists of 46,000 notecards containing evaluations, and citations to primary and secondary sources, from pre-Columbian times to 1995, focused on South Texas history. The funding would allow STA to hire graduate students to catalog and digitize records, and to rehouse the collection ensuring preservation. To make the collection accessible STA will upload the finding aid and access to the collection to 4 portals.
University of North Texas — Borderland Newspaper Digitization Project - Part III (Denton), $24,998
This proposed grant project is the third and final installment of the Borderlands Newspaper Digitization Project awarded to the UNT Libraries by TSLAC in FY 2017 and FY 2018. This project will digitize an additional 25,000 pages of newspapers for a collection total of over 75,000 pages from eighteen counties near the Texas border. These counties stretch along southeastern Texas, near the Mexican border, including counties near the Rio Grande Valley of Jim Hogg, Zapata, and Brooks, spanning through south Texas and border counties, including Duval County, Maverick and Terrell, up to Reeves County in western Texas.
University of Texas at Arlington — Expanding the Texas Disability History Collection, $25,000
UTA Libraries requests $25,000 to support the digitization of additional materials for the Texas Disability History Collection (TDHC). The TDHC website, initially funded by a TexTreasures grant in FY 2016, showcases Texas’s central role in the disability rights movement and reveals the impact of disability rights on ordinary people’s lives. Additional funding would support the digitization of newly acquired collections and in-depth coverage of legacy collections, making many more materials available online, as well as enabling UTA to add audio description to digitized videos, significantly expanding accessibility for users with visual impairments.
University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley — Contaminación II, $16,993
The Border Studies Archive (BSA) at UTRGV’s Library collects and preserves documentation of the lives, culture and history of borderlanders and emphasizes acquiring high quality, in-depth narratives composed of aural, material and visual documentation. This proposal seeks funding to continue transferring and making accessible VHS tapes that record a significant event, contaminación, in the lives of a Mexican American community in the Rio Grande Valley. In McAllen, a toxic plume seeped under a neighborhood that effected approximately 180 Mexican American families. The BSA requests $16,993 to finalize the process of digitizing, cataloging and making accessible unique materials related to the event.
Library Cooperation Grants — FY 2019
Amigos Library Services — Enhancing SimplyE for All Web-Based Devices, $75,000
SimplyE, an open source app, was initially developed by the New York Public Library and currently enjoys support by libraries, consortia, and state libraries. The goal of SimplyE is to make it easy for patrons to borrow ebooks (and ultimately e-resources) from libraries.
As a second-year request, Amigos Library Services will extend the functionality of the mobile app to computers and laptops by creating a web-based service that includes functionality and an interface similar the one used by the SimplyE app, making it more accessible to those who do not use mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets or those that prefer to use their library’s public computers.
Bulverde/Spring Branch Library — Rolling Library DIY - Year 2, $40,000
This collaboration between public libraries within 40 miles of the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library, including the towns of Boerne, Blanco, Canyon Lake, Johnson City, and New Braunfels, will continue a second year of sharing DIY materials and equipment, aka “makerspace” materials, training for library staff, programming ideas for guided DIY workshops, which will progress into more advanced, autonomous use of the equipment by community members and a network of colleagues with whom to share expertise. The participating libraries will continue to carry out their respective community’s lifelong learning goals more effectively by providing adults and youth with increased opportunities to advance their abilities from using and tinkering to experimenting and creating in a safe environment while our close proximity allows for easy access to technical help when needed.
Special Projects Grants — FY 2019
Abilene Public Library — APL Mobile Lab, $75,000
Abilene Public Library seeks to equip each of its three branches with a Mobile Lab consisting of 20 laptop computers to use for programs, computer classes, and in-house use so patrons of all ages will be able to learn new skills as well as hone their existing technology skills. The mobility of laptops, as opposed to PC workstation units, will allow for flexible and diverse programming at the library branches. The laptops will also afford staff the flexibility to provide outreach opportunities throughout the community.
Arlington Public Library System — Outreach Team, $62,318
The Arlington Public Library System will form an outreach team to provide programs and conduct a year-long survey to assess outreach needs in thecity. Program options will include parent education, early literacy, and afterschool programs. The team will use Savannah Orange Boy software to identify zip codes with a low number of library cardholders and who would most benefit from regular outreach programs or bookmobile visits. The library will partner with the Arlington Housing Authority, Arlington ISD, and other organizations to reach families not currently utilizing library resources. This is the first of a 2-phase initiative. During the second phase, staff will analyze year-1 results, identify locations needing resources, and develop a plan for providing outreach most effectively.
Buda Public Library — Buda Public Library Makerspace Program, $41,525
Buda Public Library proposes to expand the current Makerspace Program by continuing the Pop Up Makerspace with materials that circulate to the local school district and by stocking maker materials in a designated space in the new library facility.
Dallas Public Library — Applied ELL, $75,000
Dallas Public Library (DPL) requests a second year of funds to support staff costs associated with the provision of Applied English Language Learning (ELL) Classes. The classes go beyond what was previously offered by the Library or other literacy service providers by adding customized curriculum that addresses language-learning for specific domains of community life and the workplace.
Dickinson Public Library — Savvy STREAMers, $4,620
Dickinson Public Library seeks to create a Savvy STREAMer program that will engage youth through a makerspace. The Savvy STREAMers project seeks to implement a library-supported community makerspace where patrons of all ages to can learn about electronics, exercise their creativity, design and prototype their creations, collaborate with others in their area, explore the art of programming, and provide exposure to technologies they wouldn’t see otherwise. This program seeks to provide equal opportunities for all to explore a fun curriculum with a focus on science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts and mathematics (STREAM).
Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library — Adult ESL Program (Mercedes), $3,563
Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library proposes an Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) Program offered to the community. In partnership with the Mercedes Independent School District ACE (Afterschool Centers on Education) Program, the library will provide free enrollment to Mango Languages, an online language-learning tool that is also available as an application for download to electronic devices, and monthly in-person classes. The grant will provide all the equipment and technology — computers and projector and screen — necessary to aid the adults while the ACE Program will follow up weekly with the students at their ACE center.
El Paso Public Library — El Paso Public Library Work PLACE (Public Literacy Access for Careers & Entrepreneurship), $44,826
The El Paso Public Library will open doors for a new business facility to address the unique needs of residents in the borderland community. A key objective of the EPPL Work PLACE is to tackle the challenge of underemployment. Grand funding will provide staffing, small business software, and supplies. As a collaborative partnership, Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) will provide in-house staff to assist job seekers and resume drafting assistance Monday through Friday. Citywide, both the TWC and El Paso Community College Center for Adult Education will also act as referral agencies to send those in need of assistance and grow a customer base.
Frisco Public Library — InstaSTEM Activity Stations, $30,037
Frisco Public Library (FPL) will create 6 Insta-STEM Mobile Activity Stations (Activity Stations) to offer hands-on, self-paced STEM learning for elementary-aged students and promote awareness of STEM career fields. Library staff will hire two college Insta-STEM interns, partner with area learning organizations, engage teen volunteers, and effectively utilize limited Library space. These stations will be quickly and easily deployed in the Library after school, on weekends, on school breaks, and at outreach visits.
Georgetown Public Library — Community Resources Coordinator, $69,743
Georgetwon Public Library requests a third year of funding to support its community resources coordinator position. In November 2016, the Georgetown Public Library hired a licensed social worker to 1) work with key nonprofit social service organizations in Georgetown, Texas, that provide services to seniors, residents with disabilities or limited mobility, low-income families with children, and the homeless; 2) meet with patrons in need of those resources that may exist outside of the library; 3) interview high-need patrons, assessing their most immediate needs, and referring them to community resources when possible; 4) track the patron needs that are not able to be met within Georgetown and shares that data with other service providers, city staff, and community groups with the goal of increasing social service capacity within Georgetown; 5) serves on the City of Georgetown’s task force on homelessness, the transit working group, the Emergency Transition Housing Coalition; 6) and serve as a staff liaison for the Georgetown Commission on Aging. This applicant is also one of the recipients of the 2018 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Lake Travis Community Library — Lake Travis Community Library Bookmobile - Year Three, $75,000
The Lake Travis Community Library requests a third year of funding to pay for the salaries of the Outreach Librarian and Outreach Library Assistant to continue and expand their popular bookmobile service. The bookmobile serves people in the district who are unserved or underserved due to physical, economic, social, geographic, or other barriers. In its first year and a half of service, 630 new library accounts were issued, and almost 18,000 people checked out over 34,500 items. The library also plans to launch a homebound delivery service led by the outreach librarians.
Lee College — Resources for Educational Advancement and Development (READ) (Huntsville), $75,000
The Libraries of Lee College Huntsville Center (LCHC) and Windham School District (WSD) will collaborate to create a course-reserve program for LCHC students in all prison locations served by Lee College (currently 8).
To develop potential students, and support current ones, LCHC plans to develop collections for education & career resources, self-help, and graphic novels. These collections will be available to all library patrons in the LCHC-served units. Use of books acquired for course reserves would only be restricted to LCHC students for limited times. Otherwise, they would be available for all library patrons. The intent is to add identical resources to all of the libraries on these units. The resources purchased will be owned by WSD Library Services.
Texas Wesleyan University — Wesleyan Makers Lab (Fort Worth), $68,205
The Eunice & James L. West Library at Texas Wesleyan University hopes to create a collaborative learning environment for various types of learners in the form of a makerspace. The space will engage users and give them opportunities to use technologies that they would not usually have access to. The lab will cater to new and emerging courses at the university and will eventually serve the local community.
Tom Green County Library System — STEAM Central (San Angelo), $68,302
In its third year funding request, Tom Green County Library (TGCL) seeks to build on STEAM Central, a library supported community makerspace and outreach service point that, with the help of community organizations, local businesses, artists, and hobbyists, provides a place to share knowledge, access tools and equipment, and participate in maker programs for all ages. STEAM Central also provides outreach kits and programs for schools and organizations in the community. Funds are needed for staffing, outreach kits expansion, continued curriculum development, and additional equipment.
University of Texas at Arlington — Reconceptualizing Makerspaces for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities, $74,994
UTA Libraries requests funding to reconceptualize STEAM and maker literacies activities for elementary school children with learning disabilities. UTA Libraries will purchase STEAM and maker technology for Crow Elementary School (Arlington) and The Novus Academy (Grapevine). Project interns will perform initial testing and curriculum pairing, install technology in partner schools, and provide technical support and training. UTA will disseminate findings and best practices for implementing universally accessible makerspaces and STEAM labs, and establish a loanable K-12 tech program for UTA education students and alumni.